January 20, 2025

A total of 37% of Americans say they approve of the way Joe Biden is handling his job as president and 58% say they disapprove of the way Biden is handling his job according to the latest survey from the American Research Group. In December, 37% approved of the way Biden was handling his job as president and 56% disapproved.

When it comes to Biden's handling of the economy, 35% of Americans approve and 61% disapprove. In December, 36% approved of the way Biden was handling the economy and 58% disapproved.

Among Americans registered to vote, 37% approve of the way Biden is handling his job as president and 58% disapprove. On Biden's handling of the economy, 35% of registered voters approve and 60% disapprove.

Of the 37% of Americans saying they approve of the way Biden is handling his job as president, 62% say they expect the national economy will be worse a year from now. In December 2024, 34% said they expected the national economy will be worse a year from now.

Of the 58% saying they disapprove of the way Biden his handling his job as president, 52% say they expect the national economy will be better a year from now. In December 2024, 39% said they expected the national economy will be better a year from now.

Of the 37% of Americans saying they approve of the way Biden is handling his job as president, 66% say they expect the financial situations in their households will be worse a year from now. In December 2024, 38% said they expected the financial situations in their households will be worse a year from now.

Of the 58% saying they disapprove of the way Biden his handling his job as president, 35% say they expect the financial situations in their households will be better a year from now, 55% say they expect the financial situations in their households will be the same a year from now, and 5% say they expect the financial situations in their households to be worse a year from now. In December 2024, 24% said they expected the financial situations in their households will be worse a year from now.

The average monthly overall approval rating for Biden's term as president (February 2021-January 2025) is 44% approve, 51% disapprove, and 5% undecided. The average monthly approval rating for Biden's handling of the economy is 43% approve, 52% disapprove, and 5% undecided.

In comparison, the average monthly overall approval for Donald Trump's first term as president (February 2017-January 2021) was 38% approve, 58% disapprove, and 4% undecided. The average monthly approval rating for Trump's handling of the economy was 40% approve, 55% disapprove, and 5% undecided.

Biden's highest approval was in March 2021 when 60% of Americans approved of the way he was handling his job, 34% disapproved, and 6% were undecided.

Biden's lowest approval was in July 2022 when 36% of Americans approved of the job he was doing, 58% disapproved, and 6% were undecided.

When Trump left office in January 2021, his overall job approval rating was 30% approve, 66% disapprove, and 4% undecided. When Barack Obama left office in January 2017, his final overall job approval rating was 54% approve, 40% disapprove, and 6% undecided. When George W. Bush left office in January 2009, his final overall job approval rating was 38% approve, 54% disapprove, and 8% undecided.

The lowest overall job approval rating of recent presidents was for George W. Bush in February 2008 when 19% of Americans approved, 77% disapproved, and 4% were undecided.

The results presented here are based on 1,100 completed interviews conducted among a nationwide random sample of adults January 16 through 19, 2025. The theoretical margin of error for the total sample is plus or minus 3 percentage points, 95% of the time, on questions where opinion is evenly split.

Overall, 37% of Americans say that they approve of the way Joe Biden is handling his job as president, 58% disapprove, and 5% are undecided.

Among Republicans (33% of adults registered to vote in the survey and 30% of all adults in the survey), 3% approve of the way Biden is handling his job and 92% disapprove. Among Democrats (31% of adults registered to vote in the survey and 29% of all adults in the survey), 80% approve and 14% disapprove of the way Biden is handling his job. Among independents (36% of adults registered to vote in the survey and 33% of all adults in the survey), 31% approve and 64% disapprove of the way Biden is handling his job as president.

Overall, 35% of Americans say that they approve of the way Joe Biden is handling the economy, 61% disapprove, and 4% are undecided. Among registered voters, 35% approve and 60% disapprove of the way Biden is handling the economy.

Among Republicans, 3% approve of the way Biden is handling the economy and 93% disapprove. Among Democrats, 75% approve of the way Biden is handling the economy and 19% disapprove. Among independents, 29% approve and 66% disapprove of the way Biden is handling the economy.

A total of 27% of Americans say that the national economy is getting better, 9% say it is staying the same, and 60% say the national economy is getting worse.

Among those saying they approve of the way Biden is handling his job, 70% say getting better, 20% say staying the same, and 9% say getting worse. Of those saying they disapprove of the way Biden is handling his job, less than 1% say getting better, less than 1% say staying the same, and 94% say getting worse.

A total of 33% of Americans say they believe the national economy will be better a year from now, 25% say it will be the same, and 26% say it will be worse.

Among those saying they approve of the way Biden is handling his job, 4% say better, 21% say the same as today, 62% say worse than today, and 13% are undecided. Among those saying they disapprove of the way Biden is handling his job as president, 52% say better, 28% say the same, 3% say worse, and 17% are undecided.

Overall, 42% of Americans say they believe that the national economy is in a recession, 44% say they do not believe the economy is in a recession, and 14% are undecided.

Among those saying they approve of the way Biden is handling his job, 5% say the national economy is in a recession, 90% say the national economy is not in a recession, and 5% are undecided. Of those saying they disapprove of the way Biden is handling his job, 67% say the national economy is in a recession, 17% say the national economy is not in a recession, and 16% are undecided.

A total of 43% of Americans rate the national economy as excellent, very good, or good and 56% rate it as bad, very bad, or terrible.

Among those saying they approve of the way Biden is handling his job, 75% say very good, or good and 24% say bad, very bad, or terrible. Among those saying they disapprove of the way Biden is handling his job, 6% say very good, or good and 93% say bad, very bad, or terrible.

When it comes to rating their household financial situations, 60% of Americans give an excellent, very good, or good rating and 34% give a bad, very bad, or terrible rating.

Among those saying they approve of the way Biden is handling his job, 90% say excellent, very good, or good and 5% say bad, very bad, or terrible. Among those saying they disapprove of the way Biden is handling his job, 34% say very good, or good and 59% say bad, very bad, or terrible.

A total of 10% of Americans say they think the financial situations in their households are getting better, 42% say staying the same, and 47% say getting worse.

Among those saying they approve of the way Biden is handling his job, 31% say getting better, 60% say staying the same, and 8% say getting worse. Among those saying they disapprove of the way Biden is handling his job, less than 1% say getting better, 27% say staying the same, and 72% say getting worse.

Looking to a year from now, 23% of Americans say that they think their household financial situations will be better than today, 43% say the same as today, and 29% say worse than today.

Among those saying they approve of the way Biden is handling his job, 4% say better than today, 23% say the same as today, and 66% say worse than today. Among those saying they disapprove of the way Biden is handling his job, 35% say better than today, 55% say the same as today, and 5% say worse than today.

About this Survey -

Survey Sponsor: American Research Group, Inc.

The American Research Group has been conducting national surveys of consumers since 1985.

Sample Size: 1,100 completed interviews among a random sample of all adults age 18 and older living in households in the continental United States (see methodology for details). There were 325 Republicans, 315 Democrats, 360 independents, and 100 non-voters in the sample.

Sample Dates: January 16-19, 2025

Margin of Error: ± 3 percentage points, 95% of the time, on questions where opinion is evenly split.

Question Wording and Order:

Do you approve or disapprove of the way Joe Biden is handling his job as president?

Do you approve or disapprove of the way Joe Biden is handling the economy?

How do you rate the condition of the national economy these days - would you say it is excellent, very good, good, bad, very bad, or terrible?

Do you think the national economy is getting better, staying the same, or getting worse?

Would you say that the national economy is in a recession, or not?

A year from now, do you expect the national economy to be better than it is today, the same as it is today, or worse than it is today?

How do you rate the condition of the financial situation in your household - would you say it is excellent, very good, good, bad, very bad, or terrible?

Do you think the financial situation in your household is getting better, staying the same, or getting worse?

A year from now, do you expect the financial situation in your household to be better than it is today, the same as it is today, or worse than it is today?