As the year draws to a close, YouGov asked Americans to evaluate how 2023 was for themselves and the country and to share predictions for 2024 and beyond. Majorities say 2023 was a bad or terrible year for the country, but that they fared better personally. Republicans are particularly likely to have a negative view of the past year; they’re also more likely than Democrats and Independents to predict a bad or terrible 2024.
As was the case in 2022 and 2021, Americans say the year was better for them personally than for the country. One-third say they had a great (11%) or good (22%) year while just 17% think 2023 was a great (3%) or good (14%) year for the U.S. Only 39% of people who say they had a good or great year say the same about the country.
While 27% of U.S. adult citizens say it was a bad (16%) or terrible (11%) year for them personally, far more say it was a bad (26%) or terrible (30%) year for the country.
Democrats are more likely than Republicans and Independents to say 2023 was a successful year for them personally as well as the country. One-third (34%) of Democrats say it was a great (6%) or good (29%) year for the U.S.; 8% of Independents and 9% of Republicans agree.
Adults under 30 are the most likely (49%) to say the year was great (18%) or good (31%) for them personally. Among 30- to 44-year-olds, 34% had a great or good year, as did 25% of 45- to 64-year-olds and 29% of people who are 65 and older.
Four in 10 Americans think that 2023 was one of the worst years in American history; about as many (42%) think it was about average. Only 5% think it will be remembered as one of the best years in U.S. history.
Republicans (66%) are nearly three times as likely as Democrats (23%) to say 2023 was one of the worst years in American history; 38% of Independents agree.
Americans' evaluations of the prior decade as a whole are similar to their views of 2023. Just 5% think the last 10-year period — 2013 to 2023 — was one of the best periods of American history, 43% think it was about average, and 38% think it was one of the worst. Republicans are more likely (44%) than Independents (36%) and Democrats (33%) to say it was one of the worst time periods in American history.
Views of the prior decade vary by age. Among adults under 30 — who were between 8 and 19 in 2013 — just 20% think 2013 - 2023 was one of the worst time periods in American history. One-third (33%) of 30- to 44-year-olds, 48% of 45-to 64-year-olds, and 45% of people 65 and older say it was.
Looking forward to 2024, Americans expect that they will have a better year than the country itself will, consistent with their evaluations looking back on 2023. Nearly half (46%) foresee a great (17%) or good (30%) year for themselves; only one-quarter (23%) predict a great (8%) or good (15%) 2024 for the country.
Democrats are by far the most optimistic when it comes to 2024: 61% predict a great or good year for themselves personally and 41% say the same for the year.
Americans are more optimistic than pessimistic about what their life will look like in 2024: 37% think their life will be better than it was in 2023 and just 13% think it will be worse. Another 39% think their life will be the same in 2024 as it was in 2023. Adults under 30 are the most likely (54%) to think their life will be better in 2024.
What about life beyond 2024? When asked to rate the way things will be going for the U.S. in 10 years on a scale of 1 (very bad) to 10 (very good), 67% give a rating of 5 or higher, including 6% who think things will be a 10: very good. Meanwhile, 9% think things will be a 1 — very bad — in the country in 10 years. Independents (12%) and Republicans (11%) are about three times as likely as Democrats (3%) to predict this.
Looking into the future another way, the survey also asked about whether the country will be better or worse when children in the U.S. grow up. The largest share (45%) think the country will be worse; 19% think it will be about the same and 16% think it will be better.
Among parents of children under 18, 28% believe that the world will be better when their children grow up. One-third (33%) think it will be about the same, and 29% think it will be worse.
Young Americans are more optimistic about the future than older Americans. While 30% of 18- to 29-year-olds think the world will be better when today’s children grow up, just 19% of 30-to 44-year-olds, 10% of 45- to 64-year-olds, and 7% of people 65 and older agree.
— Taylor Orth and Carl Bialik contributed to this article
Related:
- Two-thirds of Republicans say 2022 was one of the worst years in American history
- Most Americans say 2022 was a bad year for the U.S., but even more said so about 2020 and 2021
- What are Americans’ New Year’s resolutions for 2024?
See the results for this YouGov poll
Methodology: The YouGov poll was conducted online on December 11 - 14, 2023 among 1,000 U.S. adult citizens. Respondents were selected from YouGov’s opt-in panel using sample matching. A random sample (stratified by gender, age, race, education, geographic region, and voter registration) was selected from the 2019 American Community Survey. The sample was weighted according to gender, age, race, education, 2020 election turnout and presidential vote, baseline party identification, and current voter registration status. Demographic weighting targets come from the 2019 American Community Survey. Baseline party identification is the respondent’s most recent answer given prior to November 1, 2022, and is weighted to the estimated distribution at that time (33% Democratic, 31% Republican). The margin of error for the overall sample is approximately 4%.
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