A record 43% of Americans now hold a positive view of socialism, according to Gallup, with support rising sharply among independents and remaining substantially higher among Democrats and younger adults.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom.
Positive views of socialism have reached their highest level since Gallup began regularly measuring Americans’ attitudes toward major economic concepts in 2010, with 43% of U.S. adults now saying they have a favorable impression of the system.
That figure remains below the 55% who view capitalism positively and the 77% who favor free enterprise, while small business continues to receive overwhelming approval at 95%, according to the latest Gallup survey.
Still, the 43% positive rating for socialism marks the first time Gallup’s measure has surpassed 39% since the polling organization began tracking the question 16 years ago. Since 2010, favorable views of socialism have increased seven percentage points, while positive ratings of capitalism have declined six points and free enterprise has fallen nine points. Big business has experienced the largest decline, dropping 14 points over that period.
The latest increase came primarily from political independents rather than Democrats.
Independents’ positive rating of socialism jumped from 37% in 2025 to 45% this year, an eight-point increase. Their favorable view of big business, meanwhile, fell to a record-low 32%. Socialism consequently now ranks above big business among independents, although capitalism, free enterprise and small business remain more popular.
Gallup described the shift this way:
Independents’ positive rating of socialism has risen by eight points this year, as their view of big business has fallen to a new low of 32% after several years of decline. Socialism now ranks ahead of big business among independents, although capitalism, free enterprise and small business remain more positively viewed.
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Democrats’ views have shifted more substantially since 2010. Socialism surpassed capitalism among Democrats by 2016 and now ties free enterprise at 65%. This follows a sizable decline in Democrats’ positive rating of free enterprise since 2021.
Among Democrats, 65% currently hold a positive view of socialism, essentially unchanged from 66% last year but substantially higher than the 50% Gallup recorded in 2010.
At the same time, Democratic attitudes toward capitalism have weakened. The share of Democrats viewing capitalism positively fell from 42% in 2025 to 35% in 2026.
Small business remains broadly popular among Democrats, with 93% viewing it favorably, while socialism and free enterprise are tied at 65%.
Republicans continue to hold markedly different views. Just 14% have a positive impression of socialism, while large majorities view capitalism, free enterprise and small business positively. Republicans’ favorable rating of big business currently stands at 62%.
Age produced another pronounced divide in the survey.
Adults ages 18 to 34 view socialism more positively than capitalism, with 57% expressing favorable views of socialism compared with 43% for capitalism.
The pattern reverses among Americans 55 and older. In that group, 65% view capitalism positively, compared with 34% who have a positive view of socialism.
Adults ages 35 to 54 give the two economic systems roughly comparable ratings.
Gallup also found differences based on gender and income. Men are more favorable toward capitalism than socialism, while women show the opposite pattern. Americans earning at least $100,000 per year are more positive toward capitalism and free enterprise than households earning less than $50,000. Lower-income respondents view socialism more favorably than higher-income Americans, although among lower-income respondents socialism only ties capitalism rather than surpassing it.
The findings do not necessarily indicate that Americans favor replacing the market economy with socialism.
Gallup noted that support for free-market principles remains widespread even among demographic and political groups that have become more receptive to socialism. Small business retains near-universal popularity, while more than three-quarters of Americans continue to hold a positive view of free enterprise. Gallup’s separate open-ended research has also found broad support for competition and market choice alongside concerns about inequality and excessive corporate power.
The Gallup survey was conducted Aug. 3-24, 2026, among approximately 1,200 U.S. adults, with a margin of sampling error of about plus or minus four percentage points.
The results follow other polling indicating greater openness among Democrats toward candidates who use a socialist label.
An Economist/YouGov survey conducted June 26-29 found that 62% of Democrats said they would be willing to vote for a candidate identifying as a “Democratic Socialist,” compared with 11% who said they would not and 27% who were unsure. Among Americans overall, 29% said they would consider voting for such a candidate, while 45% said they would not.
The June Economist/YouGov poll surveyed 1,606 respondents.
The changing attitudes have coincided with the rise of politicians who openly identify with democratic socialism, including New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who was sworn in as the city’s 112th mayor on Jan. 1, 2026 after previously representing Queens in the New York State Assembly.
Other polling, however, illustrates that attitudes toward democratic socialist politicians are more complicated than responses to the broader ideological label.
A Pew Research Center survey conducted in January found that 32% of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents said they liked political leaders who identify as democratic socialists, while 56% said they neither liked nor disliked them and 11% viewed them negatively. Among liberal Democrats, 52% expressed positive views of such political figures.
Gallup said its longer-term trend nevertheless shows a measurable change in how Americans respond to the term “socialism,” particularly among Democrats, younger adults and, most recently, political independents.
Capitalism continues to hold a 12-point advantage nationally, 55% to 43%, while free enterprise and small business remain substantially more popular than either economic label.
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