New Survey Finds Less Than 40% of Americans Believe America is a Meritocracy

Ahead of Labor Day, new survey finds lowest endorsement of meritocracy mindset since 2020

Only 38% of Americans say talent and hard work matter more than opportunity in determining financial success, according to a nationally-representative monthly survey of more than 28,000 people fielded from 2020 through June of 2026, and released today by the FrameWorks Institute, a social science research nonprofit. By contrast, 62% of Americans believe that the deciding factor is differences in opportunities that are available to some people, but not others. 

Until 2022, attitudes toward economic mobility were evenly split between those two mindsets. The 38% of Americans who say that the U.S. is a meritocracy, where hard work helps workers get ahead, is the lowest percentage since Frameworks began measuring this mindset in 2020.  This general downward trend in endorsement of meritocracy is seen among Democrats and Republicans, and across income levels.

“The idea that anyone in America can get ahead if they work hard enough has been ingrained in our country for 250 years, but these findings show that most people aren’t buying it anymore,” said Andrew Volmert, senior vice president of programs at the Frameworks Institute. “We are increasingly hearing from Americans across the political and economic spectrum that big changes are needed to make our democracy and economy work for everybody. The pull yourself up by the bootstraps message may sound inspiring, but for many Americans, it’s just not reality.” 

1. Faith in the idea that financial success is a product of hard work has declined since 2023. A majority of respondents now believe that success is due to differences in opportunities.

The FrameWorks Institute asked participants whether financial success is achieved by hard work (meritocracy) or by access to opportunities.

In an ongoing culture tracking survey, researchers saw the beginning of this decline in meritocratic understandings of financial success, between October 2022 and March 2023.

2. Most people now believe that economic inequality exists because of policy choices that determine how our economy works, rather than being a natural phenomenon.

From 2020-2023, a majority of survey respondents endorsed the mindset that economic inequality is a natural phenomenon. That is no longer the case. More people now believe that financial success is a result of laws and policies that help some people but not others. 

3. People believe the economy is shaped by laws - not natural forces outside of our control

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METHODS: The findings are based on:

• An ongoing, nationally-representative online survey of Americans from August 2020–June 2026. More than 28,000 Americans have been surveyed thus far. The survey has helped our researchers understand the extent to which Americans hold and use this mindset.

• Quarterly focus groups with more than 800 total participants since May 2020.

The FrameWorks Institute is a nonprofit research organization that uses rigorous social science methods to study how people think and talk about social issues. FrameWorks’ interdisciplinary team develops evidence-based techniques that help researchers, advocates, practitioners, journalists, and social movement leaders explain those issues more effectively. For more information, visit frameworksinstitute.org.