Members of Congress are among the least-trusted professions in the U.S., while pharmacists and teachers are among the highest, according to new polling.
The latest Gallup poll — conducted Dec. 2-18 — asked 1,003 American adults to rank about two dozen professions in terms of their perceived ethical and honesty standards.
Here is a breakdown of the results, which were largely in line with other polls conducted during the past 20 years.
Least-trusted professions
Lobbyists had the unenviable distinction of being the least-trusted profession of those surveyed. Sixty-eight percent of respondents said they had low ethical and honesty standards, while just 4% said they had high standards.
Members of Congress came in second, with 68% saying they had low standards and 8% saying they had high standards, according to the poll, which has a margin of error of 4 percentage points.
Placing just above lawmakers were television reporters. Just over half of respondents, 55%, said they had low ethical and honesty standards, while just 13% said they had lofty standards.
Middle of the pack
Advertisers, car salespeople and business executives placed near the bottom, with 50%, 47% and 43% of respondents saying they had low standards.
Coming in above them, but still with net negative ratings: state officeholders, newspaper reporters, lawyers, nursing home operators, local officeholders and bankers.
Judges were the first to break into net positive territory, with 28% of respondents saying they had high standards and 26% saying they had low standards.
Ranking above judges: clergy, auto mechanics, police officers, funeral directors and day care providers.
Most-trusted professions
Nurses were, by far, the most-trusted profession, with 76% of respondents saying they held high honesty and ethical standards. Just 4% said they had low standards.
Following them were grade school teachers. Sixty-one percent of respondents said they had high standards, compared to 11% who said they had low standards.
Military officers, pharmacists and medical doctors came next — with 59%, 57% and 53% of respondents, respectively, saying they had high standards.
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