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America’s most and least trusted professions

Whom would you rather work with: someone solely focused on their personal interests and willing to engage in unlawful activities to reach their goal or someone who possesses credibility, trustworthiness, and the ability to rally people toward a shared objective?

The importance of ethics in the workplace can’t be understated. It’s the basis for businesses, educational institutions, health care organizations, and governments. Effective organizations and the people who work for them adhere to a measure of behaviors that help guide them toward certain standards and practices.

Sometimes ethical practices, such as occupational safety or measures to prevent insider trading, have become law. Many professions that undergo a licensing process have an ethical component to them, and many professional organizations also have ethical standards they expect their members to uphold.

In late 2022, Gallup ranked over 1,000 U.S. adults on their opinions of the honesty and ethics of people in 18 select professions. Stacker ranked those professions from most to least trusted based on the share of adults who had “high” or “very high” ratings of the profession’s honesty and ethical standards.

Read on to learn which professions are among the most and least trusted in the nation.

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#18. Telemarketers

– Public opinion of honesty and ethical standards:
— Very high: 2%
— High: 4%
— Average: 33%
— Low: 34%
— Very low: 25%

When people’s phones ring incessantly with telemarketing calls—robocalls alone are responsible for 4 billion calls every month in the U.S.—it’s no wonder they distrust telemarketers. Scammers have been successful at using telemarketing to swindle people out of their money.

In 2022, nearly 295,000 people reported being scammed through fake telemarketing calls, second only to text scams. However, out of all types of contact methods scammers use, telemarketing is the most profitable, garnering a $1,400 median loss per person.

Telemarketing got an even worse rap in 2023, when “Real Housewives of Salt Lake City” cast member Jennifer Shah pled guilty to charges associated with running a national telemarketing scam that bilked thousands of dollars from elderly people.

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#17. Members of Congress

– Public opinion of honesty and ethical standards:
— Very high: 2%
— High: 7%
— Average: 28%
— Low: 37%
— Very low: 25%

It’s no secret that Americans’ distrust of elected officials has increased in recent years. In 2015, Gallup found three primary reasons Americans cited for not trusting members of Congress: they were out of touch, focused on special interests rather than the needs of constituents, and plain old corrupt.

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#16. Car salespeople

– Public opinion of honesty and ethical standards:
— Very high: 2%
— High: 8%
— Average: 44%
— Low: 31%
— Very low: 13%

Americans tend to view salespeople as dishonest, or at a very minimum willing to lie to get you to buy. At least one study, titled “Deception as Competence,” indicated these beliefs might not be completely unfounded, as more competent and successful salespeople tend to be more dishonest. And when you’re considering a major purchase, like a car, the last thing you want is a less-than-truthful person assisting you with the process.

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#15. Business executives

– Public opinion of honesty and ethical standards:
— Very high: 2%
— High: 12%
— Average: 48%
— Low: 25%
— Very low: 11%

In conversation with the Harvard Business Review, David Ballard, a researcher at the American Psychological Association, said there are several reasons people don’t trust their employers or the higher-level executives within their companies, including feeling as if they aren’t treated fairly, which creates a huge chasm. Not quite half of America’s workforce feels their employers are open and upfront, while a third feels as though they aren’t.

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#14. Advertising practitioners

– Public opinion of honesty and ethical standards:
— Very high: 2%
— High: 13%
— Average: 42%
— Low: 31%
— Very low: 10%

In a similar vein, Americans are very distrustful of advertisements and, by extension, those who create them. In 2019, 96% of consumers told Inc. they found ads exaggerated or over-the-top, implying those who create these ads are willing to be deceitful to sell products.

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#13. Lawyers

– Public opinion of honesty and ethical standards:
— Very high: 3%
— High: 18%
— Average: 50%
— Low: 19%
— Very low: 9%

With the number of bad lawyer jokes out there, it should be no surprise this profession ranks as one of the least trusted in America. Lawyers, while perceived as competent and respected, are widely distrusted, likely because they will represent parties they know are guilty and have a reputation for speaking down to those they’re representing—even those who are paying them.

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#12. Journalists

– Public opinion of honesty and ethical standards:
— Very high: 3%
— High: 20%
— Average: 35%
— Low: 24%
— Very low: 18%

While former President Donald Trump’s administration certainly had a hand in increasing distrust in the media and journalists, the phenomenon is nothing new.

Since George Washington’s time in office, elected officials and the public have railed against reporters, declaring they aren’t objective as they should be, but partisan. Still, Thomas Jefferson highlighted the importance of a robust press to act as a check on the government, writing that if he had to choose “a government without newspapers or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter.”

In the 21st century, the 24-hour news cycle, the rise of Fox News, and online publications that ape journalistic outlets without adhering to basic standards have blurred the line between pundits and journalists for many Americans.

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#10. Labor union leaders (tie)

– Public opinion of honesty and ethical standards:
— Very high: 7%
— High: 17%
— Average: 42%
— Low: 22%
— Very low: 9%

In 2022, a Gallup survey found that 71% of Americans approved of labor unions—the highest percentage since 1965—and a continued increase since the all-time low tracked in 2009, when less than half of Americans approved of labor unions. That high approval doesn’t necessarily reflect on union leadership, though. For decades, union leaders have been found to be corrupt, such as legendary Teamsters Union leader Jimmy Hoffa, who had ties to the mob and went to prison in the 1960s for defrauding the union’s pension fund, among other things.

Corruption at the top didn’t disappear when Hoffa did: The Department of Justice has an ongoing investigation into corruption within the leadership of the United Auto Workers. By mid-2022, this investigation had resulted in convictions of 17 UAW leaders who had embezzled millions of dollars from the union.

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#10. Real estate agents (tie)

– Public opinion of honesty and ethical standards:
— Very high: 4%
— High: 20%
— Average: 55%
— Low: 15%
— Very low: 4%

Real estate agents help property buyers and sellers navigate the tricky negotiations around real estate transactions, which can be a relief for many. The National Association of Realtors has a Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice that its member agents must abide by. That said, agents earn their salaries through commissions, a fee baked into the sale price of a property; this gives them a vested interest in driving up the price. Some homesellers’ have taken notice and have sued the association and several brokerages, a lawsuit which the Department of Justice deemed in March 2023 could move forward as a class-action suit.

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#9. Bankers

– Public opinion of honesty and ethical standards:
— Very high: 5%
— High: 21%
— Average: 54%
— Low: 15%
— Very low: 5%

As with advertisers, bankers are seen as an extension of an institution that has been deemed untrustworthy, which, by association, makes them untrustworthy. For Americans, in particular, this anxiety toward banks and bankers may stem from the Great Depression, when depositors lost some $140 billion thanks to investment practices the institutions had kept secret. Taxpayer-funded bank bailouts during the Great Recession in 2008 and again in 2023 may not have helped.

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#8. Clergy

– Public opinion of honesty and ethical standards:
— Very high: 8%
— High: 26%
— Average: 45%
— Low: 13%
— Very low: 4%

Another major news event, the sex scandal that rocked the Roman Catholic Church, may be a driving factor in the public’s distrust of the clergy. The scandal revealed a dark side to the institution, namely the authoritarian leadership of churches of all denominations, that made Americans question whether they could have confidence in the profession. Similarly, Protestant church leaders’ increased political affiliations have pushed many a Protestant away from the church doors.

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#7. Judges

– Public opinion of honesty and ethical standards:
— Very high: 8%
— High: 31%
— Average: 42%
— Low: 13%
— Very low: 6%

While judges are seen as more trustworthy than legislators, many Americans still have their doubts, especially when it comes to federal and Supreme Court judges. The public is most worried that judges are more concerned about handing down rulings that align more with their political beliefs than they are about doing what is right.

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#6. Accountants

– Public opinion of honesty and ethical standards:
— Very high: 7%
— High: 34%
— Average: 50%
— Low: 6%
— Very low: 1%

Accountants prepare tax returns, ensure a company’s financials are in order, provide in-depth financial analysis and management, and give financial guidance. Most, but not all, states require certified public accountants to pass an ethics exam as part of their licensing process. That said, bad apples still exist, and some accountants make the news for embezzling money from companies. In 2022, for instance, the Securities and Exchange Commission fined leading accounting firm Ernst & Young $100 million after discovering its employees cheated on ethics exams.

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#5. Police officers

– Public opinion of honesty and ethical standards:
— Very high: 13%
— High: 37%
— Average: 32%
— Low: 11%
— Very low: 7%

While overall trust in police officers is high compared to other professions, Gallup reports it is actually at a historic low, particularly among Black Americans and other minority groups. With the Black Lives Matter protests sparked in response to police targeting and killing Black people, including the killing of George Floyd in May 2020 and the outsized police response, there’s more evidence that suggests policing is racist, and consequently, police are too.

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#4. High school teachers

– Public opinion of honesty and ethical standards:
— Very high: 14%
— High: 39%
— Average: 31%
— Low: 12%
— Very low: 3%

The 53% who rate high school teachers’ ethics as high or very high seems like public opinion for the profession is good, but it’s actually been on the decline. Gallup notes its 2022 rating is the lowest yet for this profession since it was added to the poll in 2002. Ratings are a full seven points lower than in 2018. This distrust may come from the increased politicization of the classroom. The Washington Post found that lawmakers in 25 states had passed 64 laws between 2020 and 2022 placing restrictions on what teachers could teach and say in the classroom.

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#3. Pharmacists

– Public opinion of honesty and ethical standards:
— Very high: 14%
— High: 44%
— Average: 34%
— Low: 5%
— Very low: 2%

Pharmacists have risen in the Gallup rankings in recent years, thanks in part to the easy access most Americans have to them, as well as the high levels of patient care these medical professionals regularly offer. Their upper-level degrees, which typically require eight years of study, may be another reason many give for their “very high” honest and ethical standards ratings.

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#2. Medical doctors

– Public opinion of honesty and ethical standards:
— Very high: 17%
— High: 45%
— Average: 28%
— Low: 7%
— Very low: 3%

Trust in medical doctors can be a difficult thing to discuss, as white Americans tend to see their health care providers in a more positive light than people of color do. Lack of representation, unequal access to care, and both real and perceived bias are among the many reasons people of color and other marginalized communities remain skeptical of doctors in general. That said, people of all races tend to view their personal doctors much more favorably than they do the profession as a whole.

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#1. Nurses

– Public opinion of honesty and ethical standards:
— Very high: 29%
— High: 50%
— Average: 17%
— Low: 3%
— Very low: 1%

The backbone of the American health care system, nurses are the most trusted professionals in today’s world. Out of all health care workers, sick people have more face-to-face interactions with nurses than anyone else, which allows for the development of personal relationships. The COVID-19 pandemic made Americans more grateful than ever for the tireless devotion nurses bring to our health and well-being.

Data reporting by Paxtyn Merten. Story editing by Jeff Inglis. Copy editing by Paris Close.