More than half of Americans are optimistic about the coming year, a new Marist survey reports.

Fifty-six percent of respondents said they were optimistic about 2025, compared to the 43 percent who said they were pessimistic. This is a 16-point increase from December 2023, when 40 percent of respondents said they were optimistic about the upcoming year. It also marks the highest share of optimists since Marist’s December 2020 survey, when 56 percent of respondents also said they were optimistic about the coming year.  

This varies along party lines. While 82 percent of Republicans said they were optimistic about 2025, only 54 percent of independents said the same. Similarly, more than two-thirds (68 percent) of Democrats reported being pessimistic about 2025.  

The survey also showed that younger generations are more likely to be optimistic, with 59 percent of Generation Z and Millennials reporting optimism, compared to 60 percent of Generation X members and 48 percent of Baby Boomers.