Poll shows U.S. patriotism hits historic low on 24th anniversary of 9/11

As the United States commemorates the 24th anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks, new polling shows national pride has fallen to its lowest point since the attacks.

A Gallup poll conducted in June 2025 found that only 58% of U.S. adults say they are proud to be American. That total is made up of 41% who say they are extremely proud and 17% who say they are very proud. By contrast, immediately after the 9/11 attacks in 2001, Gallup reported that 90% of Americans described themselves as extremely or very proud—the highest level ever recorded.

The 2025 Gallup poll highlights a widening generational divide. Just 41% of Generation Z (born after 1996) said they are extremely proud to be American, compared with 58% of Millennials, 71% of Generation X, and 75% of Baby Boomers, and 83% of the Silent Generation. 

Partisan identity also plays a role. 92% of Republicans reported pride in being American this year, compared to 36% of Democrats and 53% of independents.

Gallup first asked the patriotism question in Jan. 2001, when 87% of adults expressed extreme or high pride. After the September 11 attacks, pride surged to about 90% and held at that level through 2004.

That trend reversed over the past two decades. By 2017, pride had dropped to 75%, tying the low during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. The 2025 survey marks the first time the figure has fallen below 60%. 

UC Berkeley professor Michael Cohen noted, in 2024, that younger students’ understanding of 9/11 relies heavily on classroom teaching and cultural representations.

“Unless you lived through the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, it’s hard to know what it was like,” said UC Berkeley Professor Michael Mark Cohen. “Americans have a really hard time talking about 9/11, either because it’s too traumatizing or too controversial.”

A More in Common survey published in 2024 similarly found that Gen Z and Millennials are less likely than older Americans to describe the post-9/11 period as “patriotic” or “united.”

While a majority of Baby Boomers and members of the Silent Generation described the post-9/11 era as “patriotic” and “united,” fewer than half of Millennials and Gen Z agreed.