Commuters at Washington, DC's Fort Totten Metro station on November 13, 2025. Al Drago/Bloomberg/Getty Images

Young Americans are “a generation under profound strain” with little confidence in institutions and widespread economic concerns, according to a Harvard Institute of Politics survey of adults younger than 30 released Thursday.

Young adults say, 57% to 13%, that things in the country are generally on the wrong track, rather than headed in the right direction. Just 32% describe the US as a healthy democracy or one that’s “somewhat functioning,” while 64% call it system in trouble or one that has completely failed.

The survey, which included 2,040 adults under the age of 30 and was conducted between November 3 and 7, 2025, sheds a light on the views of young Americans on the co

See Full Page