Republicans are less likely to say there is discrimination against Black, Hispanic, Asian and White people than a year ago
WASHINGTON, D.C. (May 20, 2025) – A new Pew Research Center survey finds that large majorities of Americans say numerous groups in the United States face at least some discrimination, including immigrants, transgender people and members of different racial and religious groups. About eight-in-ten (82%) say immigrants who are in the U.S. illegally experience a lot or some discrimination – including 57% who say they face a lot of discrimination. This is the highest share for any group among 20 included in the survey.
Still, the survey, conducted April 7-13, 2025, among 3,589 U.S. adults on Pew Research Center’s American Trends Panel finds there is a widespread belief that many other societal groups also are discriminated against. For example:
Nearly three-quarters of Americans say Black people (74%) and Hispanic people (72%) face at least some discrimination. About two-thirds (66%) say Asian people face a lot of or some discrimination.
74% say Muslims in the U.S. face a lot of or some discrimination, while a similar share (72%) say Jews face at least some discrimination. Roughly a third say there is a lot of discrimination against those in each of these groups.
77% say people who are transgender face at least some discrimination, with 48% saying this group experiences a lot of discrimination.
While there is a widespread perception that immigrants who are in the U.S. illegally face discrimination, 65% say immigrants who are legally in this country also face a lot of or some bias.
There continue to be partisan differences in perceptions of discrimination against many groups. Democrats are more likely than Republicans to say most of the groups asked about face at least some discrimination. But there are some exceptions: Republicans are more likely than Democrats to say White people, evangelicals, men and religious people face discrimination. And sizable majorities in both parties (77% of Democrats, 69% of Republicans) say Jews in the U.S. face at least some bias, including about three-in-ten in each party who say Jews face a lot of discrimination.
There is also variation in how people view discrimination across other demographic categories. Nearly two-thirds of adults (64%) say women face at least some discrimination, with far fewer (34%) saying the same about men. A 57% majority of adults say people who are religious are subject to discrimination; just a third say atheists in the U.S. face bias. A larger share of the public says older people (59%) than younger people (40%) face at least some discrimination in the U.S.
Among other key findings from the report:
Declining shares of Americans say the country’s largest racial and ethnic groups face at least some discrimination, and this decline is driven primarily by Republicans. Between 2024 and 2025, the shares of Republicans who say each group faces discrimination declined by roughly ten percentage points for:
Black people (66% in 2024; 54% now).
Hispanic people (66% in 2024; 54% now).
Asian people (66% in 2024; 51% now).
White people (66% in 2024; 55% now).
Americans are less likely to say Muslims and Jews face discrimination than a year ago. The shares saying Muslims (34%) and Jews (30%) experience a lot of discrimination are down 10 percentage points from early last year. The share of Americans saying Muslims experience discrimination is now lower than at any point over the last eight years. The share of Americans saying Jews face discrimination is higher than it was from 2017-2021.
The share of Republicans saying there is discrimination against people who are gay or lesbian has also declined. Half of Republicans now say gay and lesbian people face at least some discrimination, down from 59% in 2021 and 64% in 2017. Democrats (90%) continue to overwhelmingly say gays and lesbians experience discrimination.
The margin of sampling error for the full sample of 3,589 respondents is plus or minus 1.8 percentage points.
Read the full report: https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2025/05/20/how-much-discrimination-do-americans-say-groups-face-in-the-u-s/
Methodology: https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2025/05/20/discrimination-2025-methodology/
Survey topline: https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/05/PP_2025.5.20_discrimination_topline.pdf
For more information about the study or to arrange an interview with the lead researchers, please contact Nida Asheer (nasheer@pewresearch.org).
