The news: The pharma industry moved up from last place in Gallup’s annual survey of US industry reputation, although 58% of consumers still view the industry negatively. Healthcare fared better landing in the middle of the list, but still notched a 51% negative rating.

Gallup surveyed 1,094 adults in telephone interviews from Aug. 1-20, 2025.

Digging into the data: Consumers’ positive perception of pharma increased, while their views of healthcare declined YoY.

• Pharma gained 8 percentage points over last year. 28% of consumers now have a positive perception of the industry, moving it from last place, ahead of the federal government (which has a 23% positive rating).
• Healthcare gained 5 percentage points, with now 36% of consumers noting a positive view of healthcare, up from 31% last year.
• However, pharma, healthcare, and federal government have the smallest levels of “neutral” ratings among the 25 industries Gallup tracks, indicating consumers fall sharply on one side or the other.

Zooming out: A separate Gallup poll about the quality of US healthcare in December found only 44% of Americans rated it excellent (11%) or good (33%), down 10 percentage points YoY and its lowest level in that survey’s history dating back to 2001.