By Michaela Gordoni
For most Americans, family means more than anything else.
Over eight in 10 Americans say family, trustworthiness and respect are important values to them.
About seven in 10 Americans say kindness, health, integrity, happiness and knowledge are important to them. When asked which of all values is the most important, family won. Freedom, health, integrity and faith followed, a new Gallup study found.
Almost 50% identified family as one of their three top personal values. Out of 23 total values, beauty, wealth, adventure and innovation ranked at the bottom.
Gallup surveyed 2,000 American adults to obtain this data.
Respect and kindness are among the top five values that candidates list as being important, but both rank outside of the top five most important values.
Over half of those who say faith is important — which is about 26% of all U.S. adults — say it is one of the most important values. It ranks near the top of the list of most important values.
Family ranks at the top for almost every subgroup. The exception is for deeply religious Americans, who rank faith higher (76%).
Republicans, senior citizens, those with a high school education or less, married adults and women were more likely to rank family highly.
Related: Most Americans Believe Family Time ‘Is Very Important’
Almost half (48%) of Republicans say faith is among their most important values, while only 11% of Democrats say the same.
Only 28% say wealth is an important value and only 7% say is it is one of the most important values. Only 1% said beauty is one of the most important values. Adventure, achievement and innovation each ranked at 2%.
In 2023, Pew Research found that 73% of Americans say spending time with family is one of the most important things to them personally. Both Democrats and Republicans said it was their most important priority. In the same study, 32% of Americans said practicing religious faith was most important, while 28% said it was not important.
Statista surveyed 3,097 U.S. adults from June-July 2024 and found that 60% said health was most important, and 58% said family life was most important. Those were followed by making money, personal growth, authenticity, career and tradition. Supporting good causes ranked last at 26%.
Even top celebs like Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes value family. He previously shared why he brings his kids to training as part of his family time.
“When my kids grow up, I wanted them to see that dad wasn’t just gone just to be gone,” he said. “I was gone doing something, to build, to be great. And so, whenever they get older, they can see how hard I worked.”
“And so I think that’s what I’m trying to do with my kids now is obviously I’m trying to parent in my own way, but I want them to enjoy life,” he added.
Gallup’s findings indicate that Americans believe family holds a lot of meaning and value —that’s a pretty good thing in a culture that is fraught with attacks against the institution of family.
Is family your most important value?
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