Which professions attract the most honest and ethical people? Americans have some strong feelings on the topic.
Recently, Gallup asked more than 1,000 people from all 50 states and Washington, D.C., to name the professions they perceive as having the most honest and ethical workers.
Gallup actually conducts this survey annually but does not ask about the same professions every year. So, we took results from the past two years — the 2021 and 2022 surveys — to create this list.
Based on the surveys from those two years, these are the professions where the most honest and ethical people ply their trade every day.
Nurses
Survey respondents who rate the honesty and ethical standards of people in this field as “high” or “very high”: 79%
It’s no surprise that people perceive high standards of honesty and ethics among people who choose professions where they help others.
Nursing can be a physically and emotionally demanding job, but workers in the field make the sacrifice to help preserve the health of others. That is why they likely get high marks for honesty and ethics.
Grade school teachers
Survey respondents who rate the honesty and ethical standards of people in this field as “high” or “very high”: 64% (as of the 2021 survey)
Teaching is another profession where workers make sacrifices to help others. And they do so knowing the pay won’t make them rich.
That type of selfless dedication likely earns them high marks for honesty and high ethical standards.
Medical doctors
Survey respondents who rate the honesty and ethical standards of people in this field as “high” or “very high”: 62% (as of the 2022 survey)
Doctors have one of the most important jobs in society. At the extremes, they literally have the power to save lives.
Working in this field takes years of study and a lot of sacrifices. Those facts probably lead many people to view doctors as honest and ethical.
Other high-ranking professions
Americans also view people in the following professions as having high levels of honesty and personal ethics.
- Military officers 61% (as of the 2021 survey)
- Pharmacists 58% (2022)
- High school teachers 53% (2022)
- Police officers 50% (2022)
- Day care providers 50% (2021)