What do Americans actually like about living here?
As the United States approaches its 250th anniversary, CBS News turned to the American people with a question that cuts against the grain of an anxious political moment: what do you actually value about living here? The survey, led by polling director Anthony Salvanto, sought to surface the common ground beneath the nation's well-documented divisions, capturing how ordinary citizens understand freedom, opportunity, and the character of their communities. In an era defined by what is broken, the act of asking what is cherished becomes its own form of reflection — a civilization pausing to take stock of itself before the next chapter begins.
- A nation marked by deep polarization and economic uncertainty is being asked, on the eve of a historic milestone, to name what still holds it together.
- The survey cuts against the dominant tone of public discourse, which tends to catalog grievances rather than articulate shared appreciation.
- Respondents' answers are shaped by their own lives — those who have struggled for mobility reach for opportunity, while those who have faced injustice reach for legal protection and equality.
- CBS News pollster Anthony Salvanto, a seasoned reader of public opinion, is navigating the subtle variables of framing and timing to extract something genuine from the national mood.
- The findings are landing not just as news, but as a historical document — a record of what Americans believed their country stood for in the year they marked 250 years of its existence.
The United States is weeks away from marking a quarter-millennium since its founding, and CBS News chose the occasion to ask a question that feels almost radical in the current climate: what do Americans actually like about living here?
In a political era dominated by grievance and division, the prompt is quietly countercultural. Rather than cataloging what is broken, the survey invited ordinary Americans to name what they value — the freedoms they exercise, the opportunities they see, the institutions they trust, the communities they inhabit. The result is a portrait of national sentiment at a specific and charged moment in history.
Polling of this kind serves a dual purpose. It takes the temperature of public opinion at scale, revealing patterns that individual stories cannot — what resonates broadly, what divides along partisan or demographic lines, and where, beneath the noise, something like common ground might still exist. CBS News polling director Anthony Salvanto, who has spent years studying how Americans think about their country, guided the effort with an awareness that framing, timing, and context all shape what people are willing to say.
What people say they value tends to mirror their own circumstances. Economic anxiety sharpens the appeal of opportunity. Experiences of discrimination make legal equality feel precious. A desire for stability draws attention to institutions and rule of law. Taken together, these responses sketch not just what Americans appreciate, but what they believe the country is supposed to be — even when they disagree fiercely about whether it lives up to the promise.
As the 250th anniversary approaches, this survey becomes something more than a news story. It is a document — a record of how the country saw itself at this particular crossroads, one that future historians will return to when trying to understand what Americans believed, and hoped for, at the midpoint of the 2020s.
The nation is closing in on a quarter-millennium mark, and CBS News decided to ask a straightforward question: What do Americans actually like about living here?
It's a deceptively simple prompt. In an era when political discourse tends to dwell on what's broken, what's unfair, what needs fixing, there's something almost countercultural about asking people to name the things they value. The polling was conducted as the country prepared to mark 250 years since its founding—a moment that naturally invites reflection on what the American project has meant, what it has delivered, and what citizens believe is worth preserving.
The CBS News survey reached across the country to capture how ordinary Americans think about their own lives within the larger national context. The questions weren't abstract. They were rooted in the tangible experience of living here: the freedoms people exercise, the opportunities they see, the institutions they trust, the character of their communities. What emerged was a portrait of national sentiment at a specific moment—one that reveals both what binds Americans together and where their priorities diverge.
Polling on this scale serves a particular function. It's not journalism in the traditional sense of reporting on events or investigating wrongdoing. It's a snapshot of the national mood, a way of taking the temperature of public opinion and making it visible. When conducted rigorously, such surveys can reveal patterns that individual interviews or anecdotes might miss. They show what resonates broadly versus what matters only to particular groups.
The timing of this survey is worth noting. The nation has spent recent years contending with deep political polarization, economic uncertainty, and fundamental disagreements about the country's direction. Against that backdrop, asking Americans what they value most about the U.S. becomes a kind of counterweight—a reminder that beneath the conflict, there may be common ground, shared appreciation for certain features of American life that transcend partisan lines.
CBS News' Anthony Salvanto, who leads the network's polling operation, presented the findings. Salvanto has spent years studying American public opinion and understands the nuances of how people respond to questions about their country. The way a question is framed, the order in which options are presented, the moment in history when the survey is conducted—all of these shape what people say. A skilled pollster accounts for these variables and tries to capture something genuine about how Americans actually think.
What people say they value most about America often reflects their own circumstances and concerns. Someone worried about economic mobility might emphasize opportunity. Someone who has experienced discrimination might highlight legal protections or the principle of equality. Someone who values stability might point to institutions or rule of law. The aggregate of these responses tells a story about what Americans believe their country stands for, even if they disagree sharply about whether it lives up to those ideals.
As the nation approaches this milestone anniversary, such polling serves another purpose: it creates a record. Future historians and analysts will look back at what Americans said they valued in 2026, in the lead-up to 2026, and use it to understand how the country saw itself at that moment. It becomes part of the documentary evidence of the era.
La Conversación del Hearth Otra perspectiva de la historia
Why ask this question now, specifically as we're approaching 250 years?
Because anniversaries force reflection. They're natural moments to ask what we've built and what we think is worth keeping.
But isn't there a risk that people give you the answer they think they should give—the patriotic answer?
Always. That's why the phrasing matters. You're not asking "Do you love America?" You're asking what specifically they value. That grounds it in something real.
What does it tell us if people's answers are fragmented? If there's no consensus?
That Americans agree on principles but disagree on whether we're living up to them. That's actually important information.
Does a poll like this change anything, or is it just a snapshot?
It's a snapshot, but snapshots matter. They show what's on people's minds when they're given space to think about it. That influences how leaders talk about the country.
Who benefits from knowing this?
Journalists, policymakers, and citizens trying to understand each other. It's a way of saying: here's what Americans actually think matters.