Experts ranked the best and worst US Presidents

Who is the best US President? It's a difficult question to answer since the response could depend on your politics. However, in 2024 experts picked who they thought were the country's best and worst executives. Let's take a look at who made their lists.

The 2024 Presidential Greatness Project Expert Survey questioned 525 historians, scholars, political scientists, and all manner of other experts to give their authoritative opinions on ranking the presidents. 154 responses were used to determine who was the best and worst U.S. President. 

Each president was given a score from one to one hundred. The poll’s authors Brandon Rottinghaus and Justin Vaughn noted that a score of zero equaled failure whereas a score of fifty was average and one of one hundred was considered great. 

So who came out on top of the ranking and what were their scores? Let’s look at the top 20 presidents as well as a few who were ranked the country’s worst. You might be able to guess which former president was listed as dead last. 

Rating: 93.87

Photo Credit: Wiki Commons By Alexander Gardner, Public Domain

Rating: 90.83

Photo Credit: Wiki Commons By Photograph, CC BY 2.0

Rating: 90.32

Photo Credit: Wiki Commons By Gilbert Stuart, Public Domain

Rating: 78.58

Photo Credit: Wiki Commons By Adam Cuerden, Public Domain

Rating: 77.53

Photo Credit: Wiki Commons By Rembrandt Peale, Public Domain

Rating: 75.34

Photo Credit: Wiki Commons By Byron H. Rollins, Public Domain

Rating: 73.80

Photo Credit: Wiki Commons By Official White House / Pete Souza, Public Domain

Rating: 73.73

Photo Credit: Wiki Commons By White House, Eisenhower Presidential Library, Public Domain

Rating: 72.86

Rating: 68.37

Rating: 93.87

Photo Credit: Wiki Commons By John Vanderlyn, Public Domain

Rating: 66.42

Photo Credit: Wiki Commons By Bob McNeely, Public Domain

Rating: 62.66

Photo Credit: Wiki Commons By Gilbert Stuart, CC0

Rating: 62.66

Rating: 61.80

Rating: 61.62

Photo Credit: Wiki Commons By Michael Evans, Public Domain

Rating: 60.93

Photo Credit: Wiki Commons  By Brady, Public Domain

Rating: 60.15 

Photo Credit: Wiki Commons  By Samuel Finley Breese Morse, Public Domain

Rating: 58.54

Rating: 55.41 

Rating: 40.43

By Eric Draper, United States Department of Defense, Public Domain

Rating: 10.92