New poll ranks America’s best and worst presidents, where did your favorites land?

From best to worst, all of the 46 past and present US presidents have been ranked in a new survey that asked a wide range of academics to rank which leaders of the country deserve praise and which should be scorned. 

The 2024 Presidential Greatness Project Expert Survey asked 525 historians, scholars, political scientists, and all manner of other experts to give their authoritative opinions on ranking the presidents. 154 responses were used. 

Each president was given a score from one to one hundred. The poll’s authors Brandon Rottinghaus and Justin Vaughn explained that a score of zero equaled failure, while fifty was average and 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 ranked worst. 

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