President Donald Trump recently signed an executive order naming English the official language of the United States. The order revokes a Clinton-era order that required federal agencies to provide assistance in their programs for those with limited English proficiency.
Pew Research Center has not directly asked Americans about Trump’s March 1 order, but data from a survey conducted in August 2024 – before the presidential election – provides a sense of public opinion on the topic. About half of U.S. adults (51%) say it is extremely or very important for the U.S. to make English its official language, according to the Center survey conducted in August. Another 21% say it’s somewhat important to make English the national language.
Some U.S. adults are more likely than others to say English should be the national language.
Most Republicans and Republican-leaning independents (73%) say it is extremely or very important to make English the national language, compared with 32% of Democrats and Democratic leaners. Meanwhile, 43% of Democrats say it is not at all or not too important for English to be the official language.
Race and ethnicity
White adults (57%) are more likely than Asian (47%), Black (45%) and Hispanic (36%) adults to say English should be the nation’s official language. Notably, 38% of Hispanic adults say it is not at all or not too important to make English the national language.
