Political Scientists Rank US Presidents From Worst to Best

Being the President of the United States is not a popularity contest, or at least that wasn't the intention. It is a position initially created to give one person enough power to oversee large projects in the best interest of the people but not too much power where they can rule like a monarch, the very thing our Founding Fathers broke away from. Yet, in recent years, it appears the lead-up to elections is run more like a popularity contest, with candidates vying to see who is more favorable. Regardless of who is liked more, it's a president's record while in office that will ultimately decide his or her fate. Political scientists rank U.S. presidents from worst to best.

Various experts, primarily historians, and political scientists, occasionally assess presidents, judging not their popularity but their efficiency and success at fulfilling their presidential duties, as well as their legacies. To determine U.S. presidents from worst to best, 24/7 Tempo reviewed the latest such assessment, a ranking called the 2024 Presidential Greatness Project Expert Survey, conducted by Brandon Rottinghaus, a professor of political science at the University of Houston, and Justin S. Vaughn, an associate professor of political science at Coastal Carolina University.

The survey was conducted between Nov. 15 and Dec. 31, 2023, and is based on some 154 responses from, to quote its authors, "current and recent members of the Presidents & Executive Politics Section of the American Political Science Association, which is the foremost organization of social science experts in presidential politics, as well as scholars who had recently published peer-reviewed academic research in key related scholarly journals or academic presses." (To see where presidents' wives stand, read America's most popular first ladies.)

Respondents were asked to rate each president on a scale of 1 to 100, with the maximum score (which no one achieved) indicating true greatness. For the most part, the results echoed those of two previous surveys conducted by the same professors, published in 2015 and 2018, but there were several notable exceptions: Barack Obama rose from No. 16 in 2015 to No. 7 in the latest computation. Ulysses S. Grant also climbed nine places, from No. 26 to No. 17. One president's score plummeted, with Andrew Jackson descending from No. 9 to No. 21.

These political scientists rank U.S. presidents from worst to best:

• Terms served: One
• Held office: 2017 to 2021
• Rating (2024): 10.92

• Terms served: One
• Held office: 1857 to 1861
• Rating (2024): 16.71

• Terms served: One
• Held office: 1865 to 1869
• Rating (2024): 21.56

• Terms served: One
• Held office: 1853 to 1857
• Rating (2024): 24.6

• Terms served: One (died in office)
• Held office: 1841
• Rating (2024): 26.01

• Terms served: One (died in office)
• Held office: 1921 to 1923
• Rating (2024): 27.76

• Terms served: One
• Held office: 1850 to 1853
• Rating (2024): 30.33

• Terms served: One (died in office)
• Held office: 1849 to 1850
• Rating (2024): 32.97

• Terms served: One
• Held office: 1841 to 1845
• Rating (2024): 32.99

• Terms served: One
• Held office: 1929 to 1933
• Rating (2024): 34.08

• Terms served: Two (resigned from office)
• Held office: 1969 to 1974
• Rating (2024): 36.41

• Terms served: Two
• Held office: 1923 to 1929
• Rating (2024): 39.38

• Terms served: One
• Held office: 1881 to 1885
• Rating (2024): 39.61

• Terms served: Two
• Held office: 2001 to 2009
• Rating (2024): 40.43

• Terms served: One
• Held office: 1889 to 1893
• Rating (2024): 40.64

• Terms served: One (assassinated in office)
• Held office: 1881
• Rating (2024): 40.98

• Terms served: One
• Held office: 1877 to 1881
• Rating (2024): 41.15

• Terms served: One
• Held office: 1837 to 1841
• Rating (2024): 45.46

• Terms served: One
• Held office: 1974 to 1977
• Rating (2024): 46.09

• Terms served: Two (non-consecutive)
• Held office: 1885 to 1889 and 1893 to 1897
• Rating (2024): 48.31

• Terms served: One
• Held office: 1845 to 1849
• Rating (2024): 49.83

• Terms served: One (assassinated in office)
• Held office: 1897 to 1901
• Rating (2024): 51.23

• Terms served: One
• Held office: 1909 to 1913
• Rating (2024): 51.67

• Terms served: One
• Held office: 1977 to 1981
• Rating (2024): 54.26

• Terms served: Two
• Held office: 1829 to 1937
• Rating (2024): 54.7

• Terms served: One
• Held office: 1825 to 1829
• Rating (2024): 55.41

• Terms served: One
• Held office: 1989 to 1993
• Rating (2024): 58.54

• Terms served: Two
• Held office: 1817 to 1825
• Rating (2024): 60.15

• Terms served: Two
• Held office: 1869 to 1877
• Rating (2024): 60.93

• Terms served: Two
• Held office: 1981 to 1989
• Rating (2024): 61.62

• Terms served: Two
• Held office: 1913 to 1921
• Rating (2024): 61.8

• Terms served: TBD
• Held office: 2021 – 2025
• Rating (2024): 62.66 (tie)

• Terms served: One
• Held office: 1797 to 1801
• Rating (2024): 62.66 (tie)

• Terms served: Two
• Held office: 1993 to 2001
• Rating (2024): 66.42

• Terms served: Two
• Held office: 1809 to 1817
• Rating (2024): 67.16

• Terms served: One (assassinated in office)
• Held office: 1961 to 1963
• Rating (2024): 68.37

• Terms served: Two
• Held office: 1963 to 1969
• Rating (2024): 72.86

• Terms served: Two
• Held office: 1953 to 1961
• Rating (2024): 73.73

• Terms served: Two
• Held office: 2009 to 2017
• Rating (2024): 73.8

• Terms served: Two
• Held office: 1945 to 1953
• Rating (2024): 75.34

• Terms served: Two
• Held office: 1801 to 1809
• Rating (2024): 77.53

• Terms served: Two
• Held office: 1901 to 1909
• Rating (2024): 78.58

• Terms served: Two
• Held office: 1789 to 1797
• Rating (2024): 90.32

• Terms served: Four
• Held office: 1933 to 1945
• Rating (2024): 90.32

• Terms served: One (assassinated in office)
• Held office: 1861 to 1865
• Rating (2024): 93.87