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Four in 10 U.S. adults wish they learned more math skills in middle or high school, according to a new Gallup poll. An overwhelming majority, 95%, said the subject is very or somewhat important for work 鈥� and 96% said the same with regard to their personal lives. 

Mathematics has long been a challenge for U.S. students 鈥� they have made only modest gains in the subject during the past 鈥斅燼nd have yet to recover from the pandemic. Scores have remained largely flat, and where gains have occurred, it’s been predominantly for high achievers.

Recent studies show math competency is critical for adult success: the subject has an even greater impact on earnings than reading. and across the country 鈥� alongside philanthropic heavy hitters 鈥�&苍产蝉辫;补谤别 to boost student performance in the subject. 

鈥淚n terms of a change on the K-12 level, I think it鈥檚 fair to say that the changes we should consider are not just about more math 鈥� we know U.S. adults believe it to be important and say it should be prioritized 鈥� they鈥檙e also about more impactful math that is relevant to students鈥� needs,鈥� said Andrea Malek Ash, senior research consultant at Gallup. 

Gallup respondents listed financial math skills, data science, software and programming as the most desired out of a list of 30 math topics. The organization surveyed two groups in December 2024: 5,136 U.S. adults ages 18 and older 鈥� including 808 parents of children enrolled in K-12 鈥� and 2,831 managers.

It found nearly all U.S. adults surveyed see math as important in their lives: 55% said such skills are very important in their work life while 40% said they are somewhat important. 

Sixty-three percent said math skills are very important in their personal life while 33% called them somewhat important. 

Financial math, including personal finance, budgeting and accounting, ranked among the most desired skills regardless of gender, race and ethnicity or educational background.

Among the 16% of Americans who describe high school math as 鈥渘ot at all鈥� important or 鈥渘ot too important鈥�, 81% say they held this view because high school math is more advanced than what is needed for the real world, among other reasons.

The survey found, too, that older Americans are more likely to value math than younger ones: 75% of those 65 and older said it is very important for most adults in their personal life, compared with 37% of those ages 18 to 24, Gallup found. The same held true for work life.

Asked to compare math with other topics in school, 6 in 10 U.S. adults said it should either have a 鈥渉igher priority鈥� or have 鈥渢he very highest priority鈥� in learning. 

Gallup, with support from the Gates Foundation, reports that managers noted a lack of skills in this area among their employees: 85% said they wish their direct reports had more math skills in at least one area, citing financial math as their top concern. 

Nearly 6 in 10 managers say that in the next five years it鈥檚 very or somewhat likely that they will need to hire more people with data science skills. 

The public seems to feel the same: speaking of the workforce generally vs. their own lives, 61% of respondents said math skills are 鈥渧ery important鈥� in the workforce. While reading, language and technology skills ranked higher 鈥� at least 68% found each to be very important 鈥� math outranked leadership skills. 

Not surprisingly, Americans report having 鈥渃omplex emotions toward math,鈥� according to Gallup: 60% said it makes them feel challenged, while 24% said they were confused by the subject. Just 1 in 5 said they were excited by math. 

The survey鈥檚 results reflect this tension, said Justin Lall, principal for global analytics at Gallup. 

鈥淎mericans can overwhelmingly feel that math is challenging, but demand more of it,鈥� Lall said. 鈥淚t bucks the narrative that we鈥檝e had that math is not for everyone.鈥�

Parents鈥� anxiety about their own math skills plays a profound role in their child鈥檚 experience. Gallup found this is acted out in practical terms at the kitchen table: Parents with positive feelings toward math are nearly twice as likely as those with negative feelings to express confidence in their ability to help their children with math homework. 

Survey responses varied based on gender, race and educational attainment: 54% of men and 42% of women have exclusively positive feelings toward math while 46% of Black respondents and half of white adults said they have only positive feelings toward the subject. 

Just 37% of Hispanics said the same as did 53% of those with a bachelor鈥檚 degree and 44% of those without a college diploma.

The Gates Foundation sponsored the Math Matters Study The Value of Math in Work and Life and provides financial support to The 74.

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