Nurses top Gallup poll as most honest, ethical profession

Editor's Note

Nurses have topped Gallup’s annual Honesty and Ethics ratings every year but one since 1999, when they were added to the list. The exception was in 2001, when firefighters were included on the list on a one-time basis after September 11.

With an 85% rating, nurses are 17 percentage points above any other profession. Pharmacists and physicians make up the second tier at 68% and 67%, followed by high school teachers at 60%, and police officers at 56%.

Story Highlights PRINCETON, N.J. -- After dipping to 48% in 2014 amid a national firestorm over police treatment of young black men, the rating Americans give the honesty and ethical standards of police has rebounded to 56%. This is more consistent with the 54% to 58% ratings Gallup found between 2010 and 2013.