Historical rankings of Presidents of the United States
Scholar survey results
Columns: President | Schl. 1948 | Schl. 1962 | M-B 1982 | CT 1982 | Siena 1982 | Siena 1990 | Siena 1994 | R-McI 1996 | Schl. 1996 | C-SPAN 1999 | WSJ 2000 | Siena 2002 | WSJ 2005 | Times 2008** | C-SPAN 2009 | Siena 2010 | USPC 2011 | Aggr.
George Washington | 02 | 02 | 03 | 03 | 04 | 04 | 04 | 03 | 02 | 03 | 01 | 04 | 01 | 02 | 02 | 04 | 03 | 03 | John Adams | 09 | 10 | 09 | 14 (tie) | 10 | 14 | 12 | 14 | 11 | 16 | 13 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 17 | 17 | 12 | 12 | Thomas Jefferson | 05 | 05 | 04 | 05 | 02 | 03 | 05 | 04 | 04 | 07 | 04 | 05 | 04 | 04 | 07 | 05 | 04 | 04 | James Madison | 14 | 12 | 14 | 17 | 09 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 17 | 18 | 15 | 09 | 17 | 15 | 20 | 06 | 14 | 13 | James Monroe | 12 | 18 | 15 | 16 | 15 | 11 | 15 | 13 | 15 | 14 | 16 | 08 | 16 | 21 | 14 | 07 | 13 | 14 (tie) | John Quincy Adams | 11 | 13 | 16 | 19 | 17 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 17 | 25 | 16 | 19 | 19 | 20 | 18 | Andrew Jackson | 06 | 06 | 07 | 06 | 13 | 09 | 11 | 08 | 05 | 13 | 06 | 13 | 10 | 14 | 13 | 14 | 09 | 08 (tie) | Martin Van Buren | 15 | 17 | 20 | 18 | 21 | 21 | 22 | 21 | 21 | 30 | 23 | 24 | 27 | 40 | 31 | 23 | 27 | 24 | WilliamHenryHarrison | – | – | – | 38 | 26 | 35 | 28 | 35 | – | 37 | – | 36 | – | 39 | 39 | 35 | – | 38 (tie) | John Tyler | 22 | 25 | 28 | 29 | 34 | 33 | 34 | 34 | 32 | 36 | 34 | 37 | 35 | 31 | 35 | 37 | 37 | 36 | James K. Polk | 10 | 08 | 12 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 11 | 09 | 12 | 10 | 11 | 09 | 09 | 12 | 12 | 16 | 10 | Zachary Taylor | 25 | 24 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 34 | 33 | 29 | 29 | 28 | 31 | 34 | 33 | 28 | 29 | 33 | 33 | 35 | Millard Fillmore | 24 | 26 | 29 | 31 | 32 | 32 | 35 | 36 | 31 | 35 | 35 | 38 | 36 | 33 | 37 | 38 | 35 | 38 (tie) | Franklin Pierce | 27 | 28 | 31 | 35 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 37 | 33 | 39 | 37 | 39 | 38 | 41 | 40 | 40 | 39 | 40 | James Buchanan | 26 | 29 | 33 | 36 | 37 | 38 | 39 | 40 | 38 | 41 | 39 | 41 | 40 | 42 | 42 | 42 | 40 | 42 | Abraham Lincoln | 01 | 01 | 01 | 01 | 03 | 02 | 02 | 01 | 01 | 01 | 02 | 02 | 02 | 01 | 01 | 03 | 02 | 01 | Andrew Johnson | 19 | 23 | 32 | 32 | 38 | 39 | 40 | 39 | 37 | 40 | 36 | 42 | 37 | 24 | 41 | 43 | 36 | 41 | Ulysses S. Grant | 28 | 30 | 35 | 30 | 36 | 37 | 38 | 38 | 34 | 33 | 32 | 35 | 29 | 18 | 23 | 26 | 29 | 37 | Rutherford B. Hayes | 13 | 14 | 22 | 22 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 23 | 26 | 22 | 27 | 24 | 27 | 33 | 31 | 30 | 25 | James A. Garfield | – | – | – | 33 | 25 | 30 | 26 | 30 | – | 29 | – | 33 | – | 34 | 28 | 27 | – | 29 (tie) | Chester A. Arthur | 17 | 21 | 26 | 24 | 24 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 26 | 32 | 26 | 30 | 26 | 22 | 32 | 25 | 32 | 28 | Grover Cleveland | 08 | 11 | 17 | 13 | 18 | 17 | 19 | 16 | 13 | 17 | 12 | 20 | 12 | 19 | 21 | 20 | 21 | 19 | Benjamin Harrison | 21 | 20 | 23 | 25 | 31 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 19 | 31 | 27 | 32 | 30 | 30 | 30 | 34 | 34 | 33 | William McKinley | 18 | 15 | 18 | 10 | 19 | 19 | 18 | 17 | 16 | 15 | 14 | 19 | 14 | 17 | 16 | 21 | 17 | 20 (tie) | Theodore Roosevelt | 07 | 07 | 05 | 04 | 05 | 05 | 03 | 05 | 06 | 04 | 05 | 03 | 05 | 05 | 04 | 02 | 05 | 05 | William Howard Taft | 16 | 16 | 19 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 21 | 20 | 22 | 24 | 19 | 21 | 20 | 29 | 24 | 24 | 25 | 22 (tie) | Woodrow Wilson | 04 | 04 | 06 | 07 | 06 | 06 | 06 | 06 | 07 | 06 | 11 | 06 | 11 | 10 | 09 | 08 | 06 | 06 | Warren G. Harding | 29 | 31 | 36 | 37 | 39 | 40 | 41 | 41 | 39 | 38 | 37 | 40 | 39 | 35 | 38 | 41 | 38 | 43 | Calvin Coolidge | 23 | 27 | 30 | 27 | 30 | 31 | 36 | 33 | 30 | 27 | 25 | 29 | 23 | 26 | 26 | 29 | 28 | 31 | Herbert Hoover | 20 | 19 | 21 | 21 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 24 | 35 | 34 | 29 | 31 | 31 | 36 | 34 | 36 | 26 | 29 (tie) | Franklin D. Roosevelt | 03 | 03 | 02 | 02 | 01 | 01 | 01 | 02 | 03 | 02 | 03 | 01 | 03 | 03 | 03 | 01 | 01 | 02 | Harry S. Truman | – | 09 | 08 | 08 | 07 | 07 | 07 | 07 | 08 | 05 | 07 | 07 | 07 | 07 | 05 | 09 | 07 | 07 | Dwight D. Eisenhower | – | 22 | 11 | 09 | 11 | 12 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 09 | 09 | 10 | 08 | 06 | 08 | 10 | 10 | 08 (tie) | John F. Kennedy | – | – | 13 | 14 (tie) | 08 | 10 | 10 | 15 | 12 | 08 | 18 | 14 | 15 | 11 | 06 | 11 | 15 | 11 | Lyndon B. Johnson | – | – | 10 | 12 | 14 | 15 | 13 | 12 | 14 | 10 | 17 | 15 | 18 | 12 | 11 | 16 | 11 | 14 (tie) | Richard Nixon | – | – | 34 | 34 | 28 | 25 | 23 | 32 | 36 | 25 | 33 | 26 | 32 | 38 | 27 | 30 | 23 | 32 | Gerald Ford | – | – | 24 | 23 | 23 | 27 | 32 | 27 | 28 | 23 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 25 | 22 | 28 | 24 | 26 | Jimmy Carter | – | – | 25 | 26 | 33 | 24 | 25 | 19 | 27 | 22 | 30 | 25 | 34 | 32 | 25 | 32 | 18 | 27 | Ronald Reagan | – | – | – | – | 16 * | 22 | 20 | 26 | 25 | 11 | 08 | 16 | 06 | 08 | 10 | 18 | 08 | 17 | George H. W. Bush | – | – | – | – | – | 18 * | 31 | 22 | 24 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 21 | 20 | 18 | 22 | 22 | 22 (tie) | Bill Clinton | – | – | – | – | – | – | 16 * | 23 * | 20 * | 21 * | 24 * | 18 | 22 | 23 | 15 | 13 | 19 | 20 (tie) | George W. Bush | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 23 * | 19 * | 37 * | 36 | 39 | 31 | 34 | Barack Obama | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 15 * | – | 14 (tie) * | Total in survey | 29 | 31 | 36 | 38 | 39 | 40 | 41 | 41 | 39 | 41 | 39 | 42 | 40 | 42 | 42 | 43 | 40 | 43