Pastor Burnout and Quitting Statistics 2027: Latest 2026 Data and Trends

How many pastors are thinking about quitting, and how are they doing? The latest sourced figures on pastor stress, loneliness, rest, conflict and satisfaction from Barna Group and Lifeway Research. Every figure links to its original study. Updated October 2026.

Pastors statistics at a glance

Statistic	Figure	Year	Source
Pastors who seriously considered leaving full-time ministry in the past year	24%	2026	Barna Group
Drop in pastors considering quitting since the 2022 peak	-43%	2026	Leader Insights
Annual rate of pastors leaving for reasons other than retirement	1.2%	2025	Lifeway Research
Pastors who find the role frequently overwhelming	57%	2026	Lifeway Research
Pastors who struggle with consistently resting	45%	2026	Lifeway Research
Pastors reporting feelings of loneliness and isolation	65%	2025	Lifeway Research
Pastors who feel isolated in their personal struggles	34%	2026	Lifeway Research
Pastors very satisfied with their vocation (72% in 2015)	52%	2026	Barna Group
Pastoral confidence in calling	58%	2026	Barna Group
Pastors who left their last church because of conflict	25%	2026	Lifeway Research
Churches with a sabbatical plan for the pastor	32%	2025	Lifeway Research
Pastors often concerned about their family's financial security	46%	2025	Lifeway Research

How many pastors are thinking about quitting?

Pastors who seriously considered leaving full-time ministry in the past year 24% · Barna Group, 2026
Pastors who seriously considered leaving full-time ministry 24% (Jan 2026), 42% (Mar 2022) · Barna Group, 2025
Drop in pastors considering quitting since the 2022 peak -43% · Leader Insights, 2026
Annual rate of pastors leaving for reasons other than retirement or death 1.2% (2025), 1.5% (2021) · Lifeway Research, 2025
Why pastors consider quitting Stress of the job 56%, lonely and isolated 43% · Barna Group, 2025

Pastor stress, loneliness and rest

Pastors who find the role frequently overwhelming 57% · Lifeway Research, 2026
Pastors who struggle with consistently resting 45% · Lifeway Research, 2026
Pastors reporting feelings of loneliness and isolation 65% · Lifeway Research, 2025
Pastors citing loneliness or lack of friendship as a mental challenge 28% · Lifeway Research, 2025
Pastors who feel isolated in their personal struggles 34% · Lifeway Research, 2026
Churches with a plan for the pastor to receive a sabbatical 32% · Lifeway Research, 2025

Calling, satisfaction and marriage

Pastoral confidence in calling 58% · Barna Group, 2026
Pastors who are very satisfied with their vocation 52% · Barna Group, 2026
Pastors who say each statement about their marriage is very true 76% say their spouse is their best friend · Barna Group, 2026
Married pastors who believe their spouse is very satisfied with their marriage 96% · Lifeway Research, 2025

Church conflict and expectations

Pastors who left their last church because of conflict 25% · Lifeway Research, 2026
Pastors whose church experienced significant conflict this past year 19% · Lifeway Research, 2026
Expectations and fit at last church: current versus former pastors 19% say the church has unrealistic expectations · Lifeway Research, 2025

Pastors' finances

Pastors often concerned about their families' financial security 46% · Lifeway Research, 2025
Pastors' rating of their personal financial health 34% good, 31% great · Lifeway Research, 2025

Looking ahead to 2027: what the latest data points to

No 2027 statistics have been published yet. Here is what the newest readings suggest. We update this page as new research arrives.

Thoughts of quitting are down. The share of pastors who seriously considered leaving full-time ministry fell from 42% in March 2022 to 24% in January 2026 (Barna Group). See the data.
Satisfaction lags. 52% of pastors are very satisfied with their vocation in 2026, down from 72% in 2015, even as confidence in calling climbed back to 58% (Barna Group). See the data.
Rest is still a gap. 45% of pastors struggle with consistently resting, and only 32% of churches have a plan for the pastor to receive a sabbatical (Lifeway Research). See the data.
Actual departures are steady. About 1.2% of pastors left for reasons other than retirement in 2025, compared with 1.5% in 2021 and 1.3% in 2015 (Lifeway Research). See the data.

Pastors statistics: common questions

How many pastors quit each year?

About 1.2% of pastors left ministry for reasons other than retirement in 2025, compared with 1.5% in 2021 and 1.3% in 2015 (Lifeway Research). Far more consider it: 24% seriously considered leaving full-time ministry in the past year (Barna Group, January 2026).

How many pastors are thinking about quitting?

24% of U.S. senior Protestant pastors said in January 2026 that they had seriously considered leaving full-time ministry in the past year, down from 42% in March 2022 (Barna Group).

What percentage of pastors experience burnout?

Studies measure it in different ways. Lifeway Research found 57% of pastors say the role of being a pastor is frequently overwhelming and 45% struggle with consistently resting (2026).

Why do pastors consider quitting?

The top reasons pastors give are the stress of the job (56%) and feeling lonely and isolated (43%) (Barna Group).

How lonely are pastors?

65% of pastors report feelings of loneliness and isolation (Lifeway Research, 2025), and 34% say they feel isolated in their personal struggles (Lifeway Research, 2026).

Are pastors satisfied with their work?

52% of pastors were very satisfied with their vocation in 2026, down from 72% in 2015, while confidence in their calling has climbed back to 58% (Barna Group).

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About this data

Leader Insights collects statistics about U.S. churches from published research. Every number is checked against the wording of the original source before it is published, and each statistic links back to the study it came from. Different studies define the same topic differently, so figures from different sources are not directly comparable; each is labeled with its publisher and year.