Pastors who feel very satisfied with their job as a pastor
Percent of pastors who say they are very satisfied with their job, 2015 to 2022 (in percent)
Key finding
Down 20 points from 2015 to 2022.
- Latest reading (2022): 52%
- Earliest reading (2015): 72%
Source: Barna Group, Excerpt: A Rapid Decline in Pastoral Security · Barna State of Pastors research, with 2022 data reported in 2024. Article published 2024-03-05.
See all 3 categories, the full chart and more
Free account: full chart, CSV and PNG downloads, ready-to-paste citation, branded share image, and a discussion question for your team.
Questions about this statistic
What does this statistic show?
Down 20 points from 2015 to 2022. Latest reading (2022): 52%. Earliest reading (2015): 72%.
Who published this data?
Barna Group, 2022. Source: Barna Group, Excerpt: A Rapid Decline in Pastoral Security (https://www.barna.com/research/pastoral-security-confidence/).
Where can I get the full data and a citation?
Create a free Leader Insights account to open the full chart, download CSV or PNG, copy a citation and save the statistic to your own library.
More Pastors & Staff statistics
- Black Protestant clergy who support women's leadership in the Black church Public Religion Research Institute, 2026
- Decline in churches insuring their senior pastor Leader Insights, 2026
- Drop in pastors considering quitting since the 2022 peak Leader Insights, 2026
- Americans rating the honesty and ethical standards of professions high or very high Lifeway Research, 2023
- Americans who rate clergy high or very high in honesty and ethics Lifeway Research, 2023
- Areas where women's ministry leaders say they need training Lifeway Research, 2023
About this data
Leader Insights collects statistics about U.S. churches from published research by organizations such as Lifeway Research, Barna Group, Springtide, the American Bible Society and PRRI. 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. Figures are reproduced from the publishers named above; see the source for full methodology.