American attitudes and their usage of masks have shifted broadly as President Trump has been hospitalized for COVID-19, a National Geographic and Morning Consult poll taken over the weekend has found.
More than 6 in 10 Americans questioned say they are more favorable toward people wearing a mask, and there have been steady increases in mask usage among people of all ages, demographic groups, and political leanings since a similar poll in July.
Despite noisy no-mask protests, 92 percent of 2,200 Americans polled say they wear a face mask when leaving their home, with 74 percent saying they “always” do. That “always” percentage is up nearly a quarter since July, according to the poll, which has a 2 percent margin of error.
Public health officials call a mask an effective way to curtail airborne transmission of the coronavirus, which has killed more than 210,000 Americans since February and sickened more than 7.4 million. Forty-four states require mask usage in certain situations. (New algorithms can detect whether people are complying with these mask requirements.)
Here’s a more detailed breakdown of the poll results:
How often do you wear a medical or non-medical face mask when you leave your home?
Always
Sometimes
Rarely or never
Poll conducted in
October 2020
July 2020
All
Adults (n = 2,200)
Gender
Male (990)
Female (1,210)
Age
18-34 (652)
35-44 (396)
45-64 (705)
65+ (447)
Generation
GenZers: 1997-2012 (195)
Millennials: 1981-1996 (690)
GenXers: 1965-1980 (568)
Baby Boomers: 1946-1964 (657)
Political affiliation
Democrats (848)
Democratic men (381)
Democratic women (467)
Independents (625)
Independent men (260)
Independent women (365)
Republicans (727)
Republican men (349)
Republican women (378)
Political viewpoint
Liberal (699)
Moderate (673)
Conservative (672)
Education
Less than college (1,111)
Bachelor's degree (568)
Post-grad (521)
Income
Under 50k (984)
50k-100k (700)
100k+ (516)
Ethnicity
White (1,804)
Hispanic (190)
Black (205)
Other (191)
Religion
All Christian (1,179)
All non-Christian (166)
Atheist (97)
Agnostic / Nothing in particular (452)
Something else (306)
Religious non-Protestant / Catholic (185)
Evangelical (683)
Non-Evangelical (755)
Community
Urban (740)
Suburban (929)
Rural (531)
Employment
Private sector (819)
Government (163)
Self-employed (169)
Homemaker (156)
Retired (470)
Unemployed (214)
Other (110)
Someone in the household serving in the military
Yes (336)
No (1,864)
Things in the country are going in the right direction or they have pretty seriously gotten off on the wrong track
Right direction (764)
Wrong track (1,436)
Approve or disapprove of the job Donald Trump is doing as President
Strongly approve (548)
Somewhat approve (410)
Somewhat disapprove (275)
Strongly disapprove (904)
Opinion of Trump
Very favorable (605)
Somewhat favorable (369)
Somewhat unfavorable (212)
Very unfavorable (948)
The top set of issues on your mind when you cast your vote for federal offices
Economy (795)
Security (245)
Health care (414)
Medicare / Social Security (287)
Women's issues (125)
Education (108)
Energy (103)
Other (123)
Voted for this candidate in the 2018 election for U.S. House
Democratic U.S. House candidate (785)
Republican U.S. House candidate (693)
Someone else (48)
Vote for this candidate in the 2016 election for President
Hillary Clinton (750)
Donald Trump (756)
Other (94)
Didn't Vote (596)
Voted in the 2014 election
Yes (1,333)
No (867)
Vote for this candidate in the 2012 election for President
Barack Obama (912)
Mitt Romney (506)
Other (53)
Didn't vote (726)
Region
Northeast (539)
Midwest (416)
South (804)
West (441)
Source: Morning Consult