Eighty-four percent of Americans think it’s important for companies to avoid a major pay gap between CEOs and employees, and yet only 15% of Americans believe companies are doing a good job of reining in such gaps, according to a new confidence survey from Bentley University and Gallup.

The study, released this month, found that 97% of Americans also say it is important for business to make money in an ethical way. However, only 32% of Americans say businesses are accomplishing this.

CEO pay at the top 350 U.S. firms rose 14% in 2025, excluding Elon Musk’s extraordinary compensation package at Tesla, according to data from the Economic Policy Institute (EPI).

CEOs at these firms made 325 times as much as the average employee.

As executive compensation is increasingly tied to stock prices and company valuations, workers’ wages have comparatively grown slower over the last decade.

Despite giving companies low marks on wage gaps, Americans are still more trustworthy of businesses than leaders in Washington when it comes to decision-making and impact, based on the study’s findings.

Last year, 51% of U.S. adults said the federal government was effective at making a positive impact on people’s lives. This year, it dropped eight percentage points, to 43%. 

There is a 49-point gap between Americans who think the federal government has great potential to make a difference and those who think it is effective at doing so. 

While Americans approve of businesses’ ability to make productive decisions compared to the federal government, they still expect certain ethical practices.

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