WASHINGTON — Nearly half of U.S. adults say they believe aliens have definitely or probably visited Earth, according to a new alien visitation poll by YouGov conducted in early November. The result arrives as the Pentagon’s All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office, the unit tasked with reviewing reports of unexplained objects, continues to say it has found no evidence that sightings reflect extraterrestrial technology, Dec. 22, 2025.
What the alien visitation poll found
The YouGov survey conducted Nov. 4-9, 2025, asked 1,114 U.S. adult citizens about belief in alien life and what people think an encounter would look like. In the alien visitation poll, 47% said aliens have “definitely” or “probably” visited Earth at some point, with Democrats more likely than Republicans to agree (51% vs. 41%). YouGov reported an approximate margin of error of 4 percentage points for the full sample.
The alien visitation poll also found Americans split on whether those visits are happening now: 42% said aliens have definitely or probably visited Earth in recent years, while 41% said they probably or definitely have not. Separate questions showed 56% believe aliens probably or definitely exist, and 30% said UFOs are probably alien ships or life forms. Nearly three-quarters, 73%, said they think the U.S. government would hide evidence of UFOs if it had it.
Those toplines echo a broader shift in how comfortable people seem to be taking a side. In a Dec. 19 analysis, Wired traced similar polling back to 2012 and reported that comparable questions then drew about 36% support, with far more respondents unsure.
Pentagon’s no-evidence review
While the survey measures belief, the government’s position is framed as an evidence question — and the Pentagon has leaned hard in the other direction. AARO’s March 2024 historical record report on UAP reviewed decades of government work on what the department now calls unidentified anomalous phenomena and said none of the investigations it examined reached the conclusion that reports pointed to extraterrestrial origin. The report also said most cases across past efforts were ultimately tied to ordinary objects, natural phenomena or misidentifications, while a smaller set remained unresolved because investigators lacked sufficient data.
AARO’s public messaging is similarly blunt. In its FAQ on UAP reporting and analysis, the office says it has not found evidence of extraterrestrial technology and lists common sources of confusion that can look strange on cameras or sensors: mylar balloons, birds, drones, satellites, rocket launches and even bright planets mistaken for fast-moving lights.
Older polls show the debate isn’t new
Long before the current alien visitation poll made the rounds online, surveys showed Americans wrestling with similar questions — and the results often depended on wording. A 2015 Ipsos poll found 45% of Americans said they believed aliens or extraterrestrials have visited Earth.
Gallup framed the issue around sightings in 2019. Its analysis of UFO beliefs found 33% of adults said some UFO reports were alien spacecraft visiting Earth, even as a much larger share said the government was withholding information about UFOs.
In 2021, Gallup’s follow-up report put that share at 41%, an increase it linked to sustained media attention and more official scrutiny of UAP.
Whether the latest alien visitation poll reflects a durable change or a moment shaped by news cycles, one divide remains: public belief is rising faster than official conclusions. For now, the alien visitation poll trend is likely to keep feeding demands for clearer data — and keep AARO’s “no evidence” message under a brighter spotlight.
