These are the top 25 US presidents, according to historians and biographers (and why you won't find Biden on the list)

Past US presidents Jimmy Carter, George H.W. Bush, George W. Bush, Barack Obama, and Bill Clinton.

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• Nearly 100 historians and biographers rated past commanders in chief on 10 leadership qualities.
• Abraham Lincoln was voted the best US president.
• Donald Trump didn't make the top 25 — he's No. 41.

Historians agree: Abraham Lincoln was the best US president.

For C-SPAN's most recent Presidential Historians Survey, conducted in 2021, nearly 100 historians and biographers rated the former US presidents. The survey is released after a sitting president's term, so C-SPAN will likely include President Joe Biden in its next round of the ranking, after he leaves office.

The 2021 C-SPAN survey, which was released after Donald Trump left the White House, measured 10 qualities of presidential leadership: public persuasion, crisis leadership, economic management, moral authority, international relations, administrative skills, relations with Congress, vision, pursued equal justice for all, and performance within the context of his times.

Scores in each category were then averaged, and the 10 categories were given equal weighting in determining the presidents' total scores.

George Washington came in at No. 2, followed by Franklin D. Roosevelt at No. 3. George H. W. Bush ranked at No. 21, beating out his son George W. Bush who came in at No. 29. Other notable commanders in chief included John F. Kennedy at No. 8, Ronald Reagan at No. 9, and Barack Obama at No. 10.

Donald Trump didn't make the top 25 — he ranked at No. 41. Jimmy Carter also missed the top 25, coming in at No. 26.

Here are the top 25 presidents, according to historians surveyed by C-SPAN. The full list can be found here.

25. Grover Cleveland (22nd and 24th president) ranked well for his public persuasion and administrative skills.

Grover Cleveland.

National Archives / Handout / Getty Images

Grover Cleveland was the only US president to serve two nonconsecutive terms in office.

24. Calvin Coolidge (30th president) earned strong scores in moral authority and administrative skills.

Bettmann/Getty Images

Coolidge took office after President Warren G. Harding's sudden death in 1923. He gained popularity for his frugality, helping usher the US into a period that became known as "Coolidge prosperity."

23. William Howard Taft (27th president) ranked well for his administrative skills and international relations.

William Howard Taft.

Hulton Archive / Stringer / Getty Images

Eight years after his presidency, William Howard Taft became Chief Justice of the US, and is the only person to have held positions in both offices.

22. Andrew Jackson (seventh president) had strong public persuasion during his tenure, according to historians.

Andrew Jackson.

Library Of Congress/Getty Images

Jackson's supporters helped found the Democratic party after he lost the 1824 presidential election, despite getting the popular vote.

21. George H. W. Bush (41st president) ranked high in how he handled international relations.

George H. W. Bush.

AP Photo/Lennox McLendon

Bush conducted military operations in Panama and the Persian Gulf during his tenure.

20. Ulysses S. Grant (18th president) ranked well for his public persuasion and international relations.

Ulysses S. Grant

AP

Ulysses S. Grant led the Union Armies during the American Civil War, ultimately defeating the Confederacy.

19. Bill Clinton (42nd president) ranked high for economic management.

Bill Clinton.

AP Photo/Don Ryan

Federal government spending fell during Clinton's presidency, and more jobs were created during his presidency than any other.

18. James K. Polk (11th president) ranked highly for his crisis leadership and administrative skills.

James K. Polk.

National Archive/Newsmakers

Polk led the US to victory in the two-year Mexican-American War.

17. John Quincy Adams (sixth president) ranked well for his moral authority and relations with other countries.

John Quincy Adams.

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John Quincy Adams won the 1824 election against Andrew Jackson despite losing the popular and electoral races.

16. James Madison (fourth president) ranked highly for moral authority.

James Madison.

GraphicaArtis/Getty Images, VCG Wilson/Corbis via Getty Images

James Madison drafted and helped ratify the Bill of Rights before becoming president.

15. John Adams (second president) ranked highly for his "moral authority."

John Adams.

Hulton Archive / Stringer / Getty Images

14. William McKinley Jr. (25th president) ranked highly for his relations with Congress.

William McKinley.

Public domain

With the help of Congress, McKinley passed the Dingley Act, the highest protective tariff in US history.

13. Woodrow Wilson (28th president) ranked highly for his "vision," according to historians.

Woodrow Wilson.

AP Images

Wilson led the country during World War I and was instrumental in crafting the League of Nations, a precursor the United Nations.

12. James Monroe (fifth president) ranked highly for his handling of international relations.

James Monroe.

National Archives / Handout / Getty Images

The president lent his name to the Monroe Doctrine, which asserted Latin America was under the US's sphere of influence. 

11. Lyndon B. Johnson (36th president) ranked highly for his relations with Congress.

Lyndon B. Johnson.

AP Photo

Johnson passed legislation including Medicare and Medicaid programs, the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

10. Barack Obama (44th president) ranked highly for his pursuit of equal justice for all.

Barack Obama.

REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2009.

9. Ronald Reagan (40th president) ranked highly for his public persuasion.

Ronald Reagan.

Scott Stewart, file via AP

Domestically, Reagan is best known for cutting income taxes via two different federal laws: the Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981 and the Tax Reform Act of 1986. 

8. John F. Kennedy (35th president) ranked highly for public persuasion.

John F. Kennedy.

JFK Library

Kennedy became the youngest man and first Catholic elected president.

7. Thomas Jefferson (third president) ranked highly for his relations with Congress and his vision.

Thomas Jefferson.

Hulton Archive / Stringer / Getty Images

Jefferson vastly expanded the US borders through the Louisiana Purchase with France.

6. Harry S. Truman (33rd president) ranked highly for his crisis leadership and his pursued equal justice for all.

Harry Truman.

Getty Images

Truman took over as president when Franklin Delano Roosevelt died. He led the US through the final stages of World War II.

5. Dwight D. Eisenhower (34th president) ranked highly for his moral authority.

Dwight D. Eisenhower.

Getty Images

Eisenhower founded NASA and signed a law that would create the Interstate Highway System.

4. Theodore Roosevelt (26th president) ranked highly for his public persuasion.

Theodore Roosevelt.

Reuters

Mount Rushmore depicts Roosevelt's face, alongside George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Abraham Lincoln.

3. Franklin D. Roosevelt (32nd president) ranked highly for his public persuasion and handling of international relations.

Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Keystone-France/Gamma-Keystone via Getty Images

FDR is the only president to have served more than two terms, dying in April 1945 at the start of his fourth term.

2. George Washington (first president) ranks highly for his economic management, moral authority, and performance within the context of his times.

George Washington.

VCG Wilson/Corbis via Getty Images

Washington remains the only president to not have been affiliated with a political party during his time in office.

1. Abraham Lincoln (16th president) ranks best for his crisis leadership, administrative skills, vision, and pursued equal justice for all.

Abraham Lincoln.

Getty Images / Staff

History.com calls Lincoln's Gettysburg Address "arguably the most-quoted, most-memorized piece of oratory in American history."

C-SPAN's full list can be found here.

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