Trust in Government Public trust in government continues its downward trend. 23% of Americans trust in the federal government. Next How much do you trust the federal government? Trust Do not trust Question was asked on a scale of 0 to 10. “Do not trust” includes answers from 0 to 4. “Neutral” includes answers of 5. “Trust” includes answers from 6 to 10. Data Source: 2024 Source: Partnership for Public Service survey of 800 U.S. adults from Mar. 25 to Apr. 1, 2024.2022 Source: Partnership for Public Service survey of 800 U.S. adults from Nov. 29 to Dec. 6, 2022. Trust in Government Trust has decreased across demographic groups. Roughly 2 in 10 Americans trust the federal government. Trust has declined since 2022 across demographic groups, including age, gender, race and ethnicity, political affiliation and education. Previous Next How much do you trust the federal government? Overall Age Education Gender Political affiliation Political affiliation and gender Race/ethnicity 18-34 35-49 50-64 65+ Non-college grad College grad Post-grad degree Female Male Democrat Republican Independent/Don't know Female Democrat Male Democrat Female Republican Male Republican White Black or African American Hispanic or Latino Question was asked on a scale of 0 to 10. “Do not trust” includes answers from 0 to 4. “Neutral” includes answers of 5. “Trust” includes answers from 6 to 10. Data Source: Partnership for Public Service survey of 800 U.S. adults from Mar. 25 to Apr, 1, 2024. Trust in Government Negative perceptions about government and its impact persist. The majority of Americans believe the government is not transparent, doesn’t listen to the public and is wasteful. However, the percentage of Americans who believe the federal government is accountable increased 8 percentage points from 2022 to 2024. Previous Next The federal government ... ... is transparent ... listens to the public ... serves my community ... is accountable for what it does and how it works ... treats all demographic groups fairly ... is incompetent ... is corrupt ... is wasteful Data Source: 2024 Source: Partnership for Public Service survey of 800 U.S. adults from Mar. 25 to Apr. 1, 2024.2022 Source: Partnership for Public Service survey of 800 U.S. adults from Nov. 29 to Dec. 6, 2022. Trust in Government Americans across the partisan divide believe that an effective government and competent civil service are important to a strong democracy. Previous Next Government’s role in democracy Having competent civil servants is important for a strong American democracy. Having a federal government that functions effectively is important for a strong American democracy. Data Source: Partnership for Public Service survey of 800 U.S. adults from Mar. 25 to Apr. 1, 2024. Trust in Government Civil servants continue to be viewed more favorably than the federal government as a whole. When asked whether they trust federal civil servants, 46% of Americans agree. They also agree with other positive attributes associated with civil servants, such as they help people like me and are competent. Previous Most federal civil servants ... ... are committed to helping people like me ... are competent ... can be trusted to serve leaders of both political parties* *Question was not asked in 2021. Data Source: 2024 Source: Partnership for Public Service survey of 800 U.S. adults from Mar. 25 to Apr. 1, 2024.2022 Source: Partnership for Public Service survey of 800 U.S. adults from Nov. 29 to Dec. 6, 2022.
