Poll: Americans' national satisfaction hovers at record low
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Americans are as dissatisfied as ever with conditions in the U.S., according to an annal Gallup survey conducted shortly before President Trump's return to the White House.
Why it matters: Trump took office last month at a time of persistent pessimism among Americans, with an average satisfaction score across key elements of U.S. life hovering at just 38%.
- That record low average has not budged since 2022.
- The results, released Wednesday, also reflect Gallup's findings that Americans are generally unhappy about the direction the country is going.
By the numbers: Across 31 issue areas, Americans were most dissatisfied with the country's efforts to deal with poverty and homelessness.
- Just 22% said they were satisfied with the "moral and ethical climate" of the U.S.
The other side: Respondents were mostly satisfied with five of the 31 areas Gallup asked about — including the nation's military strength, overall quality of life and the acceptance of gay and lesbian people in the country.
The intrigue: Only one issue area garnered a majority of satisfaction from both sides of the political aisle: The overall quality of life in the country.
- But the percentage of respondents who said they were satisfied with quality of life has still dropped by roughly 18 percentage points since 2017.
- Republicans and Democrats were both pessimistic about 17 issues — including abortion policy, race relations and health care quality and affordability.
The bottom line: Americans expressed less satisfaction across most key issues in January 2025 than they did in January 2017, ahead of Trump's first term.
- Partisan perspectives will continue to shift with Trump in office — with Republicans' outlook brightening and Democrats' satisfaction slumping further, according to Gallup.
Methodology: Results are based on telephone interviews conducted January 2-15, 2025, with a random sample of –1,005— adults, ages 18+, living in all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia. For results based on this sample of national adults, the margin of sampling error is ±4 percentage points at the 95% confidence level.
Go deeper: Democrats are gloomy about the economy, and Republicans are optimistic
