Poll: Americans' views on democracy linked to economic situations
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Your financial situation — not just what you earn but whether you're in over your head — is strongly linked to how you feel about democracy, according to a significant new study by Gallup and the Charles F. Kettering Foundation.
Why it matters: Inflation, rising debt, affordability and the current state of politics are shaking Americans' views about their system of rights, freedoms and governance, though most don't have a better alternative in mind.
Driving the news: The Democracy for All Project, which surveyed more than 20,000 U.S. adults, finds just half of the least financially secure Americans see democracy as the best form of government (52% agree, 33% neutral, 14% disagree), compared with three-fourths of those who describe themselves as living comfortably (76% agree, 16% neutral, 8% disagree).
- Few think democracy is working well (32% of those who are comfortable; 12% of those finding it very difficult to get by).
The big picture: Americans are largely unified around democracy's ideals: 80% say political leaders should compromise to get things done, and 83% say it's never ok to use violence for political goals.
- 83% want limits on how wealthy people and businesses can advance political candidates or causes
- 84% say multiculturalism makes the country stronger, not weaker
- 88% say facts exist and are different from opinions.
- But only 30% say the government's laws and policies uphold the ideal of "liberty and justice for all."
Zoom in: Two in three Americans overall agree that democracy is the best form of government, while 10% disagree and the rest are neutral. Half say democracy is doing poorly or very poorly; just over 1 in 4 think current political leaders are committed to a strong democracy.
- Age and education are big factors: 80% of Americans over 65, but only 53% of Americans under 30, say democracy is the best form of government. Three-fourths of Americans with college degrees — but just 48% without a high school diploma — agree.
- Lonelier people and those dissatisfied with the quality of their local services also are more likely to be down on democracy.
By the numbers: There's significant overlap between annual household incomes and self-evaluations of economic situations, but they are not always the same.
- Those in households earning at least $120,000 a year were most likely to say democracy is the best form of government (76%), followed by $60,000-$119,999 (69%), $36,000-$59,999 (61%) or less than $36,000 (54%).
- The less income and the more difficult it is to get by, the lower the share who said democracy is performing well.
What they're saying: "We wanted to get a sense of not just what Americans are thinking about democracy but what's driving those perceptions," said Derek Barker, senior program officer for research initiatives at Kettering.
- The findings are "concerning" and show the need for additional research, he said.
- Gallup's Justin Lall said the large scale of the study is allowing researchers to capture nuances about specific and sometimes hard-to-reach groups, including those in the lowest income brackets, racial minorities, much older people, those without online access and subgroups such as young and lonely men.
Methodology: The Gallup Poll conducted this survey for the Gallup-Kettering Foundation's Democracy for All Project.
- The survey was completed by 20,338 U.S. adults, aged 18 and older, including 9,157 respondents recruited for the study and 11,181 supplemental respondents from a third-party sample provider.
- 19,092 respondents completed the survey as a web survey between July 7 and August 21, 2025, and 1,246 respondents completed the survey as a mail survey between July 7 and August 25, 2025.
- For results based on this sample, the maximum margin of sampling error, which takes into account the design effect from weighting, is ±0.9 percentage points at the 95% confidence level.
