October 1, 2012

The Gallup organization’s annual governance survey, conducted earlier this month, shows an increase in the American public’s trust in both local and state governments, with the largest group of respondents – 74 percent – expressing a great deal or fair amount of trust in government at the local level, and 65 percent expressing their trust in state government. Gallup says the public’s trust in local government has been more stable over time, and thus appears to be affected less by state or national political and economic factors than trust in state government. Trust in state government, which had fallen to as low as 51 percent in 2009, has now essentially returned to levels seen before the financial crisis.

This year’s level of public trust in local government is up from 68 percent in last year’s survey. The highest level of trust in local government – expressed by 80 percent of Americans surveyed – was recorded by Gallup in 1999.

“Americans are in a better mood about conditions in the U.S. now than at any time during the last three years,” Gallup reports. “And while their level of satisfaction and confidence in the economy remain below historical norms, their trust in state and local government is as high as it has been in the last decade.”