Americans' State of the Nation Ratings Remain at Record Low

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- A Gallup poll conducted just before Donald Trump took office for his second term highlights a handful of areas in which Americans believe the country is thriving, including the quality of life and the military, but they perceive many more areas to be falling short, such as morality and addressing poverty.

Americans’ average satisfaction across 31 different aspects of U.S. society or policy is 38%, matching the average each year during Joe Biden’s presidency. This is down from 41% in January 2021 as Donald Trump was finishing his first term, and from 48% in 2020, before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Americans’ satisfaction with national conditions routinely averaged above 40% in all earlier years of the trend, including a record high of 54% in 2002. The five-point increase that year over the 49% measured in 2001 largely reflected Americans’ temporary rally behind the country in the months after the 9/11 attacks.

Gallup asks this question series in January each year as part of its Mood of the Nation survey. The satisfaction list has been part of the survey every year since 2001 except 2009 and 2010, and included only a limited number of issue areas from 2011 through 2013. The latest survey was conducted Jan. 2-15.

Americans’ overall satisfaction with the direction of the country is also historically on the low side, although today’s 20% satisfaction score, similar to the readings since 2023, is improved from 11% in January 2021. That reading captured public discontent during the COVID-19 pandemic as well as with the negative political climate after the 2020 election and Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.

Most Americans Satisfied With Nation’s Military, Position of Societal Groups

Majorities of Americans are generally satisfied with the nation’s military strength, the overall quality of life, the position of women, the opportunity for people to get ahead, and the acceptance of gay and lesbian people in the country.

Americans are closely split on three other issues, with about as many dissatisfied as satisfied: the influence of organized religion, the nation’s security from terrorism, and the position of people who are Black or from other racial minority groups.

More Americans are dissatisfied than satisfied with all other aspects measured, spanning policies on healthcare, foreign affairs, immigration, the environment, guns, race relations, energy, crime, taxes, public education, abortion and the economy, among other issues. The last group includes the nation’s efforts to deal with poverty and homelessness, which, at 16%, garners the lowest satisfaction rating from Americans.

Notably, more Americans are satisfied with the quality of medical care in the U.S. (45%) than with the availability of affordable healthcare (29%). They are also more satisfied with the effect technology is having on society (43%) than with the size and influence of major corporations (25%).

Americans’ satisfaction with most of the specific issues is about the same as a year ago. Two exceptions where they have grown slightly more satisfied are race relations and gun policy, increasing by six percentage points each, to 36% and 37%, respectively. Americans’ already-low satisfaction with public education, healthcare and the size and power of the federal government has fallen further, each by five or six points.

Given the timing of the survey, these results offer a baseline for evaluating whether Americans' assessments of the country change during Trump's second term, rather than reflecting his handling of the issues so far.

Partisans’ Perspectives on the State of the Nation

The overall quality of life in the country is the only aspect with which majorities of Republicans and Democrats, including independents who lean toward each party, are satisfied.

Partisans are at odds on 13 other issues measured:

• Majorities of Republicans are satisfied, while majorities of Democrats are dissatisfied, with seven areas: gun laws, the position of Black and other racial minority people, the position of women, the influence of organized religion, the quality of the environment, the opportunity for a person to get ahead through hard work and the acceptance of gay and lesbian people in the nation.
• At least half of Democrats are satisfied, while about half or more of Republicans are dissatisfied, with six areas: the role the U.S. plays in world affairs, the nation's military strength and preparedness, the nation’s security from terrorism, the state of the nation’s economy, the size and power of the federal government, and the level of immigration into the country today.

Less than half of both party groups are satisfied with 17 issues encompassing a number of domestic policy issue areas. These include abortion policy, race relations, healthcare quality and affordability, the nation’s system of government and how it works, public education, and energy policy, among others.

Partisans' perspectives on the state of the country will shift significantly with Trump in office, with Republicans becoming more content and Democrats less so. While this is expected, a measure of success for Trump could be moving more issues into the category where majorities in both parties are satisfied.

National Mood Worse Now Than at Start of Trump’s First Term

Americans express less satisfaction on most issues today than they did in January 2017, just before Trump’s first presidential term, summarized in average satisfaction falling from 44% to 38%. The pandemic, broad scrutiny of racial justice, high inflation, a surge of illegal immigration, the U.S. Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision overturning Roe v. Wade, Trump’s felony convictions and two presidential elections occurred in this period, each possibly contributing to some of the declines.

The differences between 2017 and now are most pronounced with respect to satisfaction with the overall quality of life, the size and influence of major corporations, the quality of public education, the amount Americans pay in federal taxes, and the opportunity to get ahead by working hard -- all of which have satisfaction percentages that are at least 13 points lower today. And satisfaction with numerous other issues has declined by smaller amounts.

Americans are significantly more satisfied today than in 2017 with the state of race relations and, relatedly, with the position of people who are Black or belong to other racial minority groups. (However, satisfaction with these areas is still sharply lower than it was in the early 2000s.)

Bottom Line

Trump assumes office at a time of persistently low satisfaction with the U.S., overall, and with many specific aspects of the country, which is consistent with Americans’ belief that the U.S. lost more ground than it gained during Biden’s presidency.

While Americans are confident that Trump can improve conditions in some areas, they doubt he can in others. And in terms of Trump's track record, they also thought the country lost more ground than it gained at the end of his first term. Although his first job approval rating this year is better than the last one he earned in 2017, it is still among the lowest initial job approval ratings, historically.

Americans' persistent low satisfaction with national conditions may be hard for the nation’s leaders to address; however, the rank order of concerns resulting from this poll offers Trump and officials at all levels of government guidance on where the public might appreciate them focusing their efforts.

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