WASHINGTON, D.C. — Americans believe in the power of working together. Fifty-two percent strongly agree that people working together in this country can make a real difference. However, fewer feel strongly that they personally can shape outcomes. Just over a third (34%) strongly agree that their actions can make a real difference in their community, while about one in five (21%) strongly agree that they can help shape the future of the country.
On two additional measures of their agency, slightly less than half of Americans say they have a major or minor role in shaping the future of the U.S., while less than a third (32%) feel quite a bit or a great deal of responsibility for helping their community.
Community connection is closely associated with agency. Adults who feel very or extremely connected to their community are nearly three times as likely as those who feel less connected to strongly agree that their actions can make a difference locally (47% vs. 17%, respectively). They are also 10 percentage points more likely to strongly agree that they can help shape the country’s future (25% vs. 15%).
How connected Americans feel to their community relates to their sense of belonging in the country overall. Highly connected adults are nearly twice as likely to say they often or very often feel that they are a part of something bigger than themselves (49% vs. 25%) and are nearly 20 points more likely to often or very often feel that there is a place for them in America (60% vs. 41%).
These findings come from the Be The People-Gallup American Identity Survey, a nationally representative survey of more than 8,000 U.S. adults conducted April 20-June 26, 2026.
Americans More Involved Locally See a Greater Role in Shaping the Country Overall
Community involvement takes many forms. The survey measured 18 types of participation, ranging from helping neighbors and strangers to donating, mentoring and directly solving community problems. (See the Survey Methods at the end of this article for the full list of community involvement activities.)
Acts of everyday helping are nearly universal: 93% of Americans have helped a stranger and 92% have helped a neighbor at least once in the past year. Direct community problem-solving is much less common. Less than half (42%) have helped solve a community problem at least once, with just 4% having done so many times.
To examine the breadth of involvement, Gallup classified Americans who have participated in 11 or more types of community activities at least once in the past year as having high community involvement and those participating in 10 or fewer as having low involvement.
High involvement is associated with a broader sense of personal agency and belonging at both the local and national levels.
Adults with high community involvement are almost twice as likely as those with low involvement to strongly agree that their actions make a difference locally (42% vs. 23%) and eight points more likely to strongly agree that they can help shape the country’s future (24% vs. 16%).
Greater involvement also coincides with feeling more rooted in something larger. Highly involved adults (49%) are nearly twice as likely as less involved adults (25%) to feel like they are a part of something bigger than themselves, and they are 11 points more likely to often feel like there is a place for them in America.
The differences extend to how strongly people see their own role and responsibility. Highly involved adults are 19 points more likely to say they have a role in shaping the future of the country (58% vs. 39%) and more than twice as likely to feel they have quite a bit or a great deal of responsibility for helping their community (42% vs. 20%).
Depth of involvement matters too. Americans who have participated many times in at least one community activity report a stronger sense of agency and belonging than those who have not. They are more than twice as likely to strongly agree that their actions make a difference locally (40% vs. 18%) and six points more likely to strongly agree that they can help shape the country’s future.
That deeper involvement is also associated with a stronger sense of belonging. Americans who have participated many times in at least one activity are 24 points more likely to often or very often feel like they are a part of something bigger than themselves and 16 points more likely to often or very often feel that there is a place for them in America.
Americans who are both broadly involved across community activities and deeply involved in at least one report feeling the strongest levels of agency and belonging overall.
Not Being Asked Is One of Top Barriers to Helping Community
Outside of time constraints due to personal responsibilities and work, the most common reasons Americans cite for not doing more to help their community are not being asked (26%) and not knowing how to get involved (24%). These barriers are especially common among younger adults and those who are new residents of their community. Together, they point to an opportunity to make involvement easier to find and enter. Clearer information about where help is needed, direct invitations and connections to people who already participate could make it easier for more Americans to find a way in.
Outright disinterest in helping one’s community is rare. Only 6% select “I’m not interested in being involved” from the list of possible barriers.
Practical constraints remain the top barriers. Thirty-six percent cite personal responsibilities as a barrier to doing more for their community, and 31% cite work. Parents are especially likely to report both. Expanding participation, therefore, also means creating opportunities that can realistically fit alongside work and other responsibilities.
Implications
Americans generally believe people can make a difference, but far fewer see themselves as personally able to shape the country’s future or consistently feel a strong sense of belonging in America. Community involvement is closely associated with both. Americans with high involvement in their community, as well as those deeply involved in at least one activity, consistently report a stronger sense of personal agency and belonging, locally and nationally.
The pattern is strongest among Americans who are both broadly and deeply involved. They report the highest levels of connection overall, underscoring the close relationship between taking part in community life and feeling a sense of agency and belonging.
The barriers Americans report point to a practical opportunity. Work and personal responsibilities remain significant constraints, but many Americans also say they have not been invited or do not know how to get involved. Making opportunities easier to find, extending direct invitations and helping people see where they can contribute could give more willing Americans a clearer path to solving problems in their community.
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