Americans remain stuck in a confidence rut, with average trust in national institutions below 30% for the fifth straight year.
By: Lydia Saad
Published: Jul 14, 2026
Story Highlights
Confidence in 14 core institutions averages 27%, one point above record low
Confidence in Big Tech drops to new low
Partisan gaps in confidence remain record high in Trump’s second term
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Americans’ confidence in U.S. institutions remains historically low, as reflected in their average view of 14 institutions measured each year since 1993. Currently, 27% of Americans express “a great deal” or “quite a lot” of confidence in these core institutions, one percentage point above the record-low average in 2023.
When limited to the nine institutions measured about annually since 1979, average confidence is also 27%, reflecting the broader similarity of the two trends. Both lists include a mix of government and private sector institutions, making either version appropriate for use as a barometer of national confidence.
Americans’ average confidence in institutions has been trending downward since 1979 — not gradually, but rather driven by several steep drops. Confidence fell sharply in the early 1980s and again in the early 1990s, each time quickly followed by partial recoveries. An even sharper decline in the mid-2000s associated with the onset of the Great Recession proved more resistant, with confidence remaining at the 2007 low point and sinking even further over the next nine years. Confidence finally showed significant improvement in 2020, at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, due to heightened public trust in several institutions most affected by that crisis — particularly the medical system and public schools. However, average confidence quickly reverted and sunk further to 27% in 2022.
While recessions, high inflation and other economic problems may partly explain these declines, specific issues related to views of the presidency (such as the Iraq War and U.S. troop withdrawal from Afghanistan), Supreme Court (including the Dobbs decision), backlash to COVID-19 policies (affecting the medical system and public schools) and religion (clergy abuse scandals and declining religiosity) have also contributed, along with increasing political polarization.
12 of 14 Core Institutions Are at or Near Long-Term Lows
The 14 institutions Gallup has rated annually since 1993 include seven public sector (the presidency, Congress, the public schools, the Supreme Court, the military, the criminal justice system and the police) and seven private sector entities (banks, big business, organized labor, the medical system, newspapers, television news, and the church or organized religion).
Mirroring the overall average, 12 of the 14 institutions tracked since 1993 are at or near their lowest points. Banks and organized labor are the only exceptions, each registering seven points above their historical lows.
The latest poll, conducted June 1-15, includes three other institutions with significant trends: small business, higher education and large technology companies.
Of these, small business fares best, with its current 67% confidence rating similar to the average since the initial 1997 reading and 10 points higher than the low for that institution, recorded in 1998. On the other hand, higher education and large technology companies are at or near their lowest points in public confidence.
Confidence in Big Tech Continues to Slide
Confidence in large technology companies has fallen steadily from the 32% recorded when Gallup first included it on the list in 2020; today’s 20% rating brings it to a new low.
Unique among the institutions rated this year, large technology companies also experienced a surge in Americans expressing very little or no confidence, rising from 32% in 2025 to 41% today. Meanwhile, many Americans remain lukewarm, with 38% saying they have some confidence in Big Tech.
Party Difference at New High
The long-term average confidence trend — that is, the average of nine institutions tracked since 1973 — shows relatively modest differences in confidence between Republicans and Democrats for most years since 1979, but with growing polarization.
Partisan differences in confidence were modest through much of the 1980s and early 1990s, with Republicans and Democrats expressing similar levels of confidence regardless of which party controlled the White House. The gap first widened during Bill Clinton's presidency in Democrats' favor before reversing under George W. Bush. It narrowed somewhat during Barack Obama's administration before swinging back toward Republicans during Donald Trump's first term and then toward Democrats during Joe Biden's presidency.
The gap has widened during Trump’s second term, with Republicans now 13 points more confident in U.S. institutions than Democrats are, similar to last year’s 11-point gap. This is due to Democrats, for the first time, showing less confidence in an incoming Republican president at the same time Republicans’ confidence has surged. The finding echoes Democrats’ historically negative outlook on national conditions during Trump’s second term that Gallup reported earlier this year.
The partisan differences seen in overall confidence extend to most institutions individually. With Trump as president, Republicans express substantially greater confidence than Democrats in most institutions measured.
The gap is naturally widest for the presidency (70 points), but Republicans are also significantly more confident than Democrats in the military (46 points), the police (45 points), the Supreme Court (40 points), and the church or organized religion (40 points). As is typical, Republicans also express more confidence in large technology companies, big business, small business and the criminal justice system.
The smaller list of institutions that inspire greater confidence among Democrats than Republicans this year are higher education, the public schools, organized labor, newspapers and television news — also typical. Partisans’ views differ by less with respect to Congress, banks and the medical system.
Bottom Line
Americans’ confidence in major U.S. institutions remains near the lowest level Gallup has recorded in more than four decades, averaging less than 30% for the fifth consecutive year.
A key factor in this slump is that Americans no longer appear to share a broad faith in core civic, social and government institutions; instead, their confidence varies with who holds political power. Ongoing affordability concerns may also be contributing to the decline. Still, past drops in confidence have eventually reversed, offering some reason for optimism. But recoveries have rarely restored confidence to previous highs, resulting in each downturn in U.S. confidence being lower than the one before.
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Good to see legacy media where they belong.
