Historically Low Faith in U.S. Institutions Continues

Story Highlights No institution’s confidence score improved significantly in the past yearConfidence in four institutions now at record lowsWidest party gaps seen for the presidency, public schoolsWASHINGTON, D.C. -- Americans’ faith in major societal institutions hasn’t improved over the past year following a slump in public confidence in 2022. Last year, Gallup recorded significant declines in public confidence in 11 of the 16 institutions it tracks annually, with the presidency and Supreme Court suffering the most. However, the survey was conducted June 1-22, 2023, before the Supreme Court issued decisions affecting affirmative action in education, college loan forgiveness and LGBTQ+ Americans’ access to creative services. Public confidence in each of the other 14 institutions remains near last year’s relatively low level, with none of the scores worsening or improving meaningfully. Only four institutions have a confidence score significantly above their historical low: the military, small business, organized labor and banks.