Who's Satisfied and Who's Not?

Gallup Analysis: Who's Satisfied and Who's Not?
Republicans, conservatives most satisfied; Democrats, liberals least satisfied


by Joseph Carroll

GALLUP NEWS SERVICE

PRINCETON, NJ -- Every month, Gallup asks Americans the following question: "In general, are you satisfied or dissatisfied with the way things are going in the United States at this time?"

Since March 2006, Americans' overall level of satisfaction with the state of the nation has been at or below 30%. Earlier in the year, this sentiment was higher -- between 35% and 36%. To get a better understanding of how different groups of Americans answer this question, Gallup combined the results of the four polls conducted from March 2006 through June 2006, when satisfaction was at or below 30%.

Here is a look at how different groups of Americans rank in their overall level of satisfaction with the way things are going right now:

Satisfaction with State of the Nation
March-June 2006 Aggregate

Satisfied

%

Republicans
55

Conservatives
41

Men, aged 18 to 49
35

College graduates
33

Income of $75,0000 or more per year
33

30- to 49-year-olds
32

Men
32

Attend church weekly/almost weekly
32

Southerners
31

Midwesterners
30

Post-graduate education
30

Whites
30

Westerners
29

Some college education
29

18- to 29-year-olds
29

Income between $30,000-$74,999 per year
29

Protestant
29

National average
28

Men, aged 50 and older
28

Women, aged 18 to 49
28

Catholic
28

High school education or less
25

50- to 64-year-olds
25

Women
25

Attend church monthly
25

Seldom/never attend church
25

Moderates
24

65 years and older
23

Independents
22

Income of less than $30,000 per year
22

Easterners
21

Women, aged 50 and older
21

No religious affiliation
21

Blacks
15

Democrats
11

Liberals
11


As the table illustrates, partisanship and political ideology play a significant role in Americans' overall level of satisfaction. Republicans' and conservatives' level of satisfaction is much higher than the national average -- which stands at 28% across the four surveys -- while satisfaction is much lower than the national average among Democrats and liberals.

Survey Methods
Results are based on telephone interviews with 4,009 national adults, aged 18 and older, conducted across four surveys from March 2006 through June 2006. For results based on the total sample of national adults, one can say with 95% confidence that the margin of sampling error is ±3 percentage points for each individual survey. In addition to sampling error, question wording and practical difficulties in conducting surveys can introduce error or bias into the findings of public opinion polls.