Trust

Why did we include this measure?

The federal government has important responsibilities, including national defense, economic policy, immigration, environmental resource management, and social insurance and income support programs. The federal government also shapes the actions of state and local governments through laws and program subsidies and shapes interstate commerce through business regulation and transportation infrastructure. We included this measure despite the fact that only 32 states have the measure available. To address this, we "inflated" the rank so that the lowest ranked state (32) is ranked 51. We report this in two ways. The "simple" method is a weighted average of the individual survey responses where the weights reflect the survey design. The "modeled" method also uses statistical patterns that arise across subgroups and states to adjust each state's estimate. This second method is motivated by small sample sizes on this measure in some states.

How does South Carolina compare to the rest of the country?

Although South Carolina's trend in trust in the federal government has been worsening more than the US, it increased in state

Additional Information.

The national trend shows a continuation of an old trend that began in the 1960s. When people perceive that things are not going well in the country, as many of the measures in this report suggest, the federal government, and especially the president, are often held responsible.

Why did we include this measure?

Science plays an important role in our lives, including basic research that helps us understand our world and applied research that develops new technologies such as medicines, energy sources, transportation, communication, weapons systems, and space exploration, to name a few. We included this measure despite the fact that only 30 states have the measure available. To address this, we "inflated" the rank so that the lowest ranked state (30) is ranked 51. In this state, we report the "modeled" estimates, which use statistical patterns that arise across subgroups and states to adjust each state's estimate. This method is motivated by the small sample sizes in this state.

How does South Carolina compare to the rest of the country?

South Carolina's trend in trust in science has been worsening less than the US. Compared to other states, South Carolina has also increased in state ranking by two or more places. Therefore, we categorize South Carolina's comparison to the US as positive. In the most recent year, South Carolina ranked 42 (out of 51). In the same year, Massachusetts ranked first, and Mississippi ranked last.