Most Americans view most Federal government agencies favorably according to a new Pew Research Center survey report – with the National Park Service (NPS), U.S. Postal Service, and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) topping the list in favorability.
The report shows that “13 of 16 [F]ederal agencies” are viewed as “more favorably than unfavorably” following a survey of 9,424 adults.
NPS, the Postal Service and NASA had favorability percentage points of 76 percent, 72 percent, and 67 percent respectively.
Only seven percent of Americans said they had unfavorable attitudes toward NPS while 17 percent said they were unsure, making it the agency that the public had the least unfavorable attitudes toward. NASA had just 12 percent of Americans reporting unfavourability.
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention followed with a 55 percent favorable finding, and the Department of Transportation and the Social Security Administration both received 53 percent in favorability versus unfavourability.
The Internal Revenue Service was the least favorable of all agencies, receiving only a 38 percent favorability rating.
Overall, favorability ratings for government agencies are high, with at least nine receiving 51 percent or higher, following a trend of a growing trust in government despite record-low levels at the end of 2023, according to Pew.
“As of April 2024, 22% of Americans say they trust the government in Washington to do what is right ‘just about always’ (2%) or ‘most of the time’ (21%),” reads the center’s report. “Last year, 16% said they trusted the government just about always or most of the time, which was among the lowest measures in nearly seven decades of polling.”
The largest change in favorability was in the Department of Justice (DOJ) with only 33 percent of Republican survey respondents reporting favorability with the agency, down from 40 percent in 2023.
“Today, a majority of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents (56%) say they have an unfavorable opinion of the Justice Department, up from 50% last year,” read the center’s report. “A third have a favorable opinion of the DOJ, while 11% say they are not sure.”
Other agencies that had favorability reported above 50 percent include the Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Veterans Affairs and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Agencies with 50 percent favorability or less include the Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Homeland Security, Federal Reserve, Central Intelligence Agency, and the Department of Education.
