Black Americans are most optimistic about the state of the United States but Americans regardless of race, gender or region are generally pessimistic about the direction of the country.
Only 20% overall of those polled in a new The Economist/YouGov survey said yes when asked, “Would you say things in this country today are generally headed in the right direction?”
US President-Elect Joe Biden speaks while introducing his nomination for Education Secretary, Dr. Miguel Cardona. (Photo by NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP via Getty Images)
Fully 80% said the country was “off on the wrong track” while 19% were not sure. (RELATED: POLL: 85% Of Americans Believe America Is ‘Greatly Divided’)
Black Americans were slightly more optimistic, with 26% of respondents indicating the country was going in the right direction. Hispanic Americans registered 23% support for that statement.
White women with college degrees were the least likely to say America was in a good place, with only 12% supporting that contention and 72% saying America was on “the wrong track.” White women without a degree were only marginally more positive, at 14%.
White men with a college degree were more than twice as likely to be positive about the state of the union than their white women counterparts — but still only 25% of them said America was headed in the right direction. White men without a degree provided almost identical results for the survey, with 24% indicating optimism.
Regionally, people living in the Northeast of the United States were most likely to say America was on the right track, with 28% saying so. Only 18% of Western Americans could agree.
Of all groups tabulated, Americans between the ages of 18 and 29 registered the highest numbers for America’s solvency, with 31% indicating the country was on the right track.
Of those who voted for President-elect Joe Biden, only 15% said the country was on the right track while 21% of President Donald Trump voters agreed.
President Donald Trump pumps his fist as he departs on the South Lawn of the White House, on Dec. 12, 2020 in Washington, DC. (Al Drago/Getty Images)
A Gallup poll released in January 2020 indicated that “satisfaction” with race relations had increased 14% under Trump. (RELATED: POLL: Only 7% Of Americans Back $600 Stimulus Checks)
Before the coronavirus pandemic and the resulting lockdowns stifled the economy, the unemployment for black and Hispanic Americans had reached an all-time low, with minorities benefiting from the economic boom the country was experiencing.
The Economist/YouGov poll was conducted between Dec. 19-22 and queried 1500 people. It has a reliability rate of ± 3.3% (when adjusted for weighting of race, gender and region) and of ± 3.6% (when adjusted for registered voters).