Nearly 90% of Americans believe government corruption is pervasive as the nation nears the midterm elections, according to a new Gallup survey.
The 89% who said the problem is “widespread” was up 10 points from last year, reached the highest point in two decades and was well over the 72% to 79% range recorded between 2010 and 2025.
“Perceptions of government corruption are now higher in the U.S. than at any point in the past two decades and outpace most other countries, including advanced economies,” Gallup reported.
The survey comes at a time of widespread accusations and lawsuits against the Trump administration related to corruption. Since returning to office, President Donald Trump has tried to create a $1.8 billion slush fund to pay political allies and January 6 rioters, made stock trades with companies he publicly praised and granted contracts, and launched a multi-pronged campaign to interfere in the November elections.
Perceptions of government corruption are highest among Democrats at 91% and rose the highest compared to other partisan groups since 2024, Gallup reported. Independents trailed closely at 90%.
The survey found 83% of Republicans view government corruption as widespread this year compared to 87% in 2024.
“Although strong majorities of Republicans and Democrats perceive government corruption as widespread, it is likely for different reasons,” Gallup explained. “Democrats’ perceptions appear closely linked to which party controls the administration. Republicans’ greater consistency on this measure — despite the 2024 election delivering them the White House and Congress — suggests a more underlying view of government corruption that depends less on the party in power.”
In the process, the U.S. has significantly diverged from fellow nations with advanced economies, according to Gallup’s polling of countries belonging to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Among those countries, the median level of perceived corruption dropped from 69% in 2009 to 59% in 2025.
“In the early years of this trend, countries such as Greece, Hungary and the Czech Republic all saw scores above 90%. But over time, the highest levels of perceived corruption across the bloc have gradually fallen, reaching 79% in 2025 — placing the U.S. atop the OECD rankings for the first time, even before the additional 10-point increase within the past year,” the Gallup report notes.
And it is possible the gap between the U.S. and other OECD countries will widen in the coming year, the report adds.
The survey also compared perceptions between business and government corruption.
“The two are typically strongly related. If people think corruption is widespread in their national government, it is likely that they think the same about businesses in their country. But the U.S. increasingly bucks this trend,” the report states
Perceptions of business corruption in the U.S. reached 71% this year, up eight points from 2025 and nearly 20 points lower than views about government corruption, Gallup noted.
The survey concludes by noting that alarm about government corruption is widespread, bipartisan and growing: “In fact, it is the near convergence of U.S. partisans on the issue — with Democrats’ concern about government corruption now only marginally higher than Republicans’ — that has lifted the U.S. figure to its record high.”