Poll: Blacks, Hispanics More Satisfied With State of U.S. Than Whites

Just 28 percent of white Americans say they are “satisfied” with the way things are going in the United States, a markedly lower level of satisfaction than that expressed by blacks and Hispanic Americans, according to a recent poll.

Gallup reports that while overall 34 percent of Americans say they are “satisfied” with the way things are going in the U.S., nearly half of black Americans (49 percent) and Hispanics (47 percent) say they are satisfied.

The poll of 3,270 adults in the U.S. was conducted from June 7-July 1, prior to the recent police shootings of black men in suburban Minnesota and Baton Rouge and prior to the shooting deaths of five police officers in Dallas and another three police officers in Baton Rouge.

As Gallup notes, the trend of whites leaning more Republican and blacks and Hispanics identifying heavily as Democratic shapes the way in which each category of American views the ongoing situation in the U.S.

“Polling conducted as part of Gallup Daily tracking earlier in the Obama administration, between 2009 and 2013, shows racial gaps in satisfaction similar to those seen today,” Gallup reports. “By contrast, throughout the Bush administration from 2001 through 2008, whites were more satisfied with the direction of the country and blacks less satisfied, consistent with each racial groups’ political leanings.”

While there are disparities in the way different racial groups see the situation in the U.S., each group is substantially more satisfied with the directions of their personal lives. According to Gallup, 89 percent of whites, 88 percent of blacks, and 85 percent of Hispanics say they are satisfied with their lives.

“Regardless of race or ethnicity, most Americans have been satisfied with their own lives over the past 16 years, suggesting that even in times of widespread dissatisfaction with their country, Americans separate their personal circumstances from those going on in the country around them,” Gallup’s analysis reads.

The poll has an overall margin of error of +/-3 percentage points, a +/- 4 percentage margin of error for the sample of 1,320 whites, a +/- 5 percentage point margin of error for the sample of 912 blacks, and a +/- 6 percentage point margin of error for Hispanics.