Americans’ satisfaction with the state of the nation has edged upwards since the fall of 2011, though many more continue to say they are dissatisfied than satisfied with the way things are going in the country today. It has been more than five years since satisfaction has been higher than 34%. Satisfaction with national conditions hit a low of 11% in early October 2008 amid increasing signs of economic crisis. The level of national satisfaction is closely tied to the state of the economy. Read More

Russell Heimlich  is a former web developer at Pew Research Center.