---
title: "State Governments’ Falling Favorability"
description: "The favorability rating of state governments has fallen to 50%, down from 59% last year."
date: "2009-08-28"
authors:
  - name: "Russell Heimlich"
    job_title: "Former web developer"
    link: "https://www.pewresearch.org/staff/russell-heimlich/"
url: "https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2009/08/28/state-governments-falling-favorability/"
---

# State Governments’ Falling Favorability

A troubled economy and budget woes have brought favorable views of state governments down 9 percentage points to just 50%. The decline in opinion is sharpest in states with large and moderate budget shortfalls. Americans in states with high budget gaps are the most negative (38% favorable, 58% unfavorable), while those in states with modest budget gaps have also seen a sharp decline in positive opinion toward state governments (52% favorable, down from 64% last year). Those in states with low budget gaps continue to have a favorable view of state governments (60% favorable, 33% unfavorable), but positive opinion is still down from last year (66% favorable). [Read More](https://www.pewresearch.org/pubs/1307/state-government-favorability-falls-partisan-split-federal-government)