Trump Has Averaged 50% or Higher Job Approval in 17 States

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- President Donald Trump, who has averaged 40% job approval since his inauguration, received approval ratings of 50% or higher in 17 states in the first half of 2017. Residents in an equal number of states gave him approval ratings below 40%. In 16 states, his ratings ranged between 40% and 49%.

Consistent with the broader geographic patterns of Republican strength across the country, some of Trump's highest approval ratings tend to be in Southern, Plains and Mountain West states. His lowest ratings are primarily in Northeast and West Coast states.

The results are based on Gallup Daily tracking from Jan. 20 through June 30, including interviews with more than 81,000 U.S. adults. Gallup interviewed at least 220 residents in each state during this period, including 500 or more in 39 states. Gallup weighted each state sample to ensure it is demographically representative of the adult population. The full results for each state are included at the end of the article.

During the Jan. 20-June 30 time period, residents in West Virginia (60%), North Dakota (59%) and South Dakota (57%) gave Trump his highest approval ratings. Montana, Wyoming and Alabama all had average approval ratings of 55% or higher.

	Approval
	%
West Virginia	60
North Dakota	59
South Dakota	57
Montana	56
Wyoming	56
Alabama	55
Oklahoma	54
Kansas	53
Kentucky	53
Arkansas	53
Idaho	53
Gallup Daily

Residents in Vermont and Massachusetts gave Trump his lowest average approval ratings -- both below 30% -- with Maryland, California, and New York close behind at 30% or 31%.

	Approval
	%
Vermont	26
Massachusetts	29
Maryland	30
California	30
New York	31
Connecticut	34
Hawaii	35
New Jersey	36
Illinois	36
Washington	36
Gallup Daily

Trump largely owed his victory in the 2016 presidential election to his wins in three key Rust Belt states -- Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin -- that had not backed a Republican for president since the 1980s. In these states, his January-June approval ratings were just slightly above his overall average of 40%, including 43% in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin and 42% in Michigan.

Bottom Line

Trump's time in office has been filled with controversy, including his executive orders on immigration, his firing of FBI Director James Comey, ongoing questions about the Trump campaign's ties with Russia, and his continued flouting of political decorum. Trump and the Republican majority have yet to achieve many of their hoped-for policy goals, including repeal of the Affordable Care Act and tax reform. Through it all, at least half of the residents in 17 states approved of the job he was doing. But in just as many states, his approval rating was in the 30% range, if not lower.

Trump is hardly a conventional politician, but his patterns of support at the state level mostly reflect traditional Republican-Democrat differences. Although 2020 is a long way off, for him to successfully win re-election, historical patterns suggest his overall 40% rating would need to rise closer to 50%. He would also need to shore up his support in the key Rust Belt states that delivered the Electoral College win to him. In those states, his job approval is slightly above 40%, but barely so, raising questions of whether he can carry them in 2020.

These data are available in Gallup Analytics.

Explore President Trump's approval ratings in depth and compare them with those of past presidents in the Gallup Presidential Job Approval Center.

 

	Approve	Disapprove	No opinion	n
	%	%	%
United States	40	54	6	81,155
West Virginia	60	35	5	443
North Dakota	59	36	6	254
South Dakota	57	43	1	280
Montana	56	41	3	507
Wyoming	56	36	8	225
Alabama	55	39	6	1,355
Oklahoma	54	39	6	1,044
Kansas	53	42	6	809
Kentucky	53	43	4	1,082
Arkansas	53	40	6	895
Idaho	53	42	4	552
Nebraska	52	43	5	655
Tennessee	52	43	5	1,802
Louisiana	51	43	6	1,101
Alaska	51	44	5	262
South Carolina	50	44	6	1,195
Utah	50	45	5	961
Missouri	49	46	4	1,575
Mississippi	48	46	5	737
Ohio	47	48	5	2,981
Indiana	47	48	5	1,596
New Hampshire	45	51	4	375
Iowa	45	49	6	936
Nevada	44	50	6	689
Pennsylvania	43	52	5	3,568
Wisconsin	43	52	5	1,528
Georgia	43	50	6	2,501
Arizona	43	52	5	1,671
Maine	42	56	2	407
Michigan	42	52	6	2,372
North Carolina	42	53	6	2,549
Florida	42	51	6	5,143
Texas	42	51	8	6,472
Minnesota	39	57	4	1,544
Virginia	39	56	6	2,203
Delaware	38	56	5	228
Colorado	38	57	5	1,619
Oregon	38	56	6	1,454
Rhode Island	37	55	9	246
New Mexico	37	56	7	648
New Jersey	36	58	6	2,015
Illinois	36	58	5	2,526
Washington	36	59	5	2,091
Hawaii	35	54	11	339
Connecticut	34	59	6	875
New York	31	62	7	4,944
Maryland	30	64	5	1,470
California	30	63	6	8,240
Massachusetts	29	66	6	1,703
Vermont	26	71	3	220
Gallup Daily