WASHINGTON, D.C. – An extensive survey recently conducted by Gallup in all 50 states plus the District of Columbia showed that the only place in the country where the majority of people think the economy is getting better is in the nation’s capital.
The survey conducted throughout the first half of this year asked 86,429 American adults two basic questions: Did they believe the economy was getting better or getting worse? Did they believe the current economic conditions were “excellent,” “good,” “only fair,” or “poor.”
This survey, along with a complicated battery of other surveys, helps Gallup come up with its Economic Confidence Index. 70 percent of the adults polled in D.C. said the economy was getting better and 24 percent said it was getting worse.
After D.C., the next most economically optimistic place was Minnesota, where 48 percent said they believed the economy was getting better and 47 percent said it was getting worse. But only 19 percent in Minnesota said the economy was excellent or good, while 32 percent said it was poor
Even in the D.C. area, with its high economic optimism, the majority did not think the current economy was excellent. Only 28 percent of D.C. residents rated it excellent or good, according to Gallup, while 17 percent said it was poor.
West Virginians had the most pessimistic outlook on the economy. 68 percent of the people there said the economy was getting worse and only 8 percent said the economy was currently excellent or good. 55 percent of West Virginians said the current economy was poor.
Nevada, represented by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, had the next highest percentage of people saying the current economy is poor. 52 percent of Nevadans said that was the case, while only 9 percent said the economy was excellent or good.
Here are the top and bottom states in Gallup’s Economic Index.
Highest
- District of Columbia: +29
- Minnesota: -6
- South Dakota: -8
- Maryland: -9
- North Dakota: -10
- Iowa: -10
- Hawaii: -11
- Nebraska: -14
- Utah: -15
- Virginia: -16
Lowest
- West Virginia: -44
- Arkansas: -35
- Mississippi: -33
- Wyoming: -33
- Kentucky: -33
- Montana: -31
- Rhode Island: -31
- Alabama: -30
- Nevada: -30
- Louisiana: -29
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