# Nearly half of Americans believe the government is run mostly by corrupt officials

Canonical page: https://data.verasight.io/politics/nearly-half-of-americans-believe-the-government-is-run-mostly-by-corrupt-officials/

> Indexed question in Politics.

## Reading

Verasight surveyed 1,000 U.S. adults from September 25 to 30, 2026. 46.8% of Americans think most or all of the officials running the government are corrupt, and 36.3% say some are. Just 0.4% say none are.

A few officials are corrupt for 10.9%, and 5.5% are unsure. All of them are corrupt for 6.8%. This measures belief about corruption, not evidence of it.

## Topline

How many public officials running the government are corrupt?

Nearly half of Americans believe the government is run mostly by corrupt officials.

- Most of them: 40.0%
- Some of them: 36.3%
- A few of them: 10.9%
- All of them: 6.8%
- Don’t Know / Unsure: 5.5%
- None of them: 0.4%

## Methodology

- Mode: Verasight panel recruited via random address-based sampling, random person-to-person text messaging, and dynamic online targeting
- Population: US adults age 18+
- Field dates: 2026-09-25 → 2026-09-30
- Base (unweighted): 1,000
- Margin of error: +/- 3.5%
- Module: Democracy, Politics, & Participation
- Sponsor: Verasight
- Weight variable: weight
- Weighting targets: age, race/ethnicity, sex, income, education, region, metropolitan status

## Source

- Canonical question URL: [https://reports.verasight.io/r/2026-153-apsa-omnibus-report#q-13](https://reports.verasight.io/r/2026-153-apsa-omnibus-report#q-13)

## Citation

APSA Omnibus Survey #2026-153, fielded September 25-30, 2026, N=1,000 US adults age 18+, +/- 3.5%.

Canonical question URL: [https://reports.verasight.io/r/2026-153-apsa-omnibus-report#q-13](https://reports.verasight.io/r/2026-153-apsa-omnibus-report#q-13)