The SPACE City Panel collected responses from a core group of nearly 1,200 panelists who responded to all three survey waves, gaining unique, precise insights into how local political attitudes are evolving over time. (Credit Getty Images)
Key Takeaways
- A new University of Houston survey shows that between April 2025 and April 2026, the percentage of Greater Houston residents who believe the U.S. is heading in the "right direction" plummeted from 33% to just 21%.
- While partisan divides remain stark, political optimism declined across all groups — including a 23-point drop among Republicans regarding the country's trajectory.
- Local mayors and city managers maintain higher approval ratings (above 50%) than state and national leaders, despite experiencing a 14-point decline over the past year.
The University of Houston surveyed the same Houstonians about their confidence in the direction the country, state and city are heading — and results show residents are becoming increasingly pessimistic.
Conducted by the Center for Public Policy at the Hobby School of Public Affairs, the SPACE City Panel typically includes about 1,500 respondents and is weighted to be a representative sample of the metro area. This time, researchers collected responses from a core group of nearly 1,200 panelists who responded to all three survey waves, gaining unique, precise insights into how local political attitudes are evolving over time.
“The unique value of this report is that we aren't looking at a shifting sample size; these are the same people who are changing their minds,” said Agustin Vallejo, lead researcher on the report and research assistant professor at the Hobby School.
Tracking the Downward Trend
Collected between April 2025 and April 2026, the results reveal a persistent, yearlong trend of growing dissatisfaction. Only 21% of respondents in the Greater Houston area believe the U.S. is currently heading in the "right direction,” a 12-point drop from 33% in April 2025.
Positive views on Texas’ trajectory also declined significantly, dropping from 37% to 28%. While sentiments for the Houston area proved a bit more stable, they still experienced a 7-point dip, with 44% of respondents viewing the city's direction positively.
While stark partisan divides remain — with Republicans generally expressing higher satisfaction across all levels of government — optimism fell across the political spectrum. Republicans, Democrats and independents all became less positive about the country and state’s direction.
“When we split the sample by party identification, we see huge drops among Republicans regarding the country’s trajectory,” Vallejo said. “In April 2025, 76% of Republicans thought the country was going in the right direction, but now it's about half.”
Evaluating Leadership Approval
Approval ratings for state and national leaders followed a similar downward trajectory over the 12-month period. Public approval of President Donald Trump dropped 12 points to 25%, while Gov. Greg Abbott’s approval fell eight points to 28%.
“Notably, approval for Donald Trump is higher than the percentage of Houstonians who think that the U.S. is going in the right direction, 25% to 21%,” said Pablo M. Pinto, distinguished professor, director of the Center for Public Policy and co-lead in the study. “This suggests that respondents can differentiate the person versus the direction or policies this person is adopting.”
Meanwhile, local leaders fared better. Approval of Houston-area mayors and city managers remains above 50%, although it still saw a 14-point decline from April 2025. Optimism for the Houston-area’s direction is highest among Republican respondents at 59%, while steadily declining among Democrats and independents.
“Tracking the same respondents over a year lets us separate signal from noise,” Pinto said. “What we’re seeing is signal of a durable shift in how Houstonians evaluate their government at every level. And economic concerns, especially cost of living, appear to be driving this signal.”
The full report is available on the Hobby School website. Previous SPACE City Panel reports from this wave examined public sentiment on U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Iran War, and data centers and artificial intelligence. The final report from this wave will analyze neighborhood characteristics and community health.