Trust plays a huge role in where people turn for information about their local communities, and when that trust breaks down, solving problems becomes difficult at best.
Asked to rate their trust in a handful of sources, American adults rate local non-profits and traditional news outlets at the top, while local officials and community social media groups are at the bottom of the trust scale. For example, 40% of people report high or solid trust in local non-profits (20% high, 20% solid), and local TV/radio news has the same level of high trust with slightly higher solid trust (24%). Local newspapers and news websites also perform fairly well, with 40% in those top two categories. In contrast, only 28% of people express high or solid trust in local elected officials, and just 28% feel the same about community social media groups. These two categories also have the highest levels of low trust, both at 26%.
Where you live, how old you are, and what your ethnicity is all have measurable effects on the results, as does partisanship. For instance, Americans in rural areas have a much lower level of trust across the board compared to those in urban areas. This same pattern exists when comparing the views of White and Black Americans compared to Hispanic Americans. Democrats also have a higher level of trust in the sources tested, but the difference compared to Republicans is not as big as one might have expected. Independents tend to be the most pessimistic.
Key Takeaway:
🏙️🚜🏠 Area Type: A clear pattern emerges across area types: trust declines as you move from urban to rural communities, especially for formal and political sources. In urban areas, local TV/radio news and newspapers are relatively strong, with 54% and 51% respectively reporting high or solid trust, compared to just 32% for social media groups. Suburban trust is more moderate overall, with no source exceeding 44% in the top tiers, and social media groups dropping to just 25% high or solid trust. Rural areas show the sharpest skepticism; only 16% express high or solid trust in local elected officials, and just 20% for social media groups, while low trust spikes to 42% for elected officials and 38% for social media. Overall, the data highlights a widening trust gap, where rural communities are significantly more distrustful, particularly of leadership and digital platforms, while urban communities maintain stronger confidence in traditional local media.
🔴💜🔵Difference in Party: The data shows a clear partisan divide, with Democrats consistently expressing higher confidence in most local information sources compared to Republicans and Independents. Half of Democrats report high or solid trust in local TV/radio news, compared to 44% of Republicans and just 38% of Independents. This gap is even more noticeable for local non-profits, where Democrats reach 50% in the top tiers versus 40% of Republicans and 31% of Independents who feel the same. Meanwhile, Republicans and Independents show higher levels of low trust across multiple categories, especially social media groups (29% and 31% low trust, respectively) and local elected officials (29% and 28%).
🏎️🏁Race: The data also shows clear differences in how racial groups distribute their trust across local information sources, with White and Black respondents more likely to report higher levels of trust than Hispanic respondents. For instance, around 42% of White respondents express high or solid trust in local TV/radio news, similar to about 41% of Black respondents, while Hispanic respondents are much lower at roughly 32%. A similar pattern appears for local nonprofits, where White and Black respondents cluster around the low-40% range in high or solid trust, compared to about 36% among Hispanic respondents. Meanwhile, Hispanic respondents are far more concentrated in the “some trust” category, reaching as high as 54% for social media groups and 45% for local elected officials, indicating more moderate, but less firm, confidence. Black respondents also stand out for relatively higher trust in social media groups (32% high or solid trust) compared to White (29%) and Hispanic (23%) respondents.
