Citizen Satisfaction With Federal Government Hits 7-Year High, ACSI Data Show

ANN ARBOR, Mich.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Citizen satisfaction with U.S. federal government services reaches a 7-year high, climbing 2.2% to a score of 69.7 (out of 100), according to the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI®) Federal Government Study 2024. With this increase, the industry has experienced its largest 4-year gain (net 9.9%) since the ACSI began measuring citizen satisfaction in 1999.

“Citizens are the happiest they’ve been with federal government services since 2017 — and for good reason,” says Forrest Morgeson, Associate Professor of Marketing at Michigan State University and Director of Research Emeritus at the ACSI. “The efficiency and ease of government processes and the ease of accessing and clarity of information — two key satisfaction drivers —improve year over year, and customer service remains high at 78. Sure, perceptions of government website quality dip by a point, but after surging 13% a year ago, citizens still give it strong marks.”

Office of Personnel Management leads federal department/independent agencies in satisfaction

Of the 12 federal departments/independent agencies reported by the ACSI, the Office of Personnel Management has the highest satisfaction score of 76. This department includes citizen ratings of Federal Employment Services and Retirement Services.

The Department of Homeland Security is next at 74, followed by the Department of Agriculture (73), the Department of Commerce (73), and Recreation.gov (72), the federal government’s centralized travel planning and reservation platform.

On the other end of the spectrum sits the Department of the Treasury, with the government’s lowest ACSI score of 61.

Citizens prefer government websites to call centers; federal government is handling complaints better

When it comes to interacting with federal government websites or call centers, the message is clear: The online experience is better.

The call center satisfaction index sits at 62, while the website satisfaction index is 10 points higher at 72.

Meanwhile, over the past four years, complaints filed by citizens with the federal government have risen from 15.3% in 2021 to 22.6% in 2024. However, ACSI data show that the federal government’s ability to handle complaints has improved since President Biden signed Executive Order 14058 on Transforming Federal Customer Experience and Service Delivery to Rebuild Trust in Government in 2021. In 2024, citizens rate their complaint handling experience a 66 —15 points higher than 2021. That’s better than 18 industries measured by the ACSI, including subscription TV service, food delivery, internet service providers (ISPs), social media, and automobiles.

The ACSI Federal Government Study 2024 is based on 5,769 completed surveys. Respondents were chosen at random and contacted via email throughout the year. Download the study, and follow the ACSI on LinkedIn and X at @theACSI.

No advertising or other promotional use can be made of the data and information in this release without the express prior written consent of ACSI LLC.

About the ACSI

The American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI^®) has been a national economic indicator for over 25 years. It measures and analyzes customer satisfaction with approximately 400 companies in about 40 industries and 10 economic sectors, including various services of federal and local government agencies. Reported on a scale of 0 to 100, scores are based on data from roughly 200,000 responses annually. For more information, visit www.theacsi.org.

ACSI and its logo are Registered Marks of American Customer Satisfaction Index LLC.