Citizen satisfaction with federal government services declined 2.6% in 2026 to a score of 68.6 out of 100, ending four consecutive years of improvement, according to the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) Federal Government Study released Oct. 20.
The study is based on a fiscal year (FY) 2026 survey of 7,932 randomly selected respondents. The survey found that satisfaction fell across all four major service categories – customer service, websites, process efficiency, and information – as federal agencies navigated significant workforce reductions and organizational restructuring. Customer service fell 4% to 74. Websites dropped 3% to 75, and process efficiency declined 3% to 70. Satisfaction with information from the federal government fell 1% to 72.
Another factor – complaint handling – dropped 7% to 65. The drop in handling quality, while complaint volume remains flat, points to reduced resolution capacity rather than an influx of new complaints, according to the report.
“Federal agencies are being asked to do more with far fewer people, and citizens are noticing,” said Forrest Morgeson, associate professor of marketing at Michigan State University and director of research emeritus at ACSI, in a statement.
The findings are a downward shift from last year’s survey, which found that citizen satisfaction had reached a 19-year high of 70.4 in 2025, up 1% from 2024. That survey, conducted before the 2025 government shutdown, credited federal employees and the growing adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) and digital technologies for improving service delivery.
ACSI’s 2025 report credited technologies such as callback systems, AI-powered virtual agents, and voicebots that helped agencies improve call center experiences. However, the 2026 report suggests that those technologies may not be scaling fast enough to keep pace with citizen expectations. Staffing pressures across agencies further strain call centers and websites, ACSI said in the 2026 report.
The FY 2026 survey found that the federal call center satisfaction index fell 3% to 63, reversing a 5% improvement in 2025 that brought the score to 65. The website satisfaction index also declined, falling 1% from 72 to 71.
Despite the governmentwide decline in FY 2026, some agencies demonstrated improvements.
The State Department earned the highest satisfaction score among the 15 departments and independent agencies included in the report, climbing 3% to 77. ACSI attributed the improvement to the department’s online passport renewal program, which reduced the renewal process from approximately 40 minutes on paper to 10 minutes online.
The General Services Administration, which oversees USA.gov, was the only other agency to improve. Its satisfaction score rose 1% to 73.
The Small Business Administration experienced the steepest decline, falling 9% to 67 after agencywide restructuring and a workforce reduction of approximately 43%. The Agriculture Department, which led the 2025 rankings with a score of 77, fell 5% to 73.
Morgeson said sustained investment in digital services remains important even as agencies undergo organizational changes.
“Sustained investment in digital service delivery can pay off even during a period of institutional change, but that kind of success requires years of development and consistent resourcing,” Morgeson said. “Replicating it becomes difficult when agencies are simultaneously managing large-scale workforce reductions.”