Utahns really, really trust their state gov..

This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2014, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Utahns trust their state government more than the residents of almost any other state.

In a recent Gallup poll, Utah ranked third for having the highest trust in the state government, behind only much-less-populous North Dakota and Wyoming. The poll found that 75 percent of Utahns have either a "great deal" or "fair amount" of trust.

By contrast, 62 percent of Americans nationwide trust their state governments.

Gallup analyzed the data and found that trust in state governments tends to be higher in northern mountain states, Republican-leaning states and less populous states. All of those things describe Utah, so it's no surprise Utahns are so trusting.

Illinois landed at the bottom of the list, and the authors specifically point out that past corruption helped it earn that spot. That seems to raise a curious question about future trust in Utah: with the John Swallow scandal still unfolding and criminal charges, could Utahn's trust in state officials begin shrinking?

Time will tell. For now, however, Utahns are uniquely confident in their elected officials.

Jim Dalrymple II

Twitter: @jimmycdii

Utahns really, really trust their state government