COLUMBUS – Central Ohioans possess a healthy amount of skepticism but are more likely than the average American to expect the best from their fellow men or women.
According to a study released Wednesday, 31 percent Columbus residents have “high social trust,” defined as “having faith that others will do the right thing,” compared to 21 percent nationwide.
However, 41 percent have “low social trust,” according to the study, while only 31 percent displayed “high” levels of trust and 29 percent had “medium social trust.”
Midwesterners in general are more trusting than the average American.
The first-ever Columbus Trust Study examined answers to questions in the U.S. General Social Survey. The study was unveiled at the Columbus Chamber of Commerce Leadership Series for Small Business by FrazierHeiby Public Relations and Illuminology, a local market research firm.
Asked to evaluate the “honesty and ethical standards” of people in 16 occupations, 80 percent concluded that firefighters have “very high” or “high” standards, followed by nurses (68%) and farmers (62%).
At the other end of the trust spectrum, car salespeople – at 7 percent — were viewed as least trustworthy, followed by state government officials (10%) and insurance salespeople (12%) (see graph).
The results are based on a poll of 400 Franklin County residents conducted in March and April of this year. It has a plus/minus confidence level of 5 percentage points.