National poll shows widespread American support for federally funded public radio

In a survey conducted by The Harris Poll on behalf of NPR, two-thirds of Americans (66%) agree that they support federal funding for public radio, and the same proportion (66%) agree that federal funding for public radio is a good value for taxpayer dollars.

Over half of Republicans (58%) and three-quarters of Democrats (77%) support federal funding for public radio. And, 59% of Republicans and 76% of Democrats agree it is a good value for taxpayer dollars. Reliance on public radio emergency alerts is bipartisan — over 7-in-10 Americans who identify as Republicans (77%) and Democrats (78%) agree "I rely on public radio emergency alerts and news for my public safety"

• Seven in ten Americans (70%) are familiar with public radio, with 35% saying they are extremely or very familiar.
• More than 1 in 3 Americans (36%) use public radio at least once a week, [including 36% of all Republicans and 40% of all Democrats].
• About 7 in 10 Americans think public radio is a valuable service for their community (71%) [64% of Republicans and 81% of Democrats] and trust/would trust the news and information from public radio (69%) [62% of Republicans and 81% of Democrats].
• Nearly 3 in 4 Americans (73%) agree they rely on public radio emergency alerts and news for their public safety [77% of Republicans and 78% of Democrats].

Survey Method:
This survey was conducted online within the United States by The Harris Poll on behalf of NPR from July 9-11, 2025, among 2,089 U.S. adults ages 18 and older. The sampling precision of Harris online polls is measured by using a Bayesian credible interval. For this study, the sample data is accurate to within +/- 2.5 percentage points using a 95% confidence level. This credible interval will be wider among subsets of the surveyed population of interest. For complete survey methodology, including weighting variables and subgroup sample sizes, please contact MediaRelations@npr.org