AUSTIN, Texas — A majority of Texans are concerned about the future of the state, and less than half believe that Texas will be better in 20 years than it was two decades ago, according to a new poll.

Texas 2036, a Dallas-based policy think tank, conducted the poll. According to poll data, 90% of Texans are concerned about the direction the state is heading, up 11 points from January 2020. 

“The biggest surprise to me was the intensity and the level of concern out there," said John Hryhorchuk, vice president of policy for Texas 2036. “And it does not matter the party the individual came from, there was a high level of concern the general direction of things.” 

The poll also found that 61% of respondents feel the state government is doing a fair or poor job solving problems facing Texas. 19% of that group attributed their low rating to the state’s pandemic response.

Another area of concern was education, with 79% of voters saying they are worried about low reading scores among elementary students.

 “What we saw throughout was a lot bipartisan agreement on issues,” said Hryhorchuk. “So regardless of party, people were in agreement over concerns like student test scores, rising costs, and crime.”

Despite the concerns, Hryhorchuk says that Texans still feel strongly about making the state better.  

“If you look at the data, there’s a resounding agreement amongst Texans that they don’t want to leave,” he said. “This is their home state. They love Texas. They’re interested in solving big problems together, and [making] Texas the best place to live and work.” 

Texas 2036 surveyed just over a thousand registered voters in January. 

Click the arrow above to watch the interview.