WASHINGTON — While the old adage says trust is earned, a new Pew Research Center survey shows half of Americans trust all or most of their neighbors, while half trust some or none of those who live nearby.
Whites, seniors and the wealthy are among those most likely to trust their neighbors, while those who feel unsafe in their neighborhood are less likely to trust.
The demographic differences on neighborly trust appear to be largely related to economics, at a time of rising residential segregation.
The Pew survey finds Americans who can afford to live in more affluent neighborhoods are generally more trusting of their neighbors: 67 percent of those with household incomes of $75,000 or more say they trust all or most of their neighbors, compared with 37 percent of those earning less than $30,000 or less.
The Pew survey shows a sharp racial divide: 62 percent of whites trust most or all of their neighbors, compared with 31 percent of blacks and 27 percent of Hispanics.
According to Pew, while whites as a group are wealthier than blacks and Hispanics, there are also gaps in trust between whites and nonwhites in the same income brackets.
