NEW ORLEANS – In a partnership with Causeway Solutions, a Metairie-based data analytics company, The Ehrhardt Group has issued a comprehensive report measuring a range of factors impacting the mood in the Gulf South region. The Ehrhardt Group is the largest public relations and communications firm in the Gulf South.
The Group’s 2025 Gulf South Index – “Too Much Noise, Not Enough Trust: Gulf South Consumers Are Tuning Out—and Inward” reveals a complex portrait of a region grappling with economic uncertainty, media skepticism, and shifting personal values. As former Federal Reserve economist Claudia Sahm put it, “Consumers are really just pissed off about the world.”
Now in its sixth year, the Index captures a public mood that is increasingly weary, cautious, and introspective, but, as The Ehrhardt Group has indicated, there is “backyard optimism.”
“Our idea of backyard optimism – the phenomenon that the closer you get to your own backyard, the better you feel about how your life is going – buoyed our spirits and showed itself repeatedly in the Gulf South Index numbers.,” said The Ehrhardt Group.
Financial Realities and Consumer Outlook
According to The Ehrhardt Group’s Gulf South Index, only 27% of residents in the Gulf South report being in "good financial shape." Another 42% are reporting financial strain, saying that they are "trying to pay our bills."
Major purchases have declined. In 2024, 87% did not buy a house, 73% did not purchase a car, and 80% said they are not likely to buy a house in the next six months.
The optimism reported in 2024 has dimmed, with just 3% of Americans rating the economy as "excellent" and 70% saying they’re dissatisfied with the direction of the country. Only 39% of Gulf South respondents said they think the “American Dream” can be achieved compared with the rest of the nation with 47% still believing in it.
Despite over half of Americans saying they do not think they can achieve financial success, 79% say they are still proud to be American and, in the Gulf South, this number rises to 83%.
Information Overload and Eroding Trust
The Gulf South Index has revealed that residents in 2025 are inundated with information but trust in these sources is waning. Only 35% of Gulf South respondents trust local TV news, the most trusted source.
“We’ve all heard the phrase: ‘Trust but verify.’ In 2025, the verifying part has gotten a lot harder. People in the Gulf South, like the rest of the country, are navigating a firehose of information—headlines, hashtags, talking heads, trending TikToks—all while trying to make smart, personal decisions for themselves and their families. And in that noise, trust is taking a hit,” stated The Ehrhardt Group’s summary.
According to the American Psychological Association, content that evokes fear or outrage is more likely to be believed and shared than other content.
“Over half of Gulf South residents expressed increasing concern about the spread of false information. Trust in cable news and online news websites has eroded over six years,” the Gulf South Index reports. “Local news still leads in trust, but it too has slipped from 47% in 2020 to 35% in 2025.”
Nationally, ninety-three percent of Gen Z spends over two hours per day on social media but only 39% of them feel optimistic about the year ahead. In the Gulf South region, though, optimism rises to 58%.
However, while 15% nationally say they spend 6 hours per day on their phones, that number increases in the Gulf South, with 25% of respondents saying they spend 6 hours per day on their smart/cell phones.
The Gulf South also spends more time on social media than the rest of the country. Thirty-one percent of Gulf South respondents said they spend 2-3 hours per day on social media while the national percentage for daily social media time is 26%.
Despite declining trust in national media, local news retains a relatively higher trust level, with 35% of Gulf South residents expressing confidence. Local news networks are the primary source for 52% of respondents.
The Ehrhardt Group says this means that while people are tired, they’re not giving up. “They’re skeptical, but not completely hopeless. The downward trend of losing faith can’t be ignored now. The headlines may be getting louder, but most folks are trying to tune into something quieter: their families, their communities and their own sense of what’s right.”
Methodology
The Gulf South Index “Too Much Noise, Not Enough Trust: Gulf South Consumers Are Tuning Out—and Inward” compiles hundreds of thousands of data points to examine consumer behavior, news consumption, and spending habits across the Gulf South and the broader U.S. region. Based on an online survey of 1,500 adults conducted from December 2–4, 2024, with a margin of error of 2.5%, the Index provides insights into how people make purchasing decisions and live their daily lives. Some survey questions allowed multiple responses.
