American Research Group

What American Research Group does

American Research Group, Inc. is a privately held polling and survey research firm headquartered in Manchester, New Hampshire, that has operated continuously for more than four decades. Its core activity is opinion polling for political and consumer topics, anchored by The New Hampshire Poll (quarterly, since 1976), monthly national presidential job-approval and economic-sentiment surveys, and an annual Holiday Spending Survey (since 1985; 41st edition in 2025). The firm also publishes a portfolio of election pollster accuracy ratings comparing survey forecasts against actual outcomes.

The technology stack is deliberately traditional rather than AI-driven. Methodology rests on Address-Based Sampling that matches residential addresses to landline and cell-phone numbers, supplemented by mail, toll-free telephone, and Internet completion for unmatched households. Polling quality is benchmarked using the Martin-Traugott-Kennedy accuracy measure, applied across an internal analysis of over 5,000 election surveys from 45 pollsters, with democratic-weighted demographics and a scaled voter-likely screen. A companion suite of free interactive tools — sample-size, margin-of-error, ballot-lead, electoral-vote calculators, and a sampling-error demonstration — is hosted on the company website, alongside published methodological commentary on confidence-interval overconfidence.

Revenue mechanics are opaque because the company is privately held with no disclosed financials, pricing, or institutional ownership; effectively all distribution occurs through the owned website (americanresearchgroup.com) and RSS feed. The addressable customer base described in the material — media organizations, political campaigns and elected officials, and the general public/consumers — is reached through citation of poll results rather than disclosed enterprise contracts, and the firm has no third-party channels, resellers, app, or API surface.

Name

American Research Group

Legal name

American Research Group, Inc.

Website

https://americanresearchgroup.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1985

Operating status

Operating

Short description

American Research Group is a privately held Manchester, New Hampshire-based polling and survey research firm that runs The New Hampshire Poll, monthly national presidential approval surveys, and annual holiday-spending research, supplying media organizations, political campaigns, and the general public.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Public Opinion Research

NAICS

Marketing Research and Public Opinion Polling (54191)

akta.pro primary industry

Syndicated Market Research (Panels, Omnibus, Tracker Studies) (MPAAALAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Quantitative Research & Survey Analytics (Survey Design, Sampling, Statistical Modeling) (MPAAALAF), Audience Measurement & Media Research (Ratings, Attribution, Media Mix Insights) (MPAAALAM), Survey, Panel & Fieldwork Services (BPAHALAJ)

Keywords

• Public opinion polling
• Survey research services
• Election polling
• Consumer sentiment surveys
• Political market research

Headquarters

HQ city

Manchester

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

American Research Group conducts public opinion polling and survey research, including national presidential approval tracking, state-level election polling (notably New Hampshire), economic and consumer sentiment surveys such as holiday spending, and election pollster accuracy ratings. The firm also provides interactive survey methodology tools (sample size, margin of error, ballot lead, and electoral vote calculators) and maintains a historical polling archive dating back to 1976.

Product overview

American Research Group, Inc. is a polling and survey research company offering a portfolio of research products and web-based survey tools. The core offering includes national presidential polling and the long-running New Hampshire Poll (since 1976), along with analytical products such as presidential election pollster ratings across multiple election cycles. The company also provides free web-based survey methodology tools including a Sample Size Calculator, Margin of Error Calculator, Ballot Lead Calculator, Electoral Vote Calculator, and a Sampling Error demonstration tool. Educational and marketing resources include The Scintillating Grid visual tool and the '10 Rules for More Effective Advertising' guide. The company conducts annual holiday spending surveys tracking consumer behavior since 1985.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• National Presidential Approval Poll
• The New Hampshire Poll
• Presidential Election Pollster Ratings
• Consumer Sentiment and Holiday Spending Survey
• Survey Methodology Calculators

Quantifiable outcome

• On average, 75% of election poll results fall within their stated 95% confidence intervals when compared to actual vote totals
• +3 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature7 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Broad incumbents

• Gallup: Gallup is the largest and most established US public opinion polling firm, conducting presidential approval, economic confidence, and consumer sentiment surveys that directly overlap with American Research Group's core offerings, but operating at much greater scale with global reach.
• Pew Research Center: Pew Research Center is a major nonpartisan public opinion research institution producing national and topical polling on politics, media, and social issues, with a methodology focus and broad archive analogous to American Research Group's, though at substantially larger scale.
• Morning Consult: Morning Consult is a technology-enabled survey research firm producing daily political tracking and extensive consumer and brand research across global markets — competing with American Research Group in presidential approval and economic sentiment, but with substantially broader scope and a B2B subscription model.

Direct peers

• Marist Poll: Marist Poll is an independent university-based polling operation conducting national and state-level political, consumer, and social research using telephone interviews — directly comparable to American Research Group in methodology, product mix, and customer base.
• Quinnipiac University Poll: Quinnipiac University Poll conducts frequent national and state-level political polling, including presidential approval and election surveys, using landline and cell phone samples in a manner closely aligned with American Research Group's approach.
• Rasmussen Reports: Rasmussen Reports is an independent polling firm producing daily presidential approval tracking and election polling using automated and live interviewer telephone methods, serving a similar media and political customer base as American Research Group.
• Public Policy Polling: Public Policy Polling is a privately held public opinion polling firm conducting automated telephone surveys for political campaigns and media clients, with comparable product offerings in state-level and national political polling.
• SurveyUSA: SurveyUSA is an independent polling and market research firm using interactive voice response and probability-based sampling to produce political, consumer, and custom research — closely paralleling American Research Group's polling focus and methodology.
• Monmouth University Polling Institute: Monmouth University Polling Institute conducts national and state-level political polling with rigorous methodological standards and published methodology documentation, making it a direct methodological peer to American Research Group.
• Emerson College Polling: Emerson College Polling is an independent polling operation producing national and state-level political surveys with published methodology, comparable in scale, methodology, and customer focus to American Research Group.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about American Research Group