Education has maintained its position as the best-performing function under county governments, even as public satisfaction with service delivery remains below the halfway mark across most devolved services, the latest CountyTrak Performance Index 2026 by Infotrak has shown.
The survey ranked education first among the 12 functions assigned to county governments, giving it a 50 per cent approval rating in 2026.
While the sector remained the highest-rated county function, the score was lower than the 55 per cent recorded in 2023 but marked an improvement from 46 per cent in 2024.
Environment and Natural Resources emerged as the second-best performing function with a 48 per cent rating, improving from 46 per cent last year. Energy followed in third place after recording a 45 per cent score, up from 44 per cent in 2024.
Agriculture was ranked fourth with a 44 per cent approval rating. Although it remained among the better-performing county functions, its score dropped from 51 per cent recorded in 2023, pointing to continued public concerns over the delivery of agricultural services.
Several other devolved functions posted similar ratings. Vulnerable Groups and Social Services, Culture and Sports, Roads and Transport, County Planning and Development, Water Management and Sanitation, Trade and Tourism, Housing, Lands and Settlement, and Health each received scores ranging between 43 and 44 per cent.
Health, one of the most closely watched county functions, ranked at the bottom of the survey with a 43 per cent approval rating, placing it alongside other sectors that received the same score.
Overall, county governments recorded an average performance rating of 44 per cent. This reflected a slight improvement from the 43.2 per cent recorded in 2024 but remained below the 49.3 per cent average achieved in 2023.
The findings show that although counties have made some progress over the past year, public satisfaction with the delivery of devolved services continues to remain below 50 per cent in nearly all sectors assessed.
The CountyTrak Performance Index 2026 survey was carried out between January and May 2026 in all 47 counties, covering the country’s 290 constituencies and 1,450 wards. A total of 36,200 respondents took part in the study.
Infotrak said every county was treated as an independent survey area, with between 600 and 2,000 respondents selected depending on population size and the number of wards. The sampling process was based on national census data and also considered demographic factors such as age and gender.
The research firm collected data using Computer Assisted Telephone Interviews (CATI), while analysis was conducted using SPSS.
The assessment measured county performance across the 12 devolved functions. Governors were also evaluated on the delivery of campaign promises, transparency and accountability, visible development and public benefit, stewardship of public funds, accessibility and responsiveness, and media visibility.