Pollster ratings · Head to head

Change vs. Selzer: which pollster is more accurate?

Selzer comes out ahead on 6 of 6 measures in the Crosstab Trust Index, which grades pollsters on how close their final polls came to actual results from 1998 to 2022.

 
Change Research
C+
Trust Score 33/100 · rank #54
★ Ahead
Selzer & Co.
A+
Trust Score 94/100 · rank #1

Head to head

MeasureChangeSelzer
Trust Score33/10094/100 ★
Average error
how far final polls missed the result
5.6 pts2.7 pts ★
Versus expected
error compared with what its races predicted
0.7 worse2.1 better ★
Consistency
random miss once its tilt is removed
±4.5 pts±2.7 pts ★
Historical bias
closer to even is better
D+3.2D+0.3 ★
Winners called71%89% ★
Track record
final polls analyzed, 1998–2022
102 polls35 polls
2026 polls13—
2026 lean
versus other polls of the same races
D+0.8—

Compare them in the interactive Trust Index All pollster ratings

More comparisons: Change Research vs. YouGov · Selzer & Co. vs. YouGov · Change Research vs. Emerson College · Emerson College vs. Selzer & Co. · Change Research vs. University of New Hampshire Survey Center · Selzer & Co. vs. University of New Hampshire Survey Center · Change Research vs. New York Times/Siena College · New York Times/Siena College vs. Selzer & Co.

Frequently asked questions

Which is more accurate, Change or Selzer?

Selzer has the smaller average error (2.7 pts vs. 5.6 pts). Overall, selzer comes out ahead on 6 of 6 measures in the Crosstab Trust Index (Change: C+, Trust Score 33; Selzer: A+, Trust Score 94).

Grades: Crosstab Trust Index, computed from FiveThirtyEight's pollster-ratings data (CC BY 4.0), 1998–2022; 2026 measures from Crosstab's polling data.

Updated 2026-10-04 · Crosstab, nonpartisan polling analysis.