Pollster ratings · Head to head

Cygnal vs. UMass Lowell: which pollster is more accurate?

UMass Lowell comes out ahead on 3 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.

 
Cygnal
A
Trust Score 76/100 · rank #8
★ Ahead
University of Massachusetts Lowell Center for Public Opinion
A
Trust Score 80/100 · rank #5

Head to head

MeasureCygnalUMass Lowell
Trust Score76/10080/100 ★
Average error
how far final polls missed the result
3.8 pts3.4 pts ★
Versus expected
error compared with what its races predicted
1.5 better1.5 better
Consistency
random miss once its tilt is removed
±3.3 pts±3.3 pts
Historical bias
closer to even is better
D+2.4D+1.6 ★
Winners called92% ★85%
Track record
final polls analyzed, 1998–2022
39 polls21 polls
2026 polls111
2026 lean
versus other polls of the same races
R+0.3—

Compare them in the interactive Trust Index All pollster ratings

More comparisons: Cygnal vs. YouGov · University of Massachusetts Lowell Center for Public Opinion vs. YouGov · Cygnal vs. Emerson College · Emerson College vs. University of Massachusetts Lowell Center for Public Opinion · Cygnal vs. University of New Hampshire Survey Center · University of Massachusetts Lowell Center for Public Opinion vs. University of New Hampshire Survey Center · Cygnal vs. New York Times/Siena College · New York Times/Siena College vs. University of Massachusetts Lowell Center for Public Opinion

Frequently asked questions

Which is more accurate, Cygnal or UMass Lowell?

UMass Lowell has the smaller average error (3.4 pts vs. 3.8 pts). Overall, uMass Lowell comes out ahead on 3 of 6 measures in the Crosstab Trust Index (Cygnal: A, Trust Score 76; UMass Lowell: A, Trust Score 80).

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.