It’s always sunny in Philadelphia — or, at least, it’s getting sunnier.

A new Pew Charitable Trusts survey released Wednesday found that Philadelphians are more optimistic about their city now than ever before.

Almost half of those surveyed (48 percent) indicated that Philadelphia is heading in the right direction, compared to the 37 percent who said so in the organization’s 2013 survey. Similarly, 67 percent believe the city will improve over the next five years, while less than a quarter (18 percent) think it will get worse. In 2013, just over half (52 percent) thought the city was on an up trend.

The city’s Mayor Michael Nutter benefits from this optimism, as well. According to the survey, Nutter enjoys an approval rating of 52 percent, a 13-point increase from the 2013 survey. City Council also experienced a higher approval rating — 40 percent in this poll compared to 30 percent in 2013.

In regards to specific city issues, some garnered more interest than others. Almost half of those polled (45 percent) did not have an opinion on the sale of Philadelphia Gas Works, a heated issue in the city’s government.

Many Philadelphians (60 percent) were also unaware of the city’s property tax overhaul called the Action Value Initiative. Of those who knew about the initiative, more people said taxes have become less fair than more fair — 36 to 30 percent, respectively.

On the city’s 10-year tax abatement on new construction, however, Philadelphians were more opinionated. Viewpoints were split evenly among three options: 33 percent approve of the status quo, while 30 percent prefer a reduction in the abatement and 30 percent prefer its complete elimination.

Philadelphians had a strong, and positive, opinion on the city’s decriminalization of the possession of small amounts of marijuana last year. A solid majority (64 percent) supported the city’s decision — an even stronger majority (74 percent) among young people — while just 32 percent disapproved.

The Pew Charitable Trusts also polled Philadelphians’ level of trust in police. Overall, 55 percent of Philadelphians trusted city police to treat white and black citizens equally.

However, when broken down into different racial groups, a solid majority of white citizens (68 percent) placed trust in the police’s ability to treat races equally, while only 47 percent of black citizens and 45 percent of Hispanic citizens had the same confidence in police.

The Pew Charitable Trusts poll surveyed 1,603 Philadelphia residents from Jan. 28 to Feb. 19. The survey is a part of the Philadelphia Research Initiative, and the margin of error is +/- 2.5 percent.