Modern Russian politics is characterized by the strengthening of the role of its regional level and the need to search for new indicators that reflect the quality of regional governance and social development prospects. In this context, a signifi cant object of analysis is youth as the most dynamic and sensitive to socio-political changes population group. The article analyzes the current state of regional identity of young people and argues for the possibility and need to take this state into account in assessments of the eff ectiveness of regional policy. The article shows that the regional identity of young people includes emotional attachment to the territory, trust in regional institutions of power, ideas about the life prospects of young people, their readiness to participate in socio-political processes. The author argues that the quality of youth identity is closely related to the state of the political, economic and cultural spheres in the region, the productivity of public administration mechanisms, the availability of social elevators and the possibilities of professional self-realization of youth. The article emphasizes that in the regulatory framework of regional youth policy, such an indicator as the state of regional identity of young citizens is absent. The author comes to the conclusion that it is necessary to take this indicator into account in expert assessments of effi ciency, the level of social trust in the region and long-term prospects for its development.