President Barack Obama's approval rating reached its highest point in more than three years in a new Quinnipiac University poll released Thursday, part of a sweeping post-election bump for the newly re-elected president.

The poll, which also contained some revealing measures relating to the fiscal cliff, found that Obama's 53 percent approval rating is at its highest point since it hit 57 percent on July 2, 2009. Only 40 percent disapprove, the lowest since the aftermath of the killing of Osama bin Laden in May 2011.

"Nothing like winning an election to boost your job approval. President Barack Obama hasn't had a score this good since his 52-40 percent approval rating May 5, 2011, right after the death of Osama bin Laden," said Peter A. Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute, in a statement.

It's part of an overall robust bump for the president since winning re-election early last month. In Gallup's daily tracking poll, Obama's approval rating has soared to highs of 53 percent, as well. In Rasmussen, it's even higher — it has sat at 56 percent for three of the past four days.

Obama's improved approval rating goes along with the vast majority of people that favor a key element of his plan to avert the fiscal cliff. By a wide 65-31 margin, voters said they favored raising taxes on incomes above $250,000.