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June 17, 2005

Survey: Area residents like quality of life,
happy with region’s direction

Full Report

A large majority of Sacramento area residents say they’re satisfied with the quality of life in the region and happy with the direction the region is headed, according to survey results released today by researchers at Sacramento State. However, they also have strong concerns about issues such as traffic, the availability of affordable housing and the quality of public education.

The survey found 85 percent of residents are satisfied with quality of life in the region, and 62 percent are happy with the direction their region is headed. In the state as a whole, according to other surveys, just 35 percent are happy with the direction their region is headed. This is consistent with patterns observed since 2002 (60 percent in Sacramento vs. 35 percent in California for 2004, 58 percent vs. 28 percent in 2003 and 65 percent vs. 56 percent in 2002).

Sacramento area residents also expressed confidence about the economy, with 65 percent saying they expect good economic conditions in the next year.

The results are from the fourth "Annual Survey of Public Opinion and Life Quality" in the Sacramento Region, conducted by Sacramento State sociology professor Amy Liu and her students. It covers El Dorado, Placer, Sacramento and Yolo counties.

Among the issues that most concern the area’s residents: 66 percent said traffic congestion is a big problem, 48 percent said the availability of affordable housing is a big problem and 46 percent said the quality of public education is a big problem. Although the levels of concern have fluctuated slightly since 2002, traffic congestion (66 percent in 2005, 67 percent in 2004, 58 percent in 2003, and 73 percent in 2002) and availability of affordable housing (48 percent in 2005, 50 percent in 2004, 51 percent in 2003, and 47 percent in 2002) have consistently remained the top two issues of concern identified in the survey.

The 2005 survey included 1,002 randomly selected adults in the Capital Region who were interviewed from Feb. 15 to March 16. The margin of error is 3 percent.

Media assistance is available by contacting Sacramento State Public Affairs at (916) 278-6156.

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