As the City grows, City leaders know it is critical to strategically plan for the future. Every other year the City asks residents to complete a community survey to learn their opinions on City services and their priorities to inform decision-making and strategic investment. The survey data is compiled and analyzed by ETC Institute, one of the nation’s leading firms in the field of local governmental research. All individual responses to the survey remain confidential.
Community Survey Dashboard
The dashboard facilitates easy access to the 2024 community survey results and shares information on resident perceptions and priorities. Learn more about other visualizations on the Transparency Hub.
FAQs
The City administers an anonymous community survey every two years to a statistically significant random sample of residents to better understand resident perceptions and priorities. The surveys are collected via mail, phone, and online. The purpose of the Community Survey is to help the City gather input from the community on a wide range of issues impacting the overall quality of life. The survey looks at City Services, as well as customer service, planning and innovation, and residents’ overall sense of health and well-being.
The results from the community survey are shared on this web page and are also viewable on the City’s Open Data portal. The survey is managed by the City’s Department of Innovation & Technology.
The City is eager to respond to the feedback residents identified in the survey. Based on benchmarks comparing resident satisfaction to peer cities in our region and cities nationwide, we need to improve. As a first step, the City seeks to address issues identified with core city services and high resident priorities. For instance, in 2020 residents identified streets quality as unsatisfactory and flagged streets infrastructure as a priority for further investment. In response, the City launched the Rebuilding Our Streets Plan, a multi-year effort to improve streets and make streets quality equitable. You can read more at https://southbendin.gov/streetsplan.
The City has conducted a statistically valid community survey every other year since 2018. Results from all community surveys can be found on this page. Some important context to consider while reviewing the 2020 community survey results is that it was conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic, which may make these results difficult to compare with other years.
Yes. In the community survey results is benchmarking data from two data sources:
- National Benchmarks. A national survey that was administered by ETC Institute during the summer of 2023 to a random sample of more than 10,000 residents across the United States.
- Regional Benchmarks. A regional survey administered during the summer of 2023 to a random sample of residents in the North Central Region of the United States. The North Central Region includes the states of Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, and Pennsylvania.