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Public Safety

Survey Says Most San Diego Residents Happy With Quality Of Life

San Diegans are generally satisfied with where they live and with municipal services like fire protection, libraries, lifeguards, emergency medical technicians and waste collection, according results of a city-commissioned survey released Wednesday.

The survey by ETC Institute of Olathe, Kansas, found that 48 percent of almost 2,500 respondents found San Diego to be an excellent place to live, while an additional 39 percent thought it was a good place to reside. Only 3 percent found San Diego to be poor or very poor.

Thirty-one percent of those who took the survey via phone or filling out a form said San Diego was an excellent place to raise a family, and another 45 rated the city as good.

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Lesser majorities rated San Diego as an excellent or good place to work, retire or begin a career. Only 14 percent said the area was an excellent location to start a business, with an extra 26 percent who said it was good.

"I've been pushing for more openness and transparency so city government can be held accountable and achieve results that help build our better future," Mayor Kevin Faulconer said. "We've never done a survey as robust as this one, and now that we have this data, we can use it to make changes and get better results."

Streets, sidewalks and infrastructure were named by residents as their top spending priority. The condition and maintenance of the city's streets ranked poorly, with 59 percent of respondents saying they were either dissatisfied or very dissatisfied.

"We know infrastructure is the most important issue for our residents and this survey is just a reminder that there is a lot of work left to do," said Councilman Mark Kersey, who chairs of the council's Infrastructure Committee.

"By investing more into our streets, sidewalks, libraries, parks and fire stations, Mayor Faulconer and this council have shown their commitment to this issue," Kersey said.

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Respondents also gave the city poor marks on its efforts to address homelessness, with 61 percent saying they were either dissatisfied or very dissatisfied.

KPBS has created a public safety coverage policy to guide decisions on what stories we prioritize, as well as whose narratives we need to include to tell complete stories that best serve our audiences. This policy was shaped through months of training with the Poynter Institute and feedback from the community. You can read the full policy here.