2024 resident survey shows OKC is setting the national standard as a place to live, work and retire
10/25/2024
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Satisfaction with Oklahoma City as a place to live, work, raise children, visit and retire is significantly above the national average, according to results from the City’s annual survey administered in July by surveyor ETC Institute.
The survey results are available on okc.gov.
The resident survey is one of many tools City leaders use to help prioritize funding for projects and services.
Benchmarking against the national average
Oklahoma City ranked 32% above the national average as a place to live, 17% above as a place to work and 13% above as a place to retire. Additionally, Oklahoma City ranked 5% above the national average as a place to raise children, and as a place to visit, we ranked 9% above the national average.
Of the 52 categories comparable to ETC’s national benchmarking database, OKC rated above the average in 30 areas and significantly above average in 26.
OKC is moving in the right direction
The results show that 69% of residents believe the City is moving in the right direction.
Customer Service
City of Oklahoma City employees continue to set the standard for service delivery compared to the national average. The customer service received from City employees was 12% above the national average and is among the best in the nation. Residents rated the Fire Department 90%, trash services 84%, ambulance 71%, Police Department 67%, water utilities 64%, and Parks and Recreation 63%.
“These consistently strong feedback scores emphasize our employees' dedication to this community,” City Manager Craig Freeman said. “Our employees strive daily to serve residents with responsiveness, respect and integrity.”
Opportunities for improvement
Although OKC sets the standard in many areas, the areas that residents are most dissatisfied with include homelessness and the condition of city streets. Fifty-one percent of respondents reported being very dissatisfied with homelessness, and 29% were very dissatisfied with the condition of City streets and traffic flow. This is the first year that homelessness was included as a category on the survey.
“Homelessness is a crisis throughout the nation,” Freeman added. “Key to Home Partnership is a collaboration of more than 50 organizations working together to house people who are unsheltered in OKC. We are proud of the progress the Partnership has made over the past two years, and we will continue building off the momentum. Regarding the condition of City streets, we are continuing to make big investments in streets through the Better Streets, Safer City 2017 bond package. Improving streets will be a major focus of a bond program being planned in 2025.”
Improvements in satisfaction since 2023
The top three areas that saw the most improvement over the past year include:
- Bulky waste pick-up/removal services.
- Public transit.
- Cleanliness of streets & other public areas.
Decreases in satisfaction since 2023
Areas that saw the biggest decreases from last year include:
- Condition of pavement markings on streets.
- Enforcement of local traffic laws.
- Speed of service (e.g., repairs, starting service) – OKC Utilities.
Purpose
The purpose of the survey is to objectively assess resident satisfaction with the delivery of City services, gather input from residents to help set priorities and track OKC’s performance against itself and other similar-sized cities over time.
Methodology
This is the 18th year the survey has been administered by phone, mail, text and online to a randomly selected sample of households in Oklahoma City. The sample was designed to ensure the results would be statistically valid for each of the City’s eight wards. At least 150 surveys were completed in each ward, and 1,305 residents responded.
2025 GO bond program
Oklahoma City asking residents for input as it plans a general obligation (GO) bond election in fall 2025. In this election, voters will decide to fund major infrastructure projects across the city, including streets, bridges, parks, drainage and more. People are encouraged to visit okc.gov/GO and drop a pin on the interactive map to show locations where improvements are needed.
About Key to Home Partnership
To address homelessness differently in Oklahoma City, a system of governance called the Key to Home Partnership was launched in April 2023. Key to Home is a public-private partnership of over 40 agencies whose mission is to prevent and end homelessness in OKC alongside the City of OKC and the private sector. Visit keytohomeokc.org for details.
About Better Streets, Safer City
Improvements to streets, traffic flow, police and parks are being made through a 10-year, $967 million bond package called Better Streets, Safer City, a permanent ¼ cent sales tax to hire more police officers and firefighters.
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Media Contact: Kristy Yager, (405) 297-2550, kristy.yager@okc.gov
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City Hall, 200 N Walker Ave., Oklahoma City, OK 73102
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