Results of the 2009 National Citizen Survey

Background:
This is the second scientific survey conducted by the City of Sioux Falls; the first was done in early 2008. The survey was sent to 3,000 households selected at random. Results are statistically weighted to reflect the proper demographic composition of the entire community. Of the 3,000 households that received surveys, 922 completed and returned them. This is a typical response rate seen across the country and it resulted in a margin of error of plus/minus 3% for the survey.

Highlight Summary of Results: (Complete results are available to be downloaded in the links on the right side of this page.)

Overall Community Quality:

• 88% rate the overall quality of life good or excellent. (up from 83% in 2008)
• 92% rate Sioux Falls as a good or excellent place to live. (up from 89% in 2008)
• 93% said they would recommend living in Sioux Falls to someone who asked.

Services Areas:

• 68% said snow removal is good or excellent. (up from 59% in 2008)
• 32% said street repair is good or excellent. (up from 27% in 2008)
• 80% said the drinking water is good or excellent. (up from 75% in 2008)
• 7% said run-down buildings, weed lots and junk vehicles are a problem in Sioux Falls.

Economic Sustainability

• 82% say the overall quality of businesses in Sioux Falls is good or excellent.
• 73% say Sioux Falls is a good or excellent place to work. (up from 68% in 2008)
• 53% say employment opportunities are good or excellent. (down from 56% in 2008)

Safety

• 95% feel safe in their neighborhoods during the day.
• 78% feel safe after dark.
• 83 percent say the police services are good or excellent. (up from 78% in 2008)
• 95% say fire rescue services are good or excellent. (up from 93% in 2008)

Quality of Life

• 92% say city parks are good or excellent.
• 87% say public library services are good or excellent.
• 82% say health services are good or excellent.

Civic Engagement. Our residents are engaged in their community.

• 61% have volunteered time to a group or activity.
• 85% voted in the last general election.
• 66% have visited the City’s website, www.siouxfalls.org.

Public Trust. Trust is an important bond between a city’s leaders and its citizens.

• 92% told us they felt they were getting at least a fair value for their tax dollar.
• 84% said the image of Sioux Falls is good or excellent.
• 94% said “fair” or better when asked to rate the direction Sioux Falls is heading.

Top responses to the question; What, if anything, do you think makes Sioux Falls a great place to live?

• 66% Parks and Recreation.
• 62% Friends and family.
• 61% Size of the community.
• 59% Safety of community.

How do we compare?

The National Citizen Survey collects data from approximately 500 cities nationwide. In comparing Sioux Falls to other cities in service areas nationwide, we outperformed them in 30 service areas. We scored on par for five. And we were slightly below the benchmark in two.

The National Citizen Survey™ (The NCS™) is a collaborative effort between National Research Center, Inc. (NRC) and the International City/County Management Association (ICMA).

The survey and its administration are standardized to assure high quality survey methods and comparable results across The National Citizen Survey™ jurisdictions. Participating households are selected at random and the household member who responds is selected without bias. Multiple mailings give each household more than one chance to participate with self-addressed and postage paid envelopes. Results are statistically weighted to reflect the proper demographic composition of the entire community.