Nine out of ten Sioux Falls residents believe the city is a good or excellent place to live, according to the results of the city’s first-ever citizen survey.

Respondents also scored Sioux Falls well as a place to raise children (84 percent said good or excellent) and access affordable quality housing, child care, and health care. They were largely satisfied with police, fire, and emergency services as well. Ninety-five percent said they felt safe in their neighborhoods during the day. Eighty percent felt safe at night.

“In the vast majority of categories, citizens were very satisfied,” Mayor Dave Munson said. “When compared with other cities where the same survey was conducted, we consistently scored above average.”

The survey covered a range of topics, from public safety to infrastructure and quality of life.

"I am very pleased with the extremely positive comments we received and the high level of participation during this survey process,” Council Chair De Knudson said.

The City included a few customized questions, including one about a proposed enlarged events center. Sixty-eight percent of respondents said they were at least somewhat supportive of such a project.

Taken during March, the National Citizen Survey contacted 3,000 scientifically selected residents. More than 1,000 completed and returned questionnaires, giving the survey a margin of error of plus/minus 3 percent.

For more information, contact Jodi Schwan at 367-8825.

For complete survey results, go to www.siouxfalls.org