Housing Prices, Crime Among Top Concerns In Anne Arundel County: New AACC Poll

ARNOLD, MD — A new poll found that housing prices, crime and the economy are among the biggest concerns in Anne Arundel County. The survey also reported that approval ratings are declining for politicians.

Anne Arundel Community College and the Center for the Study of Local Issues announced the results Saturday in their semesterly poll. The survey is released every spring and fall.

Largest Changes

Housing prices saw the greatest increase in people who listed it among their top concerns, jumping up 7 percentage points. The environment and transportation also saw a 6 percentage point hike in concern rate.

The economy posted the biggest drop in concern, with 10 percentage points fewer people listing it among their most-pressing worries. Education and COVID-19 saw the second-largest dips in concern at 4 percentage points each.

The economy and education still remain some of the top issues, despite their decreased worry from the autumn poll when they were hotter topics.

The economy was still the second-most common concern, and education was the fifth-largest worry.

Biggest Issues

Crime was the biggest issue in the poll, with 24 percent of participants listing it.

The economy and overpopulation were tied for second with 22 percent.

Drugs were the third-most-pressing worry at 21 percent.

Housing costs (20 percent) and education (19 percent) rounded out the five hottest concerns.

A lack of government resources, racism, the coronavirus and political corruption had some of the lowest concern ratings. These topics all saw less than 5 percent of respondents list them among their most-pressing worries.

Politics

The approval ratings fell for most politicians, and none took home high grades.

Here are the current approval ratings for elected and appointed offices:

• President Joe Biden (D): 41 percent, down from 50 percent last fall
• Gov. Wes Moore (D): 49 percent, down from former Gov. Larry Hogan's 75 percent last fall
• County Executive Steuart Pittman (D): 43 percent, up from 42 percent last fall
• Anne Arundel County Council: 46 percent, unchanged from last fall
• Maryland General Assembly: 36 percent, down from 39 percent last fall
• Board Of Education: 27 percent, down from 32 percent last fall
• Congress: 15 percent, down from 24 percent last fall

For comparison, presidential approval ratings typically range from 40 percent to 50 percent nationwide.

The pollsters reported that there was a notable difference in the approval scores handed out by Republican and Democratic respondents. This suggests there is strong partisan polarization in Anne Arundel County, the pollsters said.

Participants also opposed the mainstream candidates for president.

About 58 percent said Biden should not be the Democratic nominee in 2024. Around 76 percent said former President Donald Trump should not be the Republican nominee.

Methodology

The survey polled a random sample of 523 adults in Anne Arundel County. About 43 percent are Democrats, 31 percent are Republicans and the rest are unaffiliated, members of a third party or not registered to vote.

The survey was conducted online from April 5 to April 15 using a database of participants from previous telephone interviews. The sample was weighted by gender, political party, age, race, council district and education to better represent the general population.

The poll had a margin of error of +/- 4.2 percentage points. That means there is a 95 percent chance that the actual portion of residents who share those beliefs falls within 4.2 percentage points in either direction of the values listed in the survey.

The margin of error was higher for subgroups like Democrats and men.

Anybody who wants to see the 181-page results report can email poll organizer Dan Nataf at ddnataf@aacc.edu.