MOCO Residents Rate The County More Favorably Now Than In 2007: Survey

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, MD — In a biannual survey commissioned by Montgomery County and conducted from Nov. 29, 2021 to Jan. 17, 2022, 90 percent of residents said they would rate life in the county as "good" or "excellent," the county said in a news release.

The biannual survey was given to a representative sample of 565 residents and asked questions about overall livability to opinions on more specific issues, such as safety downtown or public library services.

Some highlights from the survey include:

• 89 percent of survey takers said that they are "very" or "somewhat likely" to recommend living in Montgomery County. That's one percentage point higher than 2019, two percentage points higher than in 2017 and the same as the 2007 survey.
• Slightly fewer, 86 percent of respondents, said they are "very" or "somewhat" likely to stay in the county for the next five years. That is two percentage points higher than 2019 and three percentage points higher than in 2017, according to the news release.
• 57 percent of survey takers said the overall direction that Montgomery County is taking is "excellent" or "good." That's the same as 2019, one percentage point lower than 2017 and five percentage points higher than in 2007.

“The last two years have been very tough for our residents and County employees,” said County Executive Marc Elrich in a news release. “We worked hard to keep people safe from COVID-19 while delivering essential services to our residents during the pandemic. The results of this survey are reassuring that our efforts had a positive impact on people’s lives.

"The findings of the survey are particularly encouraging since the research was conducted right in the middle of the Omicron variant surge," he continued. "The increases in favorable responses to questions about the County’s livability and quality of life are a testament to the role our government has played in supporting and protecting our residents through these challenging times.”

Here are a few stats from the survey — for the full set of responses, see the data here.

Safety

Survey takers rated their feelings of safety in Montgomery County slightly lower than in the past. Seventy-seven percent said they had an excellent or good feeling of safety, which is down from 84 percent in 2019 and 81 percent in 2017.

More specifically, though, 94 percent of respondents said they feel comfortable in their own neighborhoods and 87 percent said they feel safe in downtown areas.

Roughly three quarters said that police services are excellent or good, down from 85 percent in 2017.

Education, Arts And Culture

Nine in 10 survey takers said that public library services are excellent or good, and three quarters said opportunities to attend cultural, arts and music activities were excellent or good. Roughly half of respondents rated the availability of affordable quality childcare and preschool as excellent or good.

Inclusivity

About three quarters of survey takers said that Montgomery County does a good or excellent job at valuing and respecting residents from diverse backgrounds. The same amount said that the county is good or excellent at making everyone feel welcome.

Nearly nine in 10 people said Montgomery County was a good place to raise children, but only 45 percent said it was good place to retire.

Transportation

Six out of 10 residents said that it's easy to walk in Montgomery County, compared to 38 percent who rated traffic flow on major streets as good or excellent.

About half of the respondents said that parking in the county was good or excellent.

Economy

About three quarters of people said that the vibrancy of downtown areas is good or excellent, and 84 percent said that Montgomery County was a good or excellent place to work. Just over one-fifth of respondents said that the cost of living was good or excellent.

The survey was conducted by Polco/National Research Center in Boulder, CO.