Affordability A Concern Among Alexandria Residents: Survey

ALEXANDRIA, VA -- Alexandria residents overall say the city is a good place to live, but most are concerned about affordability.

The annual survey asked residents about a number of factors in Alexandria and compared results with national benchmarks. 3,000 randomly-selected Alexandria residents were invited to take the survey, and nearly 700 completed it, similar to the number of completed surveys last year.

Overall, 92 percent rated Alexandria as an excellent or good place to live, compared to 95 percent last year. 94 percent said they would recommend living in Alexandria to others and 80 percent intend to stay in Alexandria in the next five years.

However, housing affordability and cost of living remain challenges for many residents. Satisfaction ratings for both categories were below 24 and 23 percent respectively, which is lower than the average of comparator communities. Respondents identified things they believed were barriers to living in Alexandria, with the highest being age (13 percent), race (10 percent), and color (9 percent), and the lowest being religion (3 percent), gender identity (4 percent), and sexual orientation (5 percent)

Another result below the comparator communities was K-12, which 56 percent of respondents rated positively.

Most of the other aspects were on par or above the national benchmarks. Alexandrians were more likely to give positive ratings on walkability, public transportation, the downtown area, employment opportunities and acceptance of people of different backgrounds.

On the quality of city services, 61 percent gave a positive rating, down from 63 percent last year. Views on safety have remained the same as last year, with 96 percent saying they feeling safe in their neighborhoods. Ratings for police and fire rose to 88 and 96 percent respectively.

The city plans to use the survey results to guide the budget process, track progress on the city's strategic plan, and provide data for performance reports.

"The results of this survey were generally very positive, with high livability, economy and safety scores, and positive overall views of government services," said City Manager Mark Jinks in a statement. "The City uses this survey as an accountability tool to see where we are doing well and where improvements need to be made. City staff and community members have worked hard to achieve such favorable results."

To view the full survey results, click here.

Image via K. Summerer/Visit Alexandria