The Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC) has released the Metro Atlanta Speaks survey, spotlighting the top issues for metro Atlanta residents across the 11 counties and city of Atlanta. Perhaps to no surprise, particularly considering the results from Tuesday, the economy is the region’s top concern. Some 32 percent of respondents said economy, followed by crime at 20 percent and human services a somewhat distant third at 12 percent.
The survey was performed by Kennesaw State University’s A.L. Burruss Institute of Public Service and Research, asking more than 4,000 residents across the region about their preferences. At those numbers, results are statistically significant with a 1.5 percent margin of error for the entire survey but a bigger margin of error around 4 percent for the individual counties and Atlanta.
“The Metro Atlanta Speaks survey is an invaluable tool that helps guide our efforts to build a better region for all metro Atlanta residents,” said Atlanta Regional Commission Chair Andre Dickens, also mayor of the city of Atlanta. “This year’s survey shows that people remain concerned about the economy and other pocketbook issues like housing costs. Addressing housing affordability remains a priority for ARC and our local partners. We’re committed to driving meaningful change.”
The survey is conducted every year and helps to guide decisions by the ARC and track preferences for area residents over time, generally asking the same questions every year. For instance, this year’s results represent something of a change from last year when crime was the region’s top concern. Though it does not appear as if the data shows that residents are less concerned about crime or just that much more concerned about the economy. The lagging indicator of inflation likely made a big difference for residents, as well as housing costs and other items that increase costs. Nearly two in three respondents said they could not afford to move to another house or apartment in their current neighborhood, a similar result to last year but an indication that housing is at top of mind.
Transportation has traditionally been one of the top issues for respondents but it has dipped in rankings since the pandemic, slipping all the way to fourth this year. Only 11 percent said it was the region’s biggest challenge. Despite the results from the transit tax referendum in Cobb and Gwinnett counties, more than nine in ten said improved public transit was “very important” or “somewhat important.” A similar result to last year.
Perhaps reflecting the increasingly blue voter bent of the region, more than half (53 percent) of respondents said climate change is a “major global threat” in the next years, a slight drop from the 59 percent last year when the ARC asked the question for the first time.
ARC has put together a very user-friendly dashboard to view the results here:
It might take a second to figure out but find the “Select Question” dropdown to search for a topic of interest and then every county and their response pops out. It’s fairly straightforward once you find the right buttons.
