Livability survey highlights St. Pete’s strengths, weaknesses

While St. Petersburg residents overwhelmingly appreciate the city’s quality of life, their views on governance, affordability and natural disaster safety are decidedly less favorable. Local leaders will use those sentiments, derived from the 2024 Community Survey, to help inform budget and policy decisions. City Council members heard the report’s much-anticipated results Thursday at a committee meeting. The livability survey was part of the National Research Center’s nationwide initiative.

Administrator Rob Gerdes credited Mayor Ken Welch for his willingness to participate. “Sometimes feedback, as we all know, can be a little painful in some areas,” Gerdes said. “But that’s good – that’s the kind of information we need to make ourselves better. ” Polco, a civic communication and analytics platform, conducted the survey from Jan. 16 through March 5.

The organization mailed questionnaires to 5,000 randomly selected households and received 590 responses. Polco also offered an open survey that garnered 2,497 responses. Questions focused on aspects of community livability, including the economy, safety, mobility, parks and recreation, education, arts and culture. “The last time something like this was done, it was done on a typewriter,” said Amy Foster, housing development administrator. “So, this is a long time coming.

” The study had a 95% confidence interval with a +/- 4% margin of error. Polco weighted responses to reflect the city’s demographics. The firm compared favorability ratings to over 500 communities with more than 50 million residents. St. Petersburg mostly achieved similar results in the broad, primary categories.

Parks and recreation paced the city as 82% of residents considered the local offerings “excellent or good,” which aligned with national benchmarks. Education, arts and culture’s 80% favorability rating was higher than most other cities. A graphic highlighting how St. Petersburg compared to other communities in broad, primary categories. Screengrab.

St. Petersburg scored considerably higher in subcategories. Cultural, arts and music activities (86%) ranked 5th nationally, and downtown vibrancy placed 8th. “Overall, I felt very good about what people thought about the city … whether they would recommend it to somebody and whether they’re going to continue to live here or not,” said Councilmember Copley Gerdes. “I thought those were all positive things.

” Despite somewhat lower scores, community design (62%), inclusivity and engagement (60%), the economy (57%) and mobility (53%) mirrored nationwide responses. The utility category (48%), which included privately provided electricity, fell below national standards – and residents believe it is the most important livability aspect (93%). The city scored poorly in several governance metrics. Less than half of respondents think officials act in their best interests or treat all residents fairly. Just 40% believe they are open and transparent.

Councilmember Ed Montanari noted that just two of the 10 governance subcategories received a favorability rating above 50%. “I’m very proud to be an elected official in the City of St. Petersburg because I think we … operate at a very high level, a very responsive government,” he said.