City presents Q4 community survey: majority satisfied with safety and parks; roads score lowest

City staff and Zen City presented findings from the latest community survey on Feb. 11, reporting responses from a statistically weighted sample of 464 residents.

Methodology and headline findings

Noah Huber, a survey research analyst with Zen City, said the sample was balanced using U.S. Census data to reflect Laramie’s demographic composition and that 464 responses give a sufficient margin of error for city-level estimates. The firm reported 54% of respondents were satisfied with overall quality of life; satisfaction was highest among residents aged 55 and older (about 67%).

Key results included: - 54% satisfied with overall quality of life (little change from prior cycle). - 45% likely to recommend Laramie as a place to live (stable); 52% said they were likely to still be living in Laramie five years from now (a 9‑point drop from the prior cycle). - 73% positive rating for overall safety. - Parks and recreational amenities and access to post‑secondary education scored well. - Only 21% positive rating for overall street and road maintenance, the lowest scoring item measured.

Input and engagement results

On the question of residents’ ability to give input to city government, 28% rated the city positively; that figure rose 6 percentage points from the prior cycle. When asked what most would improve residents’ ability to give input, 18% said more public forums and city-hall meetings — an answer staff interpreted as a potential awareness gap because the city has held fifth‑Tuesday public sessions in the past and continues to use multiple engagement tools.

Demographic patterns and benchmarks

Zen City showed demographic splits: older adults reported higher overall life satisfaction; some measures showed gender differences (for example, a drop in satisfaction among female respondents on acceptance of residents of all backgrounds). The vendor also benchmarked Laramie against similar-sized communities and found Laramie’s public-safety and parks scores ranked above peers, while overall quality of life and likelihood to remain/ recommend were marginally below benchmark peers.

Staff remarks and next steps

Director Wade and city staff emphasized that the community survey complements other engagement tools and that the city also uses targeted outreach and an “engage” platform for topic-specific feedback (for example, a waste and recycling survey currently live). Staff and the vendor explained that representative community surveys deliberately use random-sampling and distributed ad placements to reach a broad cross-section of residents, rather than only advertising in a single channel or relying on voluntary QR-code responses.

Councilors and staff discussed outreach opportunities — for instance embedding links on the city homepage, using utility-bill notices, and using vendor-paid ad placements — noting that paid promotion can increase reach for topical surveys, while representative survey methodology is designed to produce unbiased citywide estimates.