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Newport News survey: residents report high quality of life; safety and downtown vibrancy trail benchmarks
Summary
Polco presented results of a National Community Survey showing overall positive quality-of-life ratings in Newport News but flagged gaps where residents rated safety and the downtown’s vibrancy below benchmarks. The city received 313 statistically sampled responses and an additional 698 open-participation responses.
A presentation to the Newport News City Council on the city’s recent community survey found that most respondents rate the city’s overall quality of life positively, but perceptions of safety and downtown vibrancy scored below Polco benchmarks.
Sonia Wittink, executive vice president of data insights for Polco, told the council the National Community Survey (NCS) administered for Newport News used a randomly sampled mailing to 7,000 addresses, mailed paper surveys to 5,000 addresses, and was offered in English and Spanish. “313 responses were received,” Wittink said, noting the statistically sampled responses yield a margin of error of about ±6 percent. She added the city also publicized an open participation link that produced 698 additional responses; the presentation for council was based on the 313 statistically sampled responses.
The survey uses a standard set of items and national benchmarks that allow the city to compare itself to other, similarly sized and resourced communities. “The National Community Survey, or what we call the NCS, is a standardized 5 page comprehensive survey that allows municipalities to assess resident opinion about their community and their local government,” Wittink said.
Polco highlighted several headline findings. About nine in 10 respondents rated Newport News’s overall quality of life as excellent, good or fair. Roughly six in 10 said they plan to remain in the city for the next five years and would recommend the city to others. Parks and recreation were the highest-rated facet of community livability. Safety and the local economy showed the largest gaps between importance and perceived quality: safety ranked as a top priority while some safety measures — notably safety downtown and safety from violent crime — were below Polco benchmarks. Polco also reported lower ratings for downtown vibrancy and for cost of living; ratings for the vibrancy of other commercial areas were higher than for downtown.
Wittink described how jurisdictions typically use NCS results: to monitor trends, inform budgeting and help set strategic priorities. She also addressed questions from council members about response rates and demographic representativeness, saying lower response among younger residents is common and that statistical weighting is applied to improve representativeness.
The report and the fuller dataset, including the open participation responses and cross-tabulations by demographics and geography, were included in the council packet. The consultant said the survey findings will be used as input to the city’s strategic planning work ahead of a July council retreat.
Polco’s presentation and the full survey report are available in the meeting packet for council and staff to use in follow-up planning and outreach.
