Eagan residents rate parks, environment highly; survey shows drop in perceived inclusivity

Eagan City Council heard a presentation Aug. 11, 2025, on results from a community survey taken Nov.–Dec. 2024 that collected 423 resident responses and carries a margin of error of about ±5 percentage points. Sarah Horwath, Community Communications and Engagement Director, presented the findings and compared Eagan’s scores to national benchmarks.

The survey measured residents’ views on 10 facets of community life, including economy, mobility, city design, utilities, safety, natural environment, parks and recreation, health and wellness, education/arts/culture, and inclusivity and community involvement. Horwath said the survey was developed by the National Research Center at Polco and that responses were weighted to reflect Eagan’s demographics. “The survey measures not only how livable Eagan is, but how much our residents truly want to live in Eagan,” Horwath said.

Why it matters: the survey is used to track trends and guide outreach, service priorities and future questions. Horwath told the council the city plans to refine timing and some custom questions so results better reflect resident sentiment and to improve response rates.

Key findings

- Nine of the 10 major facets were rated higher than national benchmarks; only inclusivity and engagement scored similar to the benchmark and is trending downward. Horwath noted the downward trend in inclusivity is “a little bit worried” and recommended drilling into which subissues are driving it in future surveys.

- Parks and recreation earned the highest quality rating at 96 percent, and the natural environment was rated 94 percent. Horwath said those results suggest residents both prioritize parks and see the city delivering results in that area.

- Economy and trust in local government were also strong: 90 percent rated Eagan’s overall economic health excellent or good, and items measuring confidence in local government were rated higher than national benchmarks.

- Areas showing declines or concern included perceptions of care for vulnerable residents (a decline since 2022 despite remaining above the national average) and civic pride/community connection, which has trended down since 2020.

- Open-ended responses identified affordable housing, traffic/speeding, airport noise and public safety/crime among the items residents most often cited as the most serious issues or opportunities.

Council comments and staff follow-up

Council members asked staff to clarify what respondents might mean by “taking care of vulnerable residents.” Horwath said the survey question is intentionally broad to preserve trend comparisons but that the city can add more focused questions in its custom section in future surveys. “We do have an area at the end where we have the ability to ask some of our own questions, and I think that this is probably something that we want to dig into a little bit more in the next community survey,” she said.

Council members and staff discussed outreach and awareness for public transit services after several council members observed that perceptions of transit convenience had not risen despite expanded service; Horwath and others noted improved marketing could increase awareness.

Ending

Council members thanked Horwath and staff for the presentation. No formal action was taken; staff said they will use the results to guide outreach and to develop more targeted questions about inclusivity and services for vulnerable residents in the next community survey.