About the Scottsdale Community Survey
Scottsdale’s biennial community survey will reach selected households soon
Randomly selected Scottsdale households are being asked to participate in a survey to measure their views on the community, city programs and services.
The city will use the feedback to prioritize initiatives, services and programs in the future. Once the feedback period for the 5,500 randomly selected households concludes, an online version of the survey will open for all city residents to provide their feedback.
Households randomly selected to participate will receive a postcard with instructions.
The city asks residents who receive the postcard to take about 15 minutes time to complete the survey online – the data collected is an important component of Scottsdale’s commitment to providing top level services to the community.
The National Community Survey was designed specifically for use by local governments by the National Research Center at Polco. It allows residents to rate their overall quality of life and provide specific feedback about municipal services, public safety, customer service and their level of participation in community events and activities.
Because similar surveys are conducted in hundreds of jurisdictions, Scottsdale can compare its results with other cities across the country. This survey also allows Scottsdale to compare its current quality of service with years past because most questions remain constant between surveys.
Selecting a group of Scottsdale households at random assures that the results are representative of the community within a known margin of error. After the randomly selected households have an opportunity to respond, a web-based version will be available for all city residents to provide feedback.
To learn more, visit The National Research Center.
2023 Scottsdale Community Survey Results
According to the National Community Survey conducted in December 2022 and January 2023, Scottsdale residents value their quality of life, feel a high level of safety within their community and give a high priority to the local economy. Recreation and the natural environment received favorable ratings and residents are well informed. While the area of mobility has declined, there has been an increase in alternate forms of transportation. Some noteworthy excerpts from the 67-page survey report (PDF) are highlighted below.
Residents report a high quality of life and positive feelings about living in Scottsdale. As in the 2021 survey, nearly all respondents reported their overall quality of life and Scottsdale as a place to live as excellent or good; a similar percentage offered high ratings to the overall image or reputation of Scottsdale. More than 90% of residents said they were likely to remain in Scottsdale for the next five years and were likely to recommend living in Scottsdale. All but one of these ratings were higher than those found in comparison communities. About two-thirds of survey respondents offered positive evaluations of the sense of community in Scottsdale, although only about half rated their connection and engagement with their community as excellent or good.
Ratings of the local economy remain strong, while feelings about commercial and residential development fell. Nearly all aspects of community livability and services related to the economy were rated positively by at least a majority of residents and were rated higher or much higher than the national comparisons. The top-rated aspects had more than 9 in 10 residents offering positive ratings including Scottsdale as a place to visit and as a place to work, shopping opportunities and the overall quality of business and service establishments. While more than half of residents gave high marks to residential and commercial development, residents' rating of the overall design or layout of residential and commercial areas dropped by 15%, and ratings of the overall quality of new development fell nearly 10%.
Most residents appreciate their local government and leadership and offer high evaluations to the value of services for taxes paid. Most residents offered positive evaluations to the various aspects of Scottsdale 's local government and leadership with as many as 8 in 10 positively rating the overall customer service of Scottsdale employees and quality of services provided by the city. Positive ratings of the value of services for taxes paid held steady with the number reported in 2021, remaining higher than national benchmarks.
Affordability in Scottsdale could be a focus area. While the overall city economy is rated highly, the number of residents rating their cost of living as excellent or good dropped more than 10% from the 2021 survey. Fewer than 2 in 10 residents offered a positive rating of the availability of affordable quality housing, a rating which also dropped more than 10% from 2021. The rating of affordable housing is the among the very few where Scottsdale is below the national benchmark. Fewer than 6 in 10 gave positive marks to the availability of affordable quality childcare/preschool.
View an archive of Scottsdale Community Survey Results dating back to 1986.
Last Updated: Jan 31, 2025