Survey says!

To channel my inner Richard Dawson, “Things you say to the local government when they ask you what you think about Athens.”

Athens-Clarke County recently contracted with National Citizen Survey for $15,000 to send surveys to 1,800 randomly selected Athens households. The results were a resounding “meh.”

Out of 364 respondents, 28 percent said Athens is an “excellent place” to live, and 59 percent rated it as “good.” Which is good! But almost all of the results were pretty much on par with what NCS has seen in other communities. 

And if you drill down a bit deeper, there are some troubling divisions based on age, race and geography.

• While 92 percent said they feel safe in their own neighborhood, only 58 percent rated the overall safety of Athens as excellent or good.

• 62 percent said Athens is an excellent or good place to raise children, but only 29 percent rated K-12 education as excellent or good.

• 66 percent said Athens is an excellent or good place to work. Only 44 percent, though, rated the city’s economic health as excellent or good, and 42 percent rated employment opportunities as excellent or good.

• 72 percent of whites said Athens is accepting of diversity, while just 42 percent of minorities agreed.

In general, younger people, white people and homeowners tended to give Athens higher ratings than older people, minorities and renters. Exceptions included public safety and K-12 education, which minorities rated more highly than whites. 

Young people had a far more positive view of downtown, were more likely to walk, bike or use transit and had a rosier outlook on the economy than older groups. Older people were better informed on the news and more likely to be involved with government.

Most respondents were satisfied with most government services—including water and sewer, police, fire and parks—but they took a dim view of planning and zoning, code enforcement and street repair.

Based on a half-remembered college statistics class, I’m pretty sure this survey isn’t super-scientific, so don’t take it as gospel, but you can delve more deeply into the results here.