See the results of the 2021 Skokie Community Survey in PDF format.
See the results of the 2021 Skokie Community Survey in Tableau format.
In fall 2021, the Village conducted the 2021 Skokie Community Survey to learn more about resident opinions on a wide variety of Village programs and services, as well as life in the community. The survey was conducted by Polco's National Research Center, the firm that has conducted each of Skokie's community surveys administered every three years since 2003. Click here to see the results of all of Skokie's surveys.
A total of 2,700 randomly-selected single- and multi-family households received several survey mailings beginning in late September, 2021, and the survey was open for seven weeks. While 1,200 of these households received successive copies of the survey instrument with a postage-paid envelope as well as introductory and reminder post cards, the remaining 1,500 households received two post cards inviting them to take the survey online via a special link that was provided. A total 497 surveys were completed, for a 19% response rate when factoring in that 66 of the mailings were returned as undeliverable. This response rate is lower than those from past Village surveys, but according to NRC staff, mirrors a national trend toward reduced survey responses.
In addition to the select written survey data set, the entire community was encouraged to take the survey during the open response period between November 2 and 17, 2021, with a total of 1,048 responses received. The results from the open responses are provided in a separate, supplemental report that is found in the attachments to this memorandum. Only data from the written survey is summarized in this memorandum due to the scientific collection manner that provides the highest level of confidence with a 4% margin of error.
The demographics of the survey respondents were compared to the 2010 Census and 2017 American Community Survey estimates for adults in the Village of Skokie to make the survey respondents are reflective of the larger population of the community, and the characteristics used for weighting were age, sex, race, Hispanic origin, housing type, housing tenure and area. Details on the weighting process can be found on page four of the report.
Highlights
Some overall highlights of the 2021 Skokie Community Survey responses include:
- Ratings for Skokie government remain strong, with resident ratings quite positive and higher than national benchmarks.
- Residents value Skokie’s educational and cultural opportunities for their contributions to community livability.
- Health and wellness services also are valued and appreciated by the community.
- Most residents view Skokie as safe and inclusive. Three-quarters of those responding praised the overall feeling of safety in the community. Moreover, 91% of respondents gave Skokie high ratings for attracting people from diverse backgrounds. This rating is much higher than national benchmark comparisons and ranks Skokie first out of a total 111 communities that posed the question in resident surveys.
Following are just a few of the numerous positive ratings from Skokie residents who responded:
- 95% rated Skokie’s overall economic health as excellent/good.
- 95% rated fire services as excellent/good.
- 93% rated ambulance services as excellent/good.
- 93% were very likely or likely to recommend living in Skokie to someone who asked.
- 92% rated Skokie as an excellent/good place to live.
- 91% said they feel very to somewhat safe in their neighborhood.
- 90% rated Skokie excellent/good as a place to raise children.
- 89% rated garbage collection as excellent/good.
- 87% rated the overall quality of Village services as excellent/good. *
- 86% rated health services as excellent/good.
- 85% rated quality of life in Skokie as excellent/good.
- 85% rated Skokie’s overall opportunities for culture, education and the arts
as excellent/good. * - 85% rated the overall customer service by Village employees as excellent/good.
- 85% rated Skokie as excellent/good for making all residents feel welcome. *
- 85% rated overall customer service by Village employees as excellent/good.
- 83% rated public information services as excellent/good. *
- 83% rated police services as excellent/good.
- 84% rated the Village’s emergency preparedness as excellent/good. *
- 78% rated their overall feeling of safety in the community as excellent/good.
*These ratings exceed national benchmarks.
See the entire report of results for the 2021 Skokie Community Survey.