DALLAS — The City of Dallas released its 2024 community survey, and despite positive outlooks on many parts of the city, those surveyed had negative opinions on homelessness and access to affordable housing.
For overall quality of life, more than half of those surveyed felt Dallas was either a good or excellent place to live, and 80% of those surveyed felt it was either a good or excellent place to do business.
However, when looking at access in the city, 52% of those surveyed said the city had poor access to affordable, quality housing. And 51% also thought the city had poor access to affordable, quality child care. At the opposite end, 54% of those surveyed think Dallas has good or excellent access to affordable, quality food.
When asked what should be a top priority for the city, 52% of respondents again said affordable, quality housing, more than any other issue. Behind that was access to living-wage jobs at 30%, and access to quality of education at 24%.
When asked what major problems Dallas had, homelessness was the overwhelming response, with 74% listing it. Behind homelessness was infrastructure/streets at 60% and crime at 52%.
In terms of safety, more than half of those surveyed said they felt safe in restaurant and retail areas and around their neighborhoods. But more than half also said they felt unsafe in Dallas parks or in Downtown Dallas at night.
Maintenance of infrastructure was also the most poorly rated city service, with 50% of those surveyed rating it as poor. And 61% of those surveyed said infrastructure maintenance should be a top priority for the city.
Looking at public safety services, while close to 80% of those surveyed felt the response times to fires or medical emergencies were either good or excellent, 67% felt the city's mental health programs were poor.
Mental health programs weren't what most said should be a top priority of the city though, with only 28% saying so. Both police visibility and better police response times ranked higher at 35% and 34% respectively.
Click here to see the full survey.
