Regional Snapshot: Metro Atlanta Speaks: Perceptions of Life in Metro Atlanta

This month’s Regional Snapshot begins to dig into the results from the 2017 Metro Atlanta Speaks survey, comparing responses among the counties surveyed and offering insights as to how different segments of the population responded.

Each year since 2013, ARC and its community partners conduct the Metro Atlanta Speaks public opinion survey to take the pulse of metro Atlanta residents and help guide the region’s planning and decision-making. The survey is the largest of its kind in the Atlanta region. It offers an annual snapshot of residents’ views on a range of critical issues, such as transportation, the economy, education, aging and neighborhood quality of life. The full report can be accessed via a PDF download link here.

Highlights from this snapshot:

Transportation stays the #1 concern, for the fourth consecutive year
Transit support remains strong
- 51 percent of respondents would be willing to pay more in taxes to expand public transit
- Nearly 49 percent of respondents chose “expand public transit” as the best long-term fix to traffic challenges, which is the highest percentage in the five years of asking this question
Economy is getting better and better
- Was the #1 concern in 2013, now #5, behind “Human Services”
Economy not improving for everyone equally
- Some 30 percent of respondents would struggle paying for an unexpected financial emergency of $400
- Some 20 percent of respondents reported that they skip meals due to lack of money
Concern over crime drops dramatically from 2016
- In 2016, 23 percent of respondents chose “Crime” as #1 concern. In 2017, only 17 percent chose Crime