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By Jonah Grinkewitz

According to ���Ϲ�’s 15^th annual Life in Hampton Roads Survey, residents feel worse about the region’s quality of life and economy than they did in recent years. They also have mixed opinions on combining government services across jurisdictions and rate restaurants, higher education and shopping as the strongest amenities in the area.

The annual survey is conducted by ���Ϲ�’s Social Science Research Center (SSRC). A total of 640 telephone surveys were completed between June 4 and Aug. 16, 2024. Data was weighted by phone type, education, gender, age, race and Hispanic background.

The survey also revisited questions from a 2000 study by the Regional Studies Institute at ���Ϲ� (now the Dragas Center for Economic Analysis and Policy). The results offer a lens into changing attitudes over time on topics from transportation to job opportunities and entertainment as well as residents’ opinions on combining government services, barriers to regional cooperation and support for mergers of local jurisdictions.

“We are very pleased to present this year’s survey results and celebrate the longevity of the Life in Hampton Roads survey,” said Dr. Tancy Vandecar-Burdin, SSRC director. “While the methodology and weighting has changed over the life of the project, the 2024 report provides some comparisons and data trends over recent years. And since the survey was conducted in the summer months leading up to the presidential election, the report includes some analysis of how the survey results compared to actual election outcomes in the region.” 

The survey consists of six chapters: Quality of life, including whether citizens are planning to leave Hampton Roads; Attitudes toward police and fear of crime; The Hampton Roads economy and amenities; Regionalism and performance of local government; Politics and political opinions; and Flooding.

Among the key takeaways:

• Three-fifths of respondents rated the quality of life in the region as excellent or good (60.1%). As seen from previous surveys, there has been a downward trend in perceptions of quality of life (69.3% in 2022 and 62.3% in 2023) as well as previous non-COVID years (ranging from 68% to 71% between 2017-2019).
• Ratings of the economy have been on a downward trend since 2019. Less than two-fifths (38.4%) of those surveyed rated the economic conditions in Hampton Roads as excellent (4%) or good (34.4%). A greater percentage (42.2%) rated economic conditions as fair and 17.8% of respondents rated them as poor.
• Regarding combining government services, about half of respondents either favor or very much favor combining public housing (50.8%), fire services (50.5%), solid waste (48.5%) and water/sewer services (48.1%). There was less support for combining schools (39.2%), prisons/jails (36.4%) and police services (31.9%) across multiple jurisdictions.
• Respondents were asked to rate a variety of amenities and other features in Hampton Roads on a scale of very poor to very good. Restaurants (76.5%), higher education (70%), and quality of shopping (60.7%) received the most “good” and “very good” ratings, while earnings in wages (24.1%) and cost of living (20.6%) received the fewest good/very good ratings.

The survey results were compiled by Vandecar-Burdin; Randy Gainey, professor of sociology and criminal justice; Jesse Richman, professor of political science; Wendi Wilson-John, SSRC senior project coordinator; doctoral candidate MacKenzie Kibler; and graduate research assistants Caylin Smith, Briana Ovalle and Katie Sturniolo.

The complete 2024 Life in Hampton Roads survey is available on their website.