St. Louis County residents say the quality of life here is good and, compared to the national average, recreational opportunities score higher, and maintenance of County roads score much higher. This is the feedback county residents provide through the recent residential survey conducted by Polco’s National Research Center, Inc.

Survey participants also provided input on areas of concern and potential issues facing the county. The opioid epidemic again rates as most problematic, though with a continued decrease in rating than in 2022 and 2019, the last two times this survey was conducted. Other top areas of concern include homelessness and poverty, though with a slightly lower rating compared to three years ago.

Respondents’ overall

confidence in the St. Louis

County government has remained steady, with 73% saying they strongly approve or somewhat approve of the job the St. Louis County Government is doing. Residents were asked to rate the quality of 22 specific county services, and 15

of the 22 receiving higher ratings than they did three years ago. County services rated most highly include 911 dispatch, sheriff patrol, and snow and ice removal on County roads.

When asked to rank the importance of various county services, the top three are to: protect children and vulnerable adults from abuse and neglect, enforce laws and prosecute criminals, and invest in County road infrastructure. These results are consistent with responses received in each of the last three surveys.

New in this survey, residents were asked how important they thought it was for the County to engage in various housing options. Results show 75% of residents felt it essential or very important for the County to engage in developing emergency shelters; followed by 74% wanting county engagement in both workforce housing and affordable apartments/multi-family rentals.

Other new questions sought opinions on the importance of the County’s involvement in various sustainable development and climate resilience initiatives. For this, 87% felt it was essential or very important for the County to protect natural habitats, open spaces and waterways; 68% said the same for upgrading the County’s roads and bridges to be more resistant to impacts from climate change; and 67% wanted the County to pursue projects that would result in cost savings through

energy efficiency.

“We appreciate everyone who took the time to respond to this survey and share their feedback,” said County Board Chair Annie Harala. “The information we gain from this survey helps us as we make decisions on how we can better serve our residents, and as we set budgets and priority programming. Something I find particularly encouraging is the level of consistency we see in these results. I want our residents to see their county government and steady and stable, and this

affirms that they do.”

Complete survey results can be viewed online at stlouiscountymn.

gov. The survey packet was mailed to 4,900 County residents selected at random in mid-January, and had a 17% response rate. Results of the survey are considered statistically valid, with a margin of error of +/- 3%.

St. Louis County partnered with four other counties: Dakota, Olmsted, Scott and Washington, to produce the survey, which is being conducted by the National Research Center, Inc. The County conducted similar

surveys five other times,

beginning in 2007 and most recently in 2022.

Spanning more than 7,000 square miles, St. Louis County is the largest county east of the Mississippi River and is home to 200,000 people