The 15th Annual Life in Hampton Roads Survey Report
Compiled by Tancy Vandecar-Burdin, Randy Gainey, Jesse Richman, MacKenzie Kibler, Briana Ovalle, Caylin Smith, Katie Sturniolo, and Wendi Wilson-John.
Executive Summary
The Social Science Research Center (SSRC) at Old Dominion University () has compiled the results from the 15th annual Life in Hampton Roads (LIHR) survey. The purpose of the survey was to gain insight into residents’ perceptions of the quality of life in Hampton Roads. A total of 640 telephone surveys were completed between June 4 and August 16, 2024. These interviews were conducted via telephone, as they were in the past, except for 2020 and 2021. 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 (62.3% in 2022 and 69.3% in 2023) as well as previous non-COVID years (ranging from 68% to 71% between 2017-2019).
This year’s survey also focused on issues of regionalism and regional cooperation and replicated many of the questions from the State of Public Opinion chapter of the 2000 State of the Region report developed by the Regional Studies Institute at (now the Dragas Center for Economic Analysis and Policy). Questions asked respondents about combining government services, barriers to regional cooperation, and support for regional mergers of local jurisdictions.
- Consistent with previous years, respondents rated the quality of life in their city and their neighborhood higher than they did for the region as a whole. About two-thirds rated the quality of life in their city as good or excellent (65.8%) and 29.2% rated their city as fair. Only 4.8% rated their city’s quality of life as poor. Neighborhood ratings of quality of life remain the highest, with 81.5% rating their neighborhood as excellent or good. Only 15.4% rated their neighborhood quality of life as fair and 3% rated it as poor.
- Hampton Roads residents were asked two questions focused on satisfaction with and trust in the police. About three-quarters (76.9%) of respondents indicated that they were either very (22.3%) or somewhat (54.6%) satisfied with the local police. Trust in the police was slightly higher with 79.8% of respondents trusting the police either a great deal (32.3%) or somewhat (46.5%). These perceptions vary, however, among various demographic groups.
- Respondents were asked: To what extent do you perceive crime and drugs to be a problem in your city? The most frequent response (36.4%) was “a moderate problem” and 29.4% rated crime and drugs to be a great problem (17.4%) or a very great problem (12%). Overall, almost two-thirds (65.8%) of respondents rated crime and drugs to be at least a moderate problem.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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 mixed as to their approval of merging several Hampton Road cities into a single regional jurisdiction with only 39.1% indicating that they approve and 45.5% indicating that they disapproved. About 15% were unsure or did not wish to answer.
- In terms of politics, survey data collection took place during a span of time that included the decision by President Joe Biden to remove himself from the contest for the Democratic nomination. After Biden withdrew, a question was added to the survey that gave the final 237 survey respondents a chance to weigh in on that decision. More than 82% of respondents supported Biden’s decision to not run for re-election.
- Given national headlines about concerns of safety at the polls, respondents were asked how satisfied they were with the election security at their polling place. More than 80% indicated that they were very or somewhat satisfied and less than 9% were very or somewhat dissatisfied.
- Respondents were asked if they thought flooding has increased, decreased, or remained the same in Hampton Roads over the past 30 years. More than half (55.6%) of respondents felt that flooding has increased while more than one-third believe that flooding has either decreased (12.2%) or remained the same (22.8%). More than 40% of respondents reported experiencing school or work delays/closures (47%) or difficulty in commuting to work (43.9%) due to flooding in the past five years.
