2015 Community Survey

Overview

In 2007, the City of Richmond enrolled in the National Research Center’s (NRC) National Citizen Survey (NCS) program in order to conduct a resident survey to help the City Council set spending priorities and to set a benchmark of City service delivery. Since 2007, the City has conducted a survey biennially. The NCS is a collaborative effort between the NRC (a public research firm focused on public sector information needs) and the International City/County Management Association (ICMA).  


Elected officials and City staff can use the survey results as a tool to:

  • Assess the quality of services provided to residents;
  • Track resident perceptions of services, amenities, safety, etc.;
  • Help make informed decisions about where to direct resources; 
  • Develop follow-up questions to gain a deeper understanding of the issues so that the City is better able to solve problems; 
  • Look to other jurisdictions for information about best practices; and
  • Set a benchmark from which to measure changes over time.


2015 Response Rates & Margin of Error

A total of 422 completed surveys were obtained, providing an overall response rate of 14% with a margin error of plus or minus five percentage points. This is a measure of the precision of the results. A larger number of completed surveys gives a smaller (more precise) margin of error, while a smaller number of surveys yields a larger margin of error. With our margin of error, one may conclude that when 60% of survey respondents report that a particular service is or “good” or “excellent,” somewhere between 55-65% of all residents are likely to feel that way.


2015 Survey Reports

  1. 2015 Community Survey Staff Report
  2. Community Livability Report 
  3. Dashboard Summary of Findings
  4. Trends over Time Report
  5. Report of Demographic Subgroups Comparisons
  6. Report of Geographic Subgroups Comparisons
  7. Custom Comparison Report
  8. Technical Appendices