2023 Albemarle County Community Survey

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The Center for Survey Research at the University of Virginia conducted the Albemarle County Community Survey during the Fall of 2023 to determine opinions about quality of life in Albemarle; assess satisfaction with County services, preferences for tax allocation, and views on growth and development; identify barriers and level of access to resources and assets within the County; and measure experiences with local civic engagement. 

Methods

A total of 1,867 Albemarle residents participated in the survey, with 1,220 of those responses from the probability-based sample. 

 Result Highlights of Probability Sample: 

• Quality of Life:
  • Nine out of ten (90%) respondents classify the overall quality of life in Albemarle County as either "Excellent" or "Good".
  • Residents are divided on how they expect quality of life in the County will change over the next 5 years: 15% expect quality of life to improve, 52% expect it to get worse, and 34% expect it to stay the same.
• Satisfaction with services:
  • Two-thirds of Albemarle residents (66%) consider the quality of County services overall to be either "Excellent" or "Good."
  • Fire services and emergency medical services, county trails, fire prevention and education services, and parks received the highest quality ratings, whereas land use, planning, and zoning received the lowest.
• Allocation of Tax Dollars and Access to Assets and Services:
  • Residents identify improvements to roads, bike/pedestrian paths, public transit, parks and recreation, and school facilities as the most important focal areas for tax allocation.
  • Across Albemarle's various assets and services, fire and rescue services are the most conveniently accessed, followed by grocery stores, places of worship, and trails. EV charging, bike lanes, public transportation, childcare, and sidewalks were among the most inconvenient assets to access.
• Growth and Development:
  • Eighty-five percent of residents consider it either “Very important” or “Somewhat important” for the County to support economic development. Yet, the majority of respondents (70%) think the County's rate of growth over the past few years has been too fast.
  • Concerns about rapid growth included impacts on housing affordability, ease of driving, and parking.