Quality of life in Central California

Is the quality of life in Central California better or worse than it was five years ago?

That question was explored in a series of surveys conducted by the Social Research Laboratory at California State University, Fresno.

The answer? Better and worse.

Director Edward Nelson, a sociology professor at Fresno State, said results from a 2006 survey were used with numbers from previous years to spots trends in the region, and a mixed bag was found.

The annual telephone survey of 800 people looks at financial satisfaction and expectations, performance of government, how people feel about their community, the Valley, and the state, confidence in leadership, crime, the public schools, and satisfaction with community and neighborhood.

Looking at trends over the last five years, results show:

Financial satisfaction increased from 2001 to 2006 and about half of the respondents were optimistic that their financial situation will improve over the next year.
There was a small but steady increase in the percent of people who felt that the state and the Valley was going in the right direction.
A slight majority of people (about 52 percent) think the amount of crime in their neighborhoods had not changed in the period; 36 percent felt it had increased; 12 percent thought crime had decreased.
Ratings of public schools in the community and the state, which had been declining, improved in 2006.
Low confidence in the political and business leadership in local communities moved slightly upward in 2005 and 2006.
Ratings of the performance of government at all levels – local, state, and federal – remained low.

Nelson, SRL director, said a new question was added to the survey this year: What do you think is the most pressing problem facing your community?

Crime was mentioned by 25 percent of the respondents
Traffic/transportation issues were cited by 20 percent

The Quality of Life survey has been conducted by the Social Research Laboratory, which is a unit of the College of Social Sciences at Fresno State, for more than two decades.

Prior to 2000, the focus was the Fresno-Clovis area. In 2000, Fresno County was included and in 2001, researchers began studying Fresno, Kings, Tulare and Madera counties.

Established in 1980, the Social Research Lab assists students, faculty, governmental agencies and other organizations in applying research skills and computer applications in their research and classes. The lab provides assistance in a number of areas including sampling design, questionnaire construction, interviewer training, data collection, coding, data entry, statistical analysis and computer applications.

Nelson said the annual survey underscores the importance of themes in the university’s fundraising campaign, which recently exceeded $50 million in gifts to help Fresno State transform the New California, as fast-growing Central California is called. The campaign is targeted on programs that help the university’s ability to meet regional challenges in its economy, agriculture, health, education, the arts and cultures.

Full survey results are included in the report “Quality of Life in the Central San Joaquin Valley: 2002 through 2006.” For more information or a copy of the report, contact Nelson at ednelson@csufresno.edu or call 559.278.2275.