Sacramento State’s Institute for Social Research conducted its annual survey this year in which it found that 85 percent of Sacramento-area and local residents are satisfied with the general environment.

During the survey, which was administered Feb. 16 to March 2, sociology students and members of the Institute of Social Research asked residents of Sacramento, Yolo, Placer and El Dorado counties how satisfied they were with the general lifestyle in the Sacramento region. Residents had three options: to answer as “very satisfied,” “somewhat satisfied” or with a “do not know” response.

The results decreased by 2 percent from 2007, but still remained above the lowest satisfaction rate in 2006 at 83 percent.

About 1,200 people in the Sacramento area were surveyed; all were over 18 years of age. The participants of the survey were asked questions on what they thought was the biggest problem in terms of gas prices, state budget, economy, weak housing market, pollution, crime, flood control and traffic congestion.

Possible responses to these questions were: “a big problem,” “somewhat of a problem,” “not a problem,” or “do not know.”

With average gas prices at nearly $4 per gallon in Sacramento, it was no surprise to see that 74 percent of those who participated said gas prices are the biggest problem, said associate sociology professor and Director of Sociology Amy Liu. Only 20 percent said it is somewhat of a problem, five percent said it is not a problem and one percent said they did not know.

“Gas is going up every day, and this affects everybody,” Liu said.

According to the research, only 49 percent of the citizens in Sacramento think that the area is going in the right direction. This is the first time since 2002 that less than half of residents think that Sacramento is going in the right direction. According to the research findings, this is due in part to the Sacramento housing market experiencing hard times in the last year and that according to the California Association of Realtors, “Sacramento’s median home prices have dropped steeply – 30.9 percent compared to February 2007.”

After the research from the survey was assessed, it is clear to see that people are concerned about the outcome of where they live and the institute is interested to hear their feedback, Liu said.

“This is an annual survey that provides resources for the Institute for Social Research, the people of Sacramento, and those who are running for local election,” Liu said. “This is unbiased data and with local elections coming up, candidates need to address these issues. How will the candidate change the problems?”

Throughout the survey, of the 1,200 people who were surveyed, 74 percent saw gas prices as a big problem, along with the budget deficit at 71 percent and the economy at 56 percent.

Those who are women homeowners, are more likely than men and non-homeowners to think that the budget deficit is a big issue. Furthermore, women who have a low revenue of less than $50,000 have a more negative outlook on the economy.

Suzanne O’Keefe, associate professor of economics, said that employment is tied to the state budget, especially in Sacramento.

“A lot of workers in California work for the state,” O’Keefe said. “It makes sense that the people of Sacramento are worried about the budget deficit; it has an impact on everything we enjoy, including education and employment opportunities.”

O’Keefe said that although the entire state of California will be affected by the state budget, Sacramento will feel it sufficiently more than other places.

“Sacramento will feel the burden through the employment of the Capitol’s state workers,” she said.

Another issue that was addressed was whether residents were satisfied with their financial standings. More than 70 percent of those surveyed were content with how much money they make. This tells us that the people of Sacramento are generally satisfied, Liu said.

“I am pretty happy with the life in Sac. (The survey) shows that (residents) do worry about the financial situation and the health of the economy,” Liu said.

Sac State freshman psychology major and Sacramento resident Kayla Gutierrez said that the general results to this survey are something she can see to be true when it comes to being satisfied with the city. However, she said she disagrees with how only 49 percent of residents think that Sacramento is heading in the right direction.

“I like Sac a lot. Coming from Antioch, Calif., I am able to see that there is always something to do,” Gutierrez said. “I don’t think that Sac is going in the wrong direction though; I think 49 percent is a pretty low amount of people who think it is going in the right direction. Sac is a great place to establish a great career.”

Although crime was not part of the top three in regards to residents seeing it as a big problem, the residents of the Sacramento region did show that it was somewhat of a problem. From 2003, 27 percent of residents saw crime as a problem, while in the 2008 results, 31 percent saw crime as something that should be looked at, according to the survey; this is a four percent rise.

Sgt. Tim Curran, the sheriff’s spokesman of Sacramento, said although crime is important, he is glad that it is not in the top three of biggest problems in Sacramento.

“I think the results reflect how we work. We are very good at throwing resources at an issue. Violent crime was down approximately 40 percent compared to last year, and should always be a concern of the people,” Curran said.

Junior marketing major Kati Davis said she is surprised that crime was not seen as a larger problem in Sacramento.”I always turn on the TV and see that somebody was shot or killed in Sac,” Davis said. “I just thought people would think that besides gas, crime is a big problem.”

Professor Amy Liu can be reached at (916) 278-7572. The survey can be found at www.csus.edu/ssis/annual_survey.htm.

Vanessa Johnson can be reached at [email protected].