National Community Survey 2023

National Community Survey

Lake Zurich Launches 2023 Citizen Survey

This is Lake Zurich’s fifth time conducting the NCS, which establishes an important benchmark for performance and community expectations. Previous surveys were conducted in 2015, 2017. 2019, 2021 and 2023

The results of the 2023 National Community Survey are posted here and on the Village Transparency Portal.

Collecting Village Stakeholder Feedback

The Village of Lake Zurich wants to know what residents think about the quality of life in the community, their satisfaction with municipal services, where public resources should be directed, and where they think the Village is headed overall. That’s why this summer, the Village will be partnering with the National Research Center of Boulder, Colorado to conduct the 2023 National Community Survey (NCS) to engage residents on what they think the future of Lake Zurich should look like.

The NCS gathers resident opinion across a range of community issues. Communities using the NCS have reported that the tool has improved service delivery, strengthened communications with community stakeholders and helped leaders identify clear priorities for use in strategic planning and budget setting. The survey measures public opinion in eight key areas of community livability: Safety, Mobility, Natural Environment, Built Environment, Economy, Recreation and Wellness, Education and Enrichment, and Community Engagement.

2023 Community Survey Results

Results of this year’s National Community Survey (NCS) have been compiled by researchers at the National Research Center.   630 residents provided opinions between July 10th and August 21st on Lake Zurich quality of life and local government services and performance.  This is a 21% response rate, which is an average response rate and slightly lower than the 26% response rate achieved in 2021 (which was higher than average). 

The data from Lake Zurich is benchmarked with over 600 other towns across the USA that have also taken the NCS in the past five years. 

The NCS has a statistically valid 95% confidence level.  This means we can be 95% sure that this is how the Lake Zurich population actually feels about important issues.  The NCS provides a social-scientific measure that is the most accurate data on hearts and minds compared to any other means available to the Village.

Of those who completed the survey

  • 48% were men, 52% were women
  • 20% were renters – 80% were property owners
  • 38% were over the age of 55
  • 36% were aged 35-54
  • 26% were aged 18-34

Random Sampling Delivers Reliable Information

The NCS uses random sampling of 3,000 Lake Zurich households to provide the most accurate picture of the community as a whole, as the survey provides a statistically-valid 95% confidence internal. In other words, it uses population parameters that result in conclusions that are correct 95% of the time. This is a far more accurate assessment of citizen satisfaction compared to Facebook feedback, individual conversations, or the tiny minority of residents who show up at public meetings.

NCS Livable Community

Standards Provide Comparable Results

The National Citizen Survey is sponsored by the International City/County Management Association in cooperation with the National Research Center, Inc. The questionnaire and survey procedures are designed based on the experience of hundreds of local governments, ranging in size from small to large. As each city’s survey is developed using a standard template, and many cities can be surveyed at one time, the National Community Survey is a very effective way to measure citizen opinion.