While three-quarters of surveyed Calgarians believed the city is a great place to live, public safety and housing affordability are significant issues to them.
Further, the lowest number of Calgarians in five years say Calgary is moving in the right direction to ensure “a high quality of life for future generations.”
Those were some of the insights included in the City of Calgary’s 2023 fall benchmarking survey results package, delivered during the Oct. 17 regular meeting of council. The City of Calgary produces spring and fall survey results after interviews with Calgarians (done from Aug. 2 to Sept.4).
This telephone survey of 2,500 people was done using both landlines and cell phones to obtain a random and statistically representative sample of Calgarians. The margin of error for a sample of this size is +/- two per cent, 19 times out of 20. SURVEY RESULTS BELOW.
“Calgarians are navigating significant and interrelated economic and social pressures. They are seeking safety and security and are grappling with worries about the cost of living and the preservation of their quality of life,” said Krista Ring with the City of Calgary.
“In this environment, we will expect to see some declines in our numbers and our success can be seen in maintaining some of our key metrics.”
In the results, 94 per cent of Calgarians indicated that housing affordability was an issue, with 72 saying it was a significant issue. Further, affordable housing was also a concern, with 88 per cent marking it as an issue, with 66 per cent rating it significant.
Calgary rents have jumped by more than 20 per cent year-over-year, according to groups tracking those numbers. The benchmark price of a typical single-family detached home was $696,100, according to the Calgary Real Estate Board’s September report.
Ring said later that the high ranking of housing affordability marked a significant shift for Calgarians, who have perenially ranked infrastructure, traffic and roads as their number one issue.
“The question itself is meant to be open-ended. So it’s not leading in any way and it’s really meant to capture what’s top of mind,” she said.
“Not since 2008 has that top issue been anything other than infrastructure, traffic and roads, so it is very significant.”
