UCI

Residents today give the most positive ratings of the Orange County economy since we began to ask this question in 1992. Nearly two in three (63%) believe the Orange County economy is currently in excellent or good shape. A third say it is in fair condition, while only 4 percent say it is doing poorly.

The positive ratings have improved 19 points over last year's survey. The belief that the Orange County economy is in excellent or good shape has risen by 44 points in just two years. Poor ratings of the county economy have dropped by 26 points since the 1995 survey.

Perceptions of the local economy are markedly improved from all previous years. Positive ratings were 19 percent in 1992, 20 percent in 1993, 28 percent in 1994, 19 percent in 1995 and 44 percent in 1996. Poor ratings were 28 percent in 1992, 30 percent in 1993, 17 percent in 1994, 30 percent in 1995 and 10 percent in 1996. This question was not asked prior to the 1992 survey.
Graph: Orange County Economy

Residents 35 and older are much more likely to give the county economy excellent and good ratings (69%) than are younger residents (53%). Residents of South County are more likely to be positive (78%) than are those living elsewhere (57%). Eighty percent of residents in households earning $80,000 a year or more give excellent or good ratings to the county economy, compared with 70 percent who earn $50,000 to $79,999 a year and 55 percent who earn less than $50,000. Non-Hispanic whites (70%) are more likely than Latinos (37%) to give positive ratings to the local economy.

Ratings of the quality of life in Orange County have also improved from a year ago, and have reached their highest point in 10 years. Expectations for the county's future also show more optimism than pessimism.

Eighty-eight percent believe that things are going well with the quality of life in Orange County today, including 28 percent reporting very well and 60 percent saying somewhat well. Only 12 percent say things are going badly, with 10 percent reporting somewhat badly and only 2 percent saying very badly. Graph: Quality of Life in Orange County

Compared to a year ago, there has been a six-point increase in the number saying the quality of life in the county is going well. The positive scores today are much improved over those in 1992 and 1993 (60% each), 1994 (71%) and 1995 (68%). In fact, only in 1988 were the numbers of residents saying things were going well in Orange County about as high (87%) as they are this year.

Importantly, there are no differences between age groups in perceptions of the quality of life in Orange County today. By region, 94 percent of South County residents say that things are going well in Orange County, compared to 77 percent in Central County. Ninety percent of those earning $80,000 or more, and a similar 84 percent of those with annual household incomes of $50,000 or less, say the quality of life is going well. Latinos (79%) are less likely than non-Hispanic whites (89%) to have a positive perception of the county's quality of life, although a majority in both groups believe that things are going well in Orange County.

As for the future, 36 percent expect Orange County to be a better place to live, while 26 percent think it will be worse. Thirty-eight percent expect it to be about the same as it is today.

Optimists outnumber pessimists by a 10-point margin. The numbers have changed only slightly since last year, but the recent trend is toward a widening gap between negative and positive evaluations. This year marks the third year in a row that there is more optimism than pessimism about the future.
Graph: Future of Orange County

There are no statistically significant differences by age, region or income in optimism about Orange County's future. The gap between optimism and pessimism about the county's future is larger among Latinos (40% to 19%) than non-Hispanic whites (33% to 30%).