UCI

Despite urbanization, Orange County's quality-of-life ratings surpass Los Angeles County's, UC Irvine survey shows

Irvine, Calif. - With Orange County among the fastest-growing counties in the nation, many fear that it is losing its suburban character or becoming "just like Los Angeles."

But in a first-time comparison of Orange and Los Angeles counties, UC Irvine's 1998 Orange County Annual Survey shows that despite its rapid growth and change, Orange County is not becoming more like its neighbor to the north. Orange County residents give higher ratings than Los Angeles County residents on a number of measures, including their quality of life, local public services, job opportunities and county government.

"Many people think that Orange County has grown and changed so much in recent decades that its suburban quality is gone. That fear has been best expressed in the view that Orange County has become 'just like Los Angeles,' " said Mark Baldassare, professor of urban and regional planning in UCI's School of Social Ecology.

"But these findings show no evidence that Orange County is like Los Angeles in ratings of quality of life and government services."

Baldassare, who also is senior fellow at the Public Policy Institute of California, and research associate Cheryl Katz conducted the 1998 telephone survey of 2,002 Orange County adults Sept. 1-13. The survey's margin of error is plus or minus 2 percent.

According to the survey, Orange County residents are much more upbeat about their personal circumstances and their region than are people in Los Angeles County. For example:

• Fifty-eight percent of residents in Orange County say they are very satisfied with their housing, compared with 45 percent in Los Angeles County.
• In their work, 55 percent in Orange County are very satisfied vs. 37 percent in Los Angeles County.
• Fifty-four percent in Orange County are very satisfied with their leisure activities vs. 42 percent in Los Angeles County.
• And 28 percent in Orange County are very satisfied with their personal finances, compared with 16 percent in Los Angeles County.

Orange County residents also are more likely than Los Angeles County residents to be very satisfied with job opportunities in their region (33 percent vs. 21 percent). And more people say they are very happy in Orange County (36 percent) than in Los Angeles County (26 percent).

"A major reason for those high ratings is that Orange County is not yet as large and dense as Los Angeles County," Baldassare said.

"Also, Orange County has a unique advantage over other areas because of its success in planning new communities and providing public services through smaller local governments. With 2.7 million people, it is the sixth most populous county in the nation. Yet, on quality-of-life issues such as work, housing and leisure, Orange County compares very favorably with Los Angeles County."

Orange County residents also are happier with their police, parks and other public services. Seventy-eight percent say police protection and parks, beaches and public recreation in Orange County are excellent or good, compared with 69 percent in Los Angeles County. Sixty percent rate Orange County freeways, streets and roads as good to excellent, compared with 50 percent in Los Angeles County. And 57 percent in Orange County say public schools are good or excellent vs. 41 percent in Los Angeles County.

When it comes to affordable housing and cost of living, however, the two regions are similar. Only 22 percent in each county say they are very satisfied with the availability of housing they can afford in their region, and only 16 percent of those in Orange County and 12 percent of those in Los Angeles County are very satisfied with their region's cost of living.

The two counties also express similar levels of concern over population growth and development, cited as a big problem by 26 percent in Orange County and 27 percent in Los Angeles County. But people in Los Angeles County are much more likely to see air, water and environmental pollution as a big problem in their region (38 percent vs. 20 percent in Orange County). Transportation and traffic congestion also are more likely to be seen as a big problem in Los Angeles County (35 percent vs. 26 percent in Orange County).

Although crime fears are on the rise in Orange County, residents still feel much safer than Los Angeles County residents: Forty-six percent in Orange County say they feel very safe walking alone at night in their neighborhood vs. 24 percent in Los Angeles County.

Orange County residents also have more confidence in their Board of Supervisors than do Los Angeles County residents. Sixty-four percent of Orange County residents have a great deal or fair amount of confidence in their supervisors when it comes to handling county problems, compared with 56 percent in Los Angeles County.

"Whatever problems we have, we don't see evidence that Orange County is losing ground as a very desirable place to live. We're developing in a way that is distinct from many large urban areas," Baldassare said.

"But if Orange County continues to grow as predicted in the next 20-30 years, we will have to be even more thoughtful in how we go about planning our new communities, and make sure the quality of local public services stays high. Otherwise, our quality of life will decline."

The 1998 Orange County Annual Survey, the most comprehensive poll of Orange County residents, monitors social, economic and political trends from a non-advocacy position. The Los Angeles County data used for comparisons with Orange County come from the 1998 Statewide Surveys, Public Policy Institute of California, conducted by Mark Baldassare.