Special Survey of Orange County

UCI	2002 PPIC Statewide Survey: December 2002 Special Survey of Orange County Public Policy Institute of California in collaboration with the University of California, Irvine

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2002 Survey
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University of California, Irvine
© 2002 UC Regents

Regional Problems

About half of the county's residents (56%) see traffic and housing affordability (48%) as big problems in the region they live in, while about one in three (34%) rate population growth and development as equally serious. Fewer county residents say that the availability of jobs (20%) or air pollution (16%) are major problems in their regions. These rankings of regional problems have changed very little in the past year.

Orange County residents are somewhat more likely than Californians as a whole to rank traffic congestion, housing affordability, and population growth as big problems in their region. By contrast, Orange County residents are less likely than all Californians to see job opportunities and air pollution as big problems.

Orange County residents are somewhat more worried than Los Angeles residents about housing affordability, while Los Angeles residents are more likely than Orange County residents to say that traffic, growth, jobs, and especially air pollution are big problems. San Francisco Bay Area residents are more likely than Orange County residents to mention housing affordability as a major problem.

"In your region, how much of a problem is ..."

Percent seeing the issue as a big problem		Region
Percent seeing the issue as a big problem	All California*	SF Bay Area*	Los Angeles*	Orange County
Traffic congestion on freeways and major roads	51%	59%	61%	56%
Availability of housing you can afford	44	59	44	48
Population growth and development	32	30	37	34
Lack of opportunities for well-paying jobs	28	22	27	20
Air pollution	27	18	38	16

* Results from November 2002 PPIC Statewide Survey

Within Orange County, there are some significant differences in perceptions of regional problems: North County residents are more likely than those in the South County to rank traffic congestion (59% to 50%), the availability of jobs (22% to 14%), and air pollution (18% to 11%) as major problems. Perceptions of population growth and housing affordability are about the same in both regions.

Perceptions also differ across racial/ethnic groups. Whites are more likely than Latinos to highlight traffic congestion (59% to 50%) and growth and development (38% to 27%) as big problems, while Latinos are more likely than whites to mention the availability of well-paying jobs (34% to 15%). Latinos and whites are fairly similar in their rankings of housing affordability and air pollution.

There are also variations in the perceptions of regional problems in Orange County by age, education, and income level. Older residents tend to think that growth is a big problem, while younger residents are more likely to express concern about the lack of availability of jobs, housing affordability, and air pollution. Orange County residents with higher incomes and college educations are more likely than others to cite traffic congestion and growth as major regional issues, while those with lower incomes and no college education are more likely than others to mention the availability of jobs, affordable housing, and air pollution as big problems.
"In your region, how much of a problem is ..."

Percent seeing the issue as a big problem	All Adults	Region		Race / Ethnicity
Percent seeing the issue as a big problem	All Adults	North	South	White	Latino
Traffic congestion on freeways and major roads	56%	59%	50%	59%	50%
Availability of housing you can afford	48	48	47	49	48
Population growth and development	34	34	35	38	27
Lack of opportunities for well-paying jobs	20	22	14	15	34
*Air pollution*	16	18	11	16	18

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