Community Survey

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Community Survey?

The Community Survey is a biannual survey of Tacoma residents conducted on behalf of the City of Tacoma to gather feedback on City services, priorities, and overall quality of life. The results of the survey support strategic planning, budget decisions, and service delivery improvements, guiding City staff, the City Manager, and the City Council in our mission to provide high-quality municipal services to enhance the lives of all Tacoma community members. 

When was the 2026 Community Survey conducted? 

The most recent Community Survey was conducted during March and April of 2026. 

Who conducted the survey? 

The Community Survey was conducted by the ETC Institute, a market research firm that specializes in public organizations and particularly city governments. 

Who got the survey and how many responses were gathered? 

The goal of the Community Survey was to collect 900 responses representative of Tacoma’s overall demographics, including at least 150 responses from each of Tacoma’s five City Council districts. This target was exceeded, with a total of 902 residents completing the survey and with at least 150 completed surveys from each council district. 

How do 902 Tacoma residents represent the whole city in a survey? 

Using random statistical sampling, a total of 900 completed surveys were collected from Tacoma’s population of approximately 228,000 residents. This random sample provides a 95% confidence level with a margin of error of ±3.65%. In practical terms, if the survey were repeated 100 times using the same random sampling methodology, the results would be expected to fall within 3.26 percentage points in either a positive or negative direction of the true opinions of Tacoma residents in approximately 95 out of every 100 surveys. 

What did the survey seek to find out? 

Questions in the survey fall into nine key topic areas: 

• Perceptions of Tacoma 
• Community Amenities 
• Police Services and Public Safety 
• Fire and Emergency Medical Services 
• Infrastructure, Roads, and Public Works 
• Jobs and Economy 
• Customer Service and Civic Engagement 
• Neighborhood Issues and Funding Priorities
• City Communications 

What did the Community Survey find? 

Overall, the 2026 City of Tacoma Community Survey results indicate residents recognize several strengths in the delivery of core City services, particularly emergency response, utilities, and access to community amenities. The survey also highlights important opportunities for improvement related to public safety, infrastructure conditions, affordability, and neighborhood quality of life. 

The five highest rated services and community measures were: 

• Overall quality of fire services (83%) 
• Fire response and suppression (83%) 
• How quickly fire services personnel respond to emergencies (83%) 
• Proximity to daily essential services such as schools and parks (80%) 
• How quickly emergency medical services personnel respond to emergencies (81%) 

The five lowest rated services and community measures were: 

• Enforcement of local codes and ordinances (16%) 
• Cost of living in Tacoma (18%) 
• Police investigations (18%) 
• Condition of major streets (20%) 
• Efforts by police in the community to prevent crime (21%) 

How do the 2026 results compare to two years ago?

Of the 80 total satisfaction questions asked, 68 improved from two years ago, six declined, and six stayed the same.  

The 12 that saw the largest improvements were: 

• Water quality of Puget Sound affecting native plants and animals (+12%) 
• Overall responsiveness of City employees to requests or concerns (+11%) 
• Ease of contacting City departments (+11%) 
• Overall quality of public library services (+9%) 
• Police patrol (+8%) 
• Resolution of customer concerns or requests (+8%) 
• Access to arts, culture, science, and heritage programs (+8%) 
• Overall quality of fire services (+7%) 
• Fire response and suppression (+6%) 
• How quickly police respond to emergencies (+7%) 
• Participation in community groups (+6%) 

There were two that saw decreases in resident sentiment of significance: 

• Condition of major streets (-4%) 
• Overall access to daily essentials, like grocery stores and schools (-4%) 

You can read the full 2026 report and view various data sets on this web page in the section above.