Ninety percent of Rockville residents feel the city’s quality of life is good or excellent, and that their neighborhoods and the city are a great place to live and raise children. The city also scored highly for how it treats its diverse residents. Nine in 10 residents commended the overall quality of services and the same amount said they would recommend living in Rockville.
These are just some of the community’s thoughts revealed by the City of Rockville 2024 Resident Survey, which was presented to the Mayor and Council at their Jan. 13 meeting. The scores help identify areas where the city can improve service to its residents and also plan for the future. Normally conducted every two years, this is the first survey since 2018, due to the pandemic. The survey will now return to its biennial schedule.
According to survey results, Rockville’s highest-rated characteristics were the overall quality of the natural environment, parks and recreation opportunities, the city’s image or reputation, utility infrastructure, a feeling of safety, overall health and wellness, transportation system, and overall opportunities for education.
Other top-rated services, considered excellent or good by more than 85% of respondents, included playgrounds, services for youth, fire prevention and education, Rockville-provided water and sewer services, athletic fields, and trash collection services.
Virtually all respondents feel very or somewhat safe in their neighborhood and commercial areas in Rockville during the day. Compared to 2018’s survey, feelings of safety in 2024 were higher for paths and trails, parks and playgrounds, and in neighborhoods.
About eight in 10 respondents rated the overall quality and variety of business and service establishments in Rockville as excellent or good, and the same amount said the city is an excellent or good place to work.
All dimensions regarding public trust received at least 60% favorable ratings, with the top-rated aspects being treating residents with respect (81%), treating residents fairly (78%) and the responsiveness of city staff (75%).
The survey was sent to 3,000 randomly selected households within the city. In total, 476 completed surveys were returned. The survey has a 5% margin of error.
Visit www.rockvillemd.gov/survey to see the 2018 survey and results of the 2024 survey.