Survey of Calgarians
2024 fall survey results
The City conducts an annual Fall Survey of Calgarians to gather views about living in Calgary, perception of quality of life, attitudes towards City Administration and Council, overall satisfaction with services, perception of value for taxes, and Calgarians’ outlook for the future.
Public opinion research is a critical tool in helping Council and Administration better understand the needs and perceptions of Calgarians, informing decision-making and providing accountability through performance measures and insights.
Given that the Fall Survey of Calgarians is a year-over-year longitudinal survey, it provides more than opinions captured in a single moment of time; tracking Calgarians' perceptions annually allows for comparison against previous years’ findings and helps The City to gauge and better understand shifts and changes in perception.
The Fall Survey of Calgarians and other surveys conducted throughout the spring and fall of 2024 are critical tools in helping Council and The City identify opportunities for improvement. Annual and semi-annual survey findings like this provide data-driven and performance-based reporting for Council, Administration, and the public. When making decisions on municipal matters, the opinions and priorities of the general population are an important consideration.
Along with the Fall Survey, data for the results presentation was also collected from several other research initiatives:
Survey highlights
Issue agenda
The most top of mind issue for Calgarians is once again ‘infrastructure, traffic and roads’ followed by ‘economy,’ ‘housing, homelessness and poverty,’ and ‘crime, safety, and policing.’ As a result of recent events in Calgary, ‘water supply and infrastructure’ and ‘zoning and growth’ were new additions to the issue agenda this year reflecting Calgarians thoughts on the Bearspaw South Feedermain repairs and the rezoning discussions.
Quality of life and satisfaction
The overall quality of life in Calgary saw a significant five per cent drop with two-thirds of Calgarians considering it 'good.’ Moreover, three-fifths of Calgarians think that Calgary is on the right track to be a better city 10 years from now, a nine per cent drop from Fall 2023.
It is not all bad news, however, Calgarians perceptions that Calgary is a great place to make a life and a great place to make a living have remained stable since Spring 2024. In addition, Calgarians have increased confidence in the local economy with 57 per cent rating the current economy in Calgary as ‘good’ in March 2024.
Calgarians’ satisfaction with programs and services has remained stable from Spring 2024; however, satisfaction with programs and services is down 6 per cent from this time last year.
Value for taxes
Calgarians are continuing to question the value they get for their taxes with 43 per cent indicating that they get good value for their taxes and 28 per cent indicating that they get poor value for their taxes. Furthermore, Calgarians are torn between whether they would like to increase taxes to expand or maintain services or cut services to maintain or reduce taxes.
Trust in The City
Trust in The City has seen an additional 5 per cent drop to 41%. With Calgarians noting a significant 9 per cent drop in satisfaction with the way The City, including Council and Administration, are running The City from Fall 2023.
2024 spring survey results
The City of Calgary has conducted the annual Spring Survey of Calgarians telephone survey since 2017, formerly known as the Spring Pulse.
We hear from Calgarians that they expect and value opportunities to provide input to The City; the Spring Pulse survey is one way Council and Administration can hear directly from citizens.
Annual and semi-annual survey findings like this provide data-driven and performance-based reporting for Council, Administration, and the public. The Fall and Spring Surveys of Calgarians are critical tools in helping Council and The City better understand the needs and perceptions of Calgarians and identifying areas for improvement.
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Survey results by ward
Additional resources
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Media information
Additional resources for media are available in City newsroom.
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Additional research reports
Access reports from previous years via the Research and Engagement Library.
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Online panel
To provide input into City programs and services on an ongoing basis, join Calgary's online panel.
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Toolkit for teachers
A teacher's guide is available to help students understand how surveys can be used to gauge Calgarians' satisfaction and help with decisions about City services.