Residents Give City of San Antonio High Marks for Overall Quality

Published on November 03, 2022

Residents Give City of San Antonio High Marks for Overall Quality of City Services

SAN ANTONIO (November 3, 2022) — The results of the 2022 Community Survey touted high marks for the City of San Antonio in resident satisfaction with the City’s quality of services, ranking the city above the overall National Average in nine major categories of City services that were comparable. The City contracted ETC Institute, Inc. to conduct the survey, with more than nearly 1,100 residents expressing that the city is moving in a positive direction in overall satisfaction; with its highest overall satisfaction rate since the City began conducting this survey 14 years ago. Residents provided responses, in English and Spanish, to a variety of questions related to living in San Antonio including the levels of importance and satisfaction with City programs and services, quality of life, and sense of community. At least 100 surveys were completed in each of the City’s ten council districts.
 
San Antonio conducts a Community Survey through an independent consultant to uncover resident satisfaction, engagement, and communication levels every two years, most recently in 2018, but did not in 2020 due to the pandemic. The percentage of residents who rated the overall quality of City services as “excellent” or “good” is 74 percent placing San Antonio as the highest ranked City in overall satisfaction with delivery of services among large Texas cities. San Antonio is also among the highest ranked nationwide with 34 percent above the national average of 43 percent satisfaction rate. “The 2022 results of the community survey indicate that the City of San Antonio has continued to improve the delivery of services for our residents,” said City Manager Erik Walsh. “The survey results also show the effort and commitment of our more than 13,000 employees who serve our community daily, strive for excellent customer service.” Walsh added, “There is no finish line when it comes to customer service. The data gathered from this survey helps us identify services that are excelling and areas where we need to improve for our customers; the residents of our City.”

The purpose of conducting the 2022 Community Survey was to:

• Measure resident opinions about the City’s service delivery
• Guide future actions and decisions
• Monitor and benchmark progress since the 2018 Community Survey

Overall, the results of the 2022 survey turned out highly positive across several measures, including:

• A rating of 74 percent satisfaction with the overall quality of services in the City of San Antonio. This rating was an increase of 10 percent from 2018.
• Services that were identified as strengths are San Antonio Library (94% satisfied or very satisfied), Fire/Emergency Services (94% satisfied or very satisfied) and Solid Waste (90% satisfied or very satisfied).
• San Antonio had the highest (7) or second highest (2) level of satisfaction in nine categories against other large Texas cities (Austin, Dallas, El Paso, Fort Worth).

The Departments that experienced the greatest and double-digit increase in satisfaction are also the Departments that have had significant program focus and support from the Mayor & Council including:

• Public Health (with an increase of 25%)
• Code Enforcement (with an increase of 18%)
• Animal Care (with an increase of 17%)
• Public Works (with an increase of 17%)
• Aviation (with an increase of 15%)

The survey results along with additional feedback provided by the residents will assist the City Departments in addressing any needed improvements in City services and to enhance services rated highly by residents. “In more than 30 years, the results of this survey are some of the most impressive of any city I have ever seen. While nationally we see many communities see double-digit decreases in satisfaction, we saw significant improvement here in San Antonio,” said Chris Tatham, CEO of the ETC Institute. “Objective, statistically valid data like this helps cities respond to the needs of their community and benchmark themselves against other cities.”
 
To view the complete 2022 community survey results, visit the City’s website. Residents can also view a copy in English and Spanish at any San Antonio Public Library location in the upcoming weeks.