Biennial Community Survey

The City of Urbandale conducts a biennial (every other year) community (formerly citizen) survey. The survey asks residents to indicate their level of satisfaction with city services, ranging from police services to community growth.

2023 Community Survey

The 2023 Community Survey was conducted April through May. The survey was delayed to accommodate the public bond referendum in March 2023.  The final survey reports were presented to the City Council, at its June 27, 2023 Council meeting.

2023 Community Survey Results

Urbandale partnered for the seventh time with the Polco (formerly the National Research Center) to conduct the 2023 survey. The 2023 survey was mailed to 2,800 random households in Urbandale. In total, 520 completed surveys were received, which yielded a response rate of approximately 19%. This yielded a confidence level of 96%, with a margin of error of + or - 4%.

The 2023 Community Survey results can be viewed online at: https://public.tableau.com/app/profile/polco.nrc/viz/TheNCSReport-UrbandaleIA2023/About#1

2023 Key Findings

Quality of Life

Almost all residents rated the quality of life in Urbandale as excellent or good (92%). This rating has remained steady since the City's 2009 survey results. Additionally, 92% of respondents rated Urbandale as an excellent or good place to live. The vast majority (91%) of residents would recommend living in Urbandale to someone who asked. 

Infrastructure

A majority of residents gave the quality of infrastructure positive ratings (85%) and 9 out of 10 thought infrastructure should be a focus priority for the next 2 years.  The top-rated infrastructure related services are garbage collection (91%), stormwater management (86%), high-speed internet (70%), and all are above comparison communities across the nation.    

Economy

As in the prior survey results, the economy continues to be a priority for residents, with 88% identifying it as an essential or very important focus area for the city.  Residents gave mixed results to facets of the economy in Urbandale, and 80% gave excellent or good marks for the overall economic health of Urbandale.  Another positive was the overall quality of businesses and service establishments, which were rated excellent or good by 79% of residents.  However, residents rated Urbandale as a place to work at only 74% in 2023, which was a decrease from 91% in 2017. 

Safety

88% of residents rated safety in Urbandale as an essential or very important area of focus for the city.  Almost all (97%) residents feel their neighborhoods are safe during the day.  In addition, 94% of residents gave high marks to fire services and 91% to ambulance/EMS services.  Also, 85% of residents gave high marks to police services and 81% felt the Urbandale Police Department treats all residents fairly.  

2020 & Other Past Survey Results

Urbandale conducted an in-house survey in 1999, 2002, 2004, and 2006. The NCS was used to conduct the 2009, 2011, 2013, 2016, 2018, and 2020 surveys. Review these past survey result reports.