A survey of Los Angeles residents found that more than half of Angelenos believe their city is “on the wrong track” when it comes to cost of living, crime and safety, taxes, and education.
Local advocacy group Thrive LA surveyed nearly 800 L.A. residents from Jan. 7–14 to gauge the mood of voters.
Of those surveyed, about 55 percent said they believed the city was “on the wrong track,” while 28 percent believed the city was headed in the “right direction,” and 16 percent said they didn’t know.
Meanwhile, 52 percent of those surveyed said they believed their neighborhood was on the wrong track, while 34 percent said they believed it was headed in the right direction and 14 percent were uncertain.
According to the report, city leadership had much to do with residents’ dissatisfaction.
While 57 percent of participants rated Mayor Karen Bass favorably, the majority viewed District Attorney George Gascón—as well as the city council and county Board of Supervisors—negatively.
Also, 53 percent said they had “seriously considered moving out of the city recently, with 23 percent saying the cost of living—including the cost of housing—was a major factor, while 18 percent cited crime and safety, 4 percent said high cost of taxes, 3 percent said a lack of good paying jobs, and 1 percent said lack of quality education as reasons for considering leaving.
Seventy percent of participants also identified smash-and-grab thefts, property crimes, and hate crimes as highly serious problems in Los Angeles.
In the documentary, California residents say education and housing are also reasons for the mass exodus from the Golden State—as well as crime, homelessness, and the high cost of living.
Meanwhile, homelessness is cited as a concern for 80 percent of those surveyed, while related issues such as the cost of housing, encampments, and a lack of affordable housing are rated as major problems.
In 2023, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s point-in-time count tallied 181,399 homeless people in California on a single night in January. The number is the highest reported on a single night since the national reporting on homelessness began in 2007 and represents a 12 percent increase since 2022, according to the department’s report.
Some also said they’ve left seeking better educational opportunities for their children.
California’s Smarter Balanced Test results, published in October 2023, show only a slight improvement in math and a slight decline in English language arts. Such tests are given to students in third through eighth grades and 11th grade.
A little more than one-third—or 34.6 percent—of California students met or exceeded math standards last year, up by 1.2 percentage points compared with 2022.
