Arlington ranks “among the very best” in the nation in resident satisfaction with local government services, according to a new survey.

When compared to other communities its size, Arlington was rated significantly above average in all service areas, including fire and ambulance services (90%), county libraries (89%) and parks and recreation services (80%).

“Arlington has done an excellent job of providing services to residents of the County,” said Chris Tatham, vice president, ETC Institute, which conducted the survey. “Compared to other large communities in the United States with populations of more than 100,000 residents, Arlington County's ratings are among the very best.”

“Asking our customers how we are doing gives us essential information to help us with County priorities,” said Arlington County Board Chair Barbara A. Favola. “This kind of regular feedback is essential to continual improvement.”

Community Meeting to Discuss Survey Results

Arlington and ETC are holding an open community meeting on Wednesday, Nov. 17 to explain the survey results and answer questions. The meeting will be held at 3033 Wilson Blvd., 7th floor at 7:30 p.m.

Overviews of the Survey Results:

• Slide Show Presentation (1 MB, PDF Format)
• Five Minute Video (2 MB, WMV Format)
• Survey Highlights (1 MB, PDF Format)
• Survey Press Release

Major Findings

• Most residents are satisfied with Arlington services. When compared to other large communities, Arlington rated significantly above average in all areas. When compared to all communities (including those with less than 100,000 residents), Arlington rated above average in all but two areas: (1) enforcement of codes and ordinances and (2) the overall flow of traffic on county streets.
• Services that residents thought should receive the most increase in emphasis over the next two years are (1) the management of traffic flow on county streets and (2) the maintenance of county streets.
• Residents were generally satisfied with the overall quality of life in Arlington. Most (86%) residents indicated that they are satisfied with the quality of life in Arlington; only 3% were not satisfied; 11% gave a neutral rating.

See the Survey Press Release for an overview of findings and more information about the survey.

Action Plan

Arlington is addressing specific service areas, as revealed in the survey results. County departments are meeting with research experts from ETC Institute in November to fully understand the survey results and develop appropriate action plans.

Complete Survey Results

(Results are in PDF Format)

• Section 1: Executive Summary (200 KB)
• Section 2: Charts (3 MB)
• Section 3: Benchmark Charts (270 KB)
• Section 4: Importance/Satisfaction Analysis (240 KB)
• Section 5: GIS Maps (6.3 MB)
• Section 6: Ethnicity/Housing Crosstabs (7.3 MB)
• Section 7: Income/Length of Residency Crosstabs (3.3 MB)
• Section 8: Tabular Data (260 KB)
• Section 9: Performance Indices (180 KB)
• Section 10: Survey Questions (85 KB)