A new poll of residents in seven urban Nebraska counties shows 44 percent believe their communities are better than they were one year ago.
UNO’s Center for Public Affairs Research did the Nebraska Metro Poll. It’s based on 1,150 responses from residents in the seven counties, including Douglas, Sarpy, and Lancaster. The poll found more than half of respondents are optimistic about the future, and feel they’re better off than they were five years ago.
CPAR research coordinator David Drozd is the study’s main author. He says factors such as income and education played a major role in people’s outlook.
"We also saw that age and stage in life was a significant predictor. So for example, whether or not people had children in the house, or whether they were owning versus renting their home, those all had an impact in how they foresaw the future and the recent past."
The poll divided Douglas County in to quadrants. It found 55 percent of northeast Douglas County residents reported they were better off now than five years ago. Responses from residents of the southeast quadrant, an area southeast of 72nd and Pacific Streets, were the most pessimistic about their current situation.
More information about the Nebraska Metro Poll is available at www.unomaha.edu/cpar.