Worries about being able to pay rent or a mortgage in the Greater Washington region have soared; fewer residents believe changes where they live will benefit them
A new community listening survey conducted by Gallup in partnership with the Greater Washington Community Foundation shows that DMV residents are now significantly less optimistic about the future of the region than they were in 2020. DMV residents have become less positive in their views about who will benefit from changes in the area, and a staggering 85% of residents believe they have little to no influence on local government decision-making.
The number of residents who expect living conditions in the Greater Washington region to get “better” in the next five years dropped by nearly half, from 29% in 2020 to 16% in 2023, while the number of people who think living conditions will get “worse” in the region has increased from 24% to 32%. In 2020, 27% of respondents said changes in the area would benefit “more people like me,” but this is now down to 19%.
“Our last survey, conducted just before the pandemic, documented wide disparities in income and opportunity that were preventing many residents from accessing the region’s economic growth and prosperity. Today, many of these hardships remain, and have been exacerbated by the health and economic trauma of the past few years,” said Tonia Wellons, President and CEO of the Greater Washington Community Foundation. “Recognizing the challenges many people face, we’re redoubling our efforts to facilitate deeper engagement with residents and are investing in microgrants for individuals and organizations with ideas for improving neighborhoods to ensure every person has the opportunity to thrive.”
The Voices of the Community (VoicesDMV): Community Insights survey is one of the only large-scale community listening and engagement tools in the region that seeks to understand how residents are experiencing key quality of life indicators across a wide range of topics: economic opportunity, wellbeing, safety, influence in our democracy, and general perceptions about livability in the region. Through VoicesDMV, The Community Foundation has committed to engaging our community every three years to help keep a finger on the pulse of the community by deeply and authentically listening to the voices, experiences, attitudes, and perceptions of people who are generally not heard from in philanthropy.
This year’s publication reveals that while the DMV is outpacing the growth of other northeast regions, and more than half of residents are thriving, many people still lack access to basic needs. Nearly one in five DMV residents say there were times in the past year when they didn’t have enough money to pay for healthcare or medicine or food for themselves or their family, while 11% say they were unable to provide adequate shelter. Black and Hispanic residents are more likely than other racial subgroups to report struggling to afford basic needs — including more than a third who say there were times in the previous year when they did not have enough money to buy food and more than a quarter who experienced not having enough money for healthcare or medicine.
“Economic precarity has been a consistent theme throughout Gallup’s and the Greater Washington Community Foundation’s research across pre- and post-pandemic measures, revealing inequalities that could persist or even expand if gone unaddressed as the DMV region continues to change,” said Camille Lloyd, Director of the Gallup Center on Black Voices. “These findings demonstrate the need for programs and services that help residents catch up and keep up financially, move up the economic ladder, and ultimately build wealth.”
Additionally, worries about being able to pay rent or a mortgage in the DMV have soared since 2020. The percentage of people who are “very” worried about not being able to pay their rent or mortgage has more than tripled – from 8% in 2020 to 27% in 2023. When asked which amenities are “good” or “excellent” in the region, across all geographies, the availability of affordable and accessible housing was ranked last.
Results for the survey are based on a mail survey of adults living in Washington, DC, Montgomery County, Prince George’s County, Fairfax County, Loudoun County, Arlington County, Alexandria City, Fairfax City, and Falls Church City. Gallup mailed a total of 27,000 surveys, available in both English and Spanish, 2,832 of which were completed between May 5 and June 26, 2023. Previous iterations of the survey were completed in 2017 and 2020.
Along with the release of the new report, The Community Foundation will relaunch its Community Action Awards, a microgrant program for nonprofits, as well as the new VoicesDMV Fellowship, a leadership opportunity for residents. The full report and an online dashboard with further geographic and demographic breakdowns of the VoicesDMV survey data is available at VoicesDMV.org.