The 2016 Bay Area Council Poll

Web survey of Bay Area Residents

EMC Research #16-5727
Conducted February 12 March 9, 2016
n=1,000; Margin of Error = +/- 3.1 percentage points
Where applicable, data compared with:
April 8 April 15, 2014
April 15 April 23, 2015
n=1,018; MoE + 3.07 percentage points
n=1,000; MoE 3.1 percentage points
EMC Research #14-5095
EMC Research #15-5512

All numbers in this document represent percentage (%) values, unless otherwise noted.
Please note that due to rounding, percentages may not add up to exactly 100%.
Thank you for participating in this opinion survey about issues important to people in the Bay
Area. Your individual responses will be completely confidential and the survey should take only
about 10 to 15 minutes to complete.

Do you feel things in the Bay Area are going in the right direction or do you feel things have gotten
pretty seriously off on the wrong track?
2014 2015 2016
Right direction
57
55
40
Wrong track
27
28
40
Dont know
16
17
20

Do you agree or disagree with the following statements?

Strongly
Somewhat
Somewhat
SCALE
agree
agree
disagree
I am likely to move out of the Bay Area in the next few years.
13
21
23

Strongly
disagree
31

Dont
know
12

Rather than building more housing in the Bay Area, I support building new housing outside the Bay
Area and improving the transportation network to and from the job centers inside the Bay Area.
20
40
21
11
8

EMC 16-5727

Bay Area Council 2016 Poll

What is the most important problem facing the Bay Area today? (INSERT TEXT BOX)
2014
Housing/Rent Costs
12
Traffic/Congestion
10
Cost of Living
7
Other Housing
Crime/Safety
10
Poverty/Homelessness
3
Development/Overpopulation
6
Drought/Water Shortage
28
Jobs/Economy
6
Housing Availability
6
Transportation
3
Income Inequality
2
Government/Budget
3
Environment
2
Education
2
Other
3
Don't Know/ Nothing
4

2015
22
17
9
7
7
5
5
4
4
2
2
2
1
1
1
9
1

EMC 16-5727

Bay Area Council 2016 Poll

Now, from the list below, what are the 3 most serious problems facing the Bay Area today? Please
drag three items into the box on the right and rank them in order.
(RANDOMIZE)
Most Important
Mentioned as One of
Problem
Top 3
2014
2015
2016 2014
2015
2016
23
48
Housing*
24
18
63
51
13
39
Traffic
7
7
29
25
8
27
Poverty/Income inequality**
2
5
8
21
2
8
Education
4
2
12
9
6
23
Crime/Safety
11
8
29
22
3
14
Economy/Jobs
5
4
14
15
6
23
Homelessness
8
4
22
15
2
10
Taxes
4
2
15
9
2
9
Public Transportation
1
1
8
6
1
5
Government
7
2
22
12
25
64
Cost of living
21
14
60
43
1
2
Supply of water***
24
48
1
5
Environment
1
1
3
6
1
5
Health care
1
1
6
6
Growth/Development
1
1
4
5
Business climate
1
1
3
2
Preparing for sea-level rise***
0
1
6
17
Other/ Dont know
1
2
1
2

Please indicate the extent to which you support or oppose each of the following:
Strongly
Somewhat
Somewhat
Strongly
SCALE
support
support
oppose
oppose

Dont
know

Creating better transportation network between the Bay Area, Sacramento and other areas of
central California to reduce pressure on the Bay Area housing supply
43
42
7
3
6

*Asked separately as Housing Cost and Housing Availability in previous years

**These options were not offered to respondents in the 2014 survey, and in 2015, asked separately as
Poverty and Income Inequality
***Not offered in 2014

EMC 16-5727

Bay Area Council 2016 Poll

[DEMOGRAPHICS]
The following are a few questions for statistical purposes only. Please remember all responses are
confidential.
Do you own or rent your home?
Own a home or condo
Rent
Other
Prefer not to respond

2014
54
40
4
2

2015
53
38
6
3

Approximately what percentage of your household income do you spend on housing?

15 or less
20
25
30
35
45
50
55
60 or more
Dont know/ Prefer not to respond

2016
55
38
5
1

17
10
9
13
9
8
9
3
9
13

How would you describe the area where you live?

Urban
Suburban
Rural
Prefer not to respond

2014
38
57
4
2

2015
34
59
4
2

2016
35
59
5
1

2014
3
7
8
14
66
1

2015
4
8
9
18
60
1

2016
4
9
8
14
64
1

About how long have you lived in the Bay Area?

Less than two years
2-5 years
6-10 years
11-20 years
More than 20 years
Prefer not to respond

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Bay Area Council 2016 Poll

Do you have children under the age of 18 living in your home?

Yes
No
Prefer not to respond

2014
21
78
2

2015
27
71
1

2016
23
76
1

2014
49
14
3
23
11

2015
44
15
4
26
11

2016
45
16
3
26
10

2015
58
8
7
16
5
5
2

2016
62
5
5
19
6
3
1

Are you registered to vote as

A Democrat
A Republican
Another party
No party preference
Not registered to vote

What is your employment status?

Employed
Self-employed
Unemployed/looking for work
Retired
Student
Other
Prefer not to respond

(IF EMPLOYED OR SELF-EMPLOYED, n=662) What zip code do you work in? (INSERT TEXT BOX)
2016
Alameda
20
Contra Costa
10
North Bay Region
15
San Francisco
17
San Mateo
10
Santa Clara
26
Other
23
Does your household have a land line telephone?
Yes
No
Prefer not to respond

2014
58
40
1

2015
60
38
2

2016
53
45
2

EMC 16-5727

Bay Area Council 2016 Poll

How likely do you think it is your household will have a land line telephone 5 years from now?
2014 2015 2016
Very likely
19
24
18
Somewhat likely
25
22
22
Somewhat unlikely
17
17
13
Very unlikely
38
35
45
Prefer not to respond
2
2
2
To what extent have you come to rely on your smartphone to help you to accomplish day-to-day
tasks?
2014 2015 2016
A great deal
33
41
39
Moderately
30
29
32
Not much
18
14
15
Not at all
6
5
4
I dont have a smartphone
13
11
10

What was your total household income before taxes for 2015?
Less than $25,000
$25,001-$50,000
$50,001-$75,000
$75,001-$100,000
$100,001-$125,000
$125,001-$150,000
More than $150,000
Prefer not to respond

2014
5
14
17
16
14
8
17
10

2015
9
12
17
18
10
8
14
12

2016
8
11
15
17
12
9
16
11

[SCREENING]
In what year were you born? (Insert drop-down list)
18-29
30-39
40-49
50-64
65+

2014
21
19
20
25
14

2015
21
20
20
25
14

2016
21
20
20
24
15

EMC 16-5727

Bay Area Council 2016 Poll

Do you consider yourself to be Hispanic or Latino?

2015
23
76
1

2016
23
76
1

2014
57
7
13
1
3
3
4
1
4
5
2

2015
54
7
12
3
3
3
3
1
3
8
2

2016
55
6
14
1
3
3
4
1
4
6
3

2014
21
14
4
2
13
10
24
6
7
-

2015
21
14
4
2
13
10
23
6
7
-

2016
21
14
3
2
12
10
25
6
7
-

Yes
No
Prefer not to respond
Do you consider yourself to be:
White or Caucasian
African American
Chinese
Vietnamese
Filipino or Pacific Islander
South Indian, Asian Indian, Pakistani or Afghan
Another Asian group
Native American
Biracial or Multiracial
Other
Prefer not to respond
What county do you live in? (Insert drop-down list, terminate if Other)
Alameda
Contra Costa
Marin
Napa
San Francisco
San Mateo
Santa Clara
Solano
Sonoma
Other

What zip code do you live in? (Responses collapsed into county breakdowns above)
Are you?
Male
Female

2014
47
53

2015
47
53

2016
50
50

EMC 16-5727

Bay Area Council 2016 Poll

What is the last grade you completed in school?

Some grade school
Some high school
Graduated High School
Technical/Vocational
Some College/Associate degree
Graduated College/Bachelors/BA/BS
Graduate/Professional/Masters degree/PhD/MBA
Prefer not to respond

Thank you!

2014
0
0
6
4
30
34
25
0

2015
1
1
8
3
28
36
23
1

2016
1
1
6
4
27
36
24
1