2022 Franklin Community Survey Results

The results are in! In October 2022, the City of Franklin partnered with Polco/National Resource Center to perform a community-wide survey of Franklin residents to get their perspectives about the quality of the community and available services as well as residents' priorities for Franklin.  A random scientific sample of 2,800 households received surveys their confidential responses were weighted and analyzed to determine just what a representative sample of Franklin thinks about the community, governance and participation.

The same survey was used in 2016 and in 2019. The national citizen survey is used by over 600 cities across the country with populations ranging from 500 to over one million citizens.

Here are some highlights of the survey:

- Almost all residents rated the quality of life in Franklin as excellent or good – 97% combined. In fact, compared to national benchmarks (and over 600 other cities participate in this survey), Franklin ranks 7th in the nation for quality of life. (Franklin rated 3rd in 2019 and 8th in 2016 in this category)

- 93% of residents rate Franklin as Excellent/Good as a Place to Live.

- 89% of residents rate the overall quality of City Services as Excellent/Good. Services provided by the City were rated by citizens as mostly higher than comparative benchmarks.

- 84% of citizens feel the Sense of Community is either Excellent/Good. Franklin ranks 7th in the nation for Sense of Community

- Less than 1 in 10 said they had used public transportation & 4 in 10 residents reported they had walked or biked instead of driving. 

- 83% of residents rate the Natural Environment as Excellent/Good.

- 95% of residents rate the overall feeling of Safety in Franklin as Excellent/Good. That number is even higher - 99% when asked about safety in their neighborhood and Downtown. 

- 76% rated their satisfaction of the City’s management of growth as either Very or Somewhat Satisfied.

- 2/3 said they had attended a City-sponsored event or participated in religious or spiritual activities, both levels were higher than the benchmark comparison. In fact Franklin rates 2nd in the nation for opportunities to participate in religious or spiritual events and activities.

- 76% rated their satisfaction of the City’s management of growth as either Very or Somewhat Satisfied. This is lower than 2016 (84%) and 2019 (80%) and below our 80% benchmark. 

For more detail, please click on any of these materials:

2022 Franklin Community Survey Results Presentation to BOMA - March 28, 2023

2022 Franklin Community Survey Results

2022 Franklin Community Survey - Open-ended Verbatim Responses*

 * These reports contain anonymous citizen responses to question of what is the most pressing issue in Franklin today. They are presented verbatim and have not been edited in anyway for content.

2019 Franklin Citizens Survey Results

In March 2019, the City of Franklin partnered with the National Resource Center to perform a community-wide survey of Franklin residents to get their perspectives about the quality of the community and available services as well as residents' priorities for Franklin.  A random scientific sample of 2,800 households received surveys their confidential responses were weighted and analyzed to determine just what a representative sample of Franklin thinks about the community, governance and participation.

A similar citizen survey was used two and a half years ago. The national citizen survey is used by over 600 cities across the country with populations ranging from 500 to over one million citizens.

Here are some highlights of the survey:

• Almost all residents rated the quality of life in Franklin as excellent or good – 97% combined. In fact, compared to national benchmarks (and over 600 other cities participate in this survey), Franklin ranks 3rd in the nation for quality of life. (Franklin rated 8th in the nation for quality of life in 2016).
• 99% of residents rate Franklin as Excellent/Good as a Place to Live. In fact, compared to national benchmarks (and over 600 other cities participate in this survey), Franklin ranks 6th in the nation for a place to live (we were 13th in 2016) and 1st in the nation for overall image and reputation (we were 3rd in 2016).
• 93% of residents rate the overall quality of City Services as Excellent/Good. Services provided by the City were rated by citizens as mostly higher than comparative benchmarks. Franklin ranks 11th in the nation for Overall Confidence in City Government and 6th in services provided compared to other cities/jurisdictions.
• 83% of citizens feel the Sense of Community is either Excellent/Good. This is higher than national and comparative benchmarks. 88% of residents indicated they had not reported a crime and 94% had not been the victim of a crime. 
• Less than 1 in 10 said they had used public transportation & 4 in 10 residents reported they had walked or biked instead of driving. 
• 7 in 10 residents indicated they had participated in each aspect of Natural Environment and Built Environment.
• 2/3 said they had attended a City-sponsored event or participated in religious or spiritual activities, both levels were higher than the benchmark comparison.
• 80% rated their satisfaction of the City’s management of growth as either Very or Somewhat Satisfied.

The City's outstanding results in multiple categories caused it to receive two 2020 Voice of the People awards for Excellence in Education and Enrichment and for Excellence in Community Engagement. The Voice of the People Awards stand alone as the only award given in local government based on community opinion. The perspectives of the residents themselves determine nominees for the very best of Community Engagement, Safety, Mobility, Foundations of Livability, Recreation and Wellness, Education and Enrichment, Natural Environment, Built Environment and Economy. Of the communities that participated in The National Citizen Survey in 2019, winners and finalists for Excellence in these categories received the highest overall levels of satisfaction from residents. Franklin was one of only two cities in America (Gilbert, AZ being the other) who won two Voice of the People awards. Thank you!!!

2019 Franklin Citizen Survey Documents.  Attached are eight (8) documents regarding the survey:

• Presentation to the Board of Mayor and Alderman - May 28, 2019
• Community Livability Report
• Dashboard Summary of Findings
• Trends Over Time
• Demographic Subgroup Comparisons
• *Supplemental Web Results
• *Report of Open-ended Questions
• Technical Appendices

 * These reports contain anonymous citizen responses to question of what is the most pressing issue in Franklin today. They are presented verbatim and have not been edited in anyway for content.

2016 Franklin Citizens Survey Results 

The results are in! In October and November of 2016, the City of Franklin partnered with the National Resource Center to perform a community-wide survey of Franklin residents to get their perspectives about the quality of the community and available services as well as residents' priorities for Franklin.  A random scientific sample of 3,000 households received surveys their confidential responses were weighted and analyzed to determine just what a representative sample of Franklin thinks about the community, governance and participation.

Highlights of the survey:

- Almost all residents rated the quality of life in Franklin as excellent or good – 97% combined. In fact, compared to national benchmarks (and over 500 other cities participate in this survey), Franklin ranks 8th in the nation for quality of life. 

- 97% of residents rate Franklin as Excellent/Good as a Place to Live. In fact, compared to national benchmarks (and over 500 other cities participate in this survey), Franklin ranks 13th in the nation for a place to live and 3rd in the nation for overall image and reputation.

- 93% of residents rate the overall quality of City Services as Excellent/Good. Services provided by the City were rated by citizens as mostly higher than comparative benchmarks. Franklin ranks 8th in the nation for Overall Confidence in City Government compared to other cities/jurisdictions.

- 82% of citizens feel the Sense of Community is either Excellent/Good. This is higher than national and comparative benchmarks. 87% of residents indicated they had not reported a crime and 95% had not been the victim of a crime. 

- Less than 1 in 10 said they had used public transportation & 4 in 10 residents reported they had walked or biked instead of driving. 

- 7 in 10 residents indicated they had participated in each aspect of Natural Environment and Built Environment.

- 2/3 said they had attended a City-sponsored event or participated in religious or spiritual activities, both levels were higher than the benchmark comparison.

- 84% rated their satisfaction of the City’s management of growth as either Very or Somewhat Satisfied.

We won!  

The City's outstanding results in multiple categories caused it to receive the 2017 Voice of the People award for Excellence in Education and Enrichment. The Voice of the People Awards stand alone as the only award given in local government based on community opinion. The perspectives of the residents themselves determine nominees for the very best of Community Engagement, Safety, Mobility, Foundations of Livability, Recreation and Wellness, Education and Enrichment, Natural Environment, Built Environment and Economy. Of the communities that participated in The National Citizen Survey in 2016, winners and finalists for Excellence in these categories received the highest overall levels of satisfaction from residents. Thank you!!!

2016 Franklin Citizen Survey Documents:

There are seven (7) Report Documents plus the PowerPoint staff presented to the BOMA in January 2017:

- Presentation to BOMA (January 24, 2017)

- NCS Next User Guide

- Dashboard Summary of Findings

- Community Livability Report

- Demographic Subgroup Comparisons

- *Supplemental Web Results

- *Report of Open-ended Questions

- Technical Appendices

 * These reports contain anonymous citizen responses to question of what is the most pressing issue in Franklin today. They are presented verbatim and have not been edited in anyway for content.

About The National Citizen Survey:
The National Citizen Survey™ (The NCS™) was among the first scientific surveys developed to gather resident opinion on a range of community issues, and has been used in more than 350 jurisdictions across 46 states. The NCS™ is a high-quality cost-effective scientific survey of resident opinion and an important benchmarking tool that allows for comparison among communities. Communities using The NCS™ have reported that the tool helped improve performance, strengthen communications with community stakeholders, and identify clear priorities for use in goal and budget setting.

About National Research Center, Inc. (NRC)

NRC is the leader in the field of public sector research and evaluation, with clients from across the country and around the globe. The firm is comprised of a skilled team of social scientists who supports cities, counties, foundations and nonprofit organizations in using research to help communities thrive. NRC pioneered the development of The National Citizen Survey™ (NCS), and continues to offer a suite of products designed to enhance the public voice and aid local decision-making.