96% of respondents say quality of life in county is ‘Excellent’ or ‘Good’
For the seventh year in a row, “Population growth/New Development” remained the most important issue to the 1,250 Sarasota County residents who participated in the 2026 Citizen Opinion Survey, representatives of a team with the University of South Florida (USF) reported to the County Commission this week.
A slide showed that 19% of the 1,250 survey takers chose that option, with 11% citing “no serious problems,” and 9% choosing “Crime.”
(During his June budget presentation to the County Commission, Sarasota County Sheriff Kurt A. Hoffman reported that violent crime in the county had fallen 67% since 2009.)
Last year, the survey found that “Crime” was in second place, though only 9.9% of the respondents cited it, compared to the 9.6% choosing “no serious problems.” Of the 1,250 survey respondents in 2025, 23.6% cited “Population growth/New development.”
Again this year, the survey takers also rated the quality of life high in the county, with 56% choosing the answer “Excellent” and 40% responding “Good,” Samantha Kotasek, a USF research assistant, told the commissioners as they met in Sarasota on Oct. 7.
Thus, the overall level of satisfaction with the quality of life hit the 96% mark, Kotasek noted. “This is really high,” she pointed out.
In 2025, 53% of those who participated in the survey chose “Excellent,” with 42% selecting “Good,” as The Sarasota News Leader reported at the time.
Looking at the trends in the responses to that question over the past years, Kotasek noted, “We’ve had very stable, positive feelings.”
This is the 35th year of the survey, USF representatives reminded the commissioners.
In regard to satisfaction with county services, Kotasek continued, 59% of the survey takers chose “Very satisfied,” with another 37% opting for “Somewhat satisfied.”
(The survey made it clear that Sarasota County Government does not handle Sarasota County School Board services.)
For another comparison: In 2025, 52% of the persons surveyed said they were “Very satisfied,” while 42% chose “Somewhat satisfied.”
Moreover, USF Research Assistant Joziah Rivas pointed out that 100% of the respondents to the survey who had contacted the county about an issue “reported that they were treated with respect.”
During remarks that were part of a board discussion on Oct. 6, Chair Ron Cutsinger stressed that figure.
Only 5% of the survey takers had contacted the county, a graph shows. Their primary means of contact was by phone, Rivas said: 78%. Another 14% used email.
The top issues that prompted the communications with county staff, Rivas added, were garbage collection (23%), stormwater (20%) and building inspections (16%).
Last year, in late March, new contractors began working for the Solid Waste Department. For the first time, as Brian Usher, director of that department noted in a presentation to the County Commission before the board approved the agreements, the county was split into two service areas: North County and South County.
Further, Rivas told the board members on Oct. 7, 97% of the respondents who had contacted county staff said they had received the correct information. His slide added that 97% also reported that they were “[h]elped in a timely fashion.”
Rivas did note a slide showing that the positive answers related to contacting the county dipped more than a decade ago, as the county was contending with the effects of the Great Recession, but they have been on a more positive trend since the 2013-2014 timeline.
Paying for transportation infrastructure
One set of questions that was new to the survey this year sparked more commission responses than other information. Those regarded the board’s request this spring that the USF team query respondents on their views of the potential imposition of a new half-cent sales tax to help pay for transportation infrastructure.
In late April, during an overview of those needs throughout the county — with a price tag of approximately $1.7 billion — the commissioners discussed the potential of such a tax, with the resulting revenue enabling the county to pursue improvements more quickly.
Joshua Scacco, a Communication Department professor at USF and the director of the university’s Center for Sustainable Democracy, reported that 23% said they would strongly approve of such a tax; 41% chose the “Somewhat approve” answer.
Thus, he noted, “Roughly two-thirds of the sample” indicated support of that option.
When asked about the imposition of the tax on a temporary basis, Scacco said, the approval level rose to 78%.
Another section of the survey, Scacco noted, asked the survey takers to rank their infrastructure priorities.
The top one was “Improve/expand existing roads and bridges,” he said; that was cited by 52% of the respondents. The construction of new roads and bridges was No. 2, he continued, with 31% of the survey takers choosing that option. “Improve intersections” came in at No. 3, with 11% of the respondents naming it their top priority, followed by 18% making it their second choice.
Then Scacco explained that the people conducting the survey handled the infrastructure questions in two ways. Half of the 1,250 respondents were asked to rank their infrastructure improvement priorities first, “before they saw anything about a half-cent sales tax.” The other half, he continued, were asked about the potential tax first, and then asked about their priorities.
“The key component here,” he told the commissioners, is that the answers were “roughly similar.” In other words, Scacco said, “It didn’t necessarily matter whether or not a respondent had information on the sales tax before or after the ranking.”
Commissioner Teresa Mast noted the discussion that the board members engaged in this spring regarding the inclusion of those questions on the 2026 survey. “I don’t think any of us sitting here want to increase taxes,” she stressed.
Yet, she pointed to the favorable response when the potential tax were characterized as temporary. Mast added that she had anticipated a higher level of support if a short time period were emphasized.
When she asked Scacco whether the persons handling the surveys indicated a specific timeframe for the imposition of the tax, Scacco reminded her that she and her colleagues were unable to agree on a period when the issue was discussed earlier this year. However, Scacco said, if the board wanted the USF team to ask the question again next year, with a specific timeline, the team would do so.
Mast told him she felt “it would be beneficial” to pursue that option for the 2027 survey.
“It’s important for me to understand,” she continued, what period would win the largest degree of support; she mentioned two years, five years or 10 years as possibilities.
“In general, on surveys like this,” Scacco told her, “greater specificity is better.”
Chair Cutsinger pointed out, “These are really strong numbers,” even without a timeline having been provided.
Commissioner Mark Smith talked of the fact that the board members need to balance the amount of money the county needs for the transportation infrastructure with the amount of time it would take to raise the funds. “I think we’re probably looking more in the 10-year range,” he added. “If we stop [the tax payments] too soon,” Smith continued, “then we don’t finish the projects …”
Stressors and priorities
During his remarks, Scacco also delved into the responses regarding the greatest stress on households. This year, he noted, the top pick was “No stresses being felt (20%), followed by “Household finances” (17%); “Gas prices” (11%); “Taxes in general” (10%); and “Property taxes” (8%).
Those responses closely mirrored the views of survey takers in 2025, as shown in a slide he presented.
Further, Scacco reported on survey takers’ views related to the commission’s budget priorities, a question that last was included in the 2023 survey. The respondents were asked to rate topics on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the most important, he said.
“Public Transportation/Traffic Congestion” was the top priority, with an average of 8.77, a slide showed; “Existing Infrastructure” was in second place, with an average of 8, followed by “Road Resurfacing” at 7.99. Scacco did note that the “Parks and Preserves” answer had an average of 7.48 this year, which was down from the 2023 figure of 7.66, but up from 6 in 2019 and 7.28 in 2020.
Scacco also addressed two questions focused on growth and development. The first asked, “In your view, how effectively has Sarasota County balanced new development with preserving the character of existing communities?” Last year, 37% chose “Very effective”; this year, the figure was 42%. Another 41% chose “Somewhat effective,” compared to 43% in 2025.
Then respondents were asked “How satisfied are you with Sarasota County’s efforts to ensure new growth provides clear benefits, such as jobs, local business opportunities, and improved amenities, without harming quality of life?” The “Very satisfied” answer came from 34% of the survey takers this year, compared to 35% in 2025. However, the slide showed, 48% this year reported being “Somewhat satisfied,” while 44% chose that answer in 2025.
Additionally this year, the survey featured questions about home ownership, Scacco continued, with 74% of the respondents reporting they own their homes and 25% saying they were renters.
When asked which types of housing they would like to see the county encourage more of in their communities, 38% chose “Single-family detached home,” with 24% opting for “Accessory dwelling units,” such as “mother-in-law suites” and “backyard apartments.”
Thus, Scacco pointed out, “The clear leader” was single-family, detached homes.
Then, when people who did not own their own homes were asked what the “biggest impediment to homeownership” was, 36% cited “Cost of current options, Scacco continued. Another 23% chose, “Lack of available options,” while 17% named “Interest rates,” even though the County Commission has no control over the latter, he noted.
Recommendations about aspects of life in the county
During her remarks, USF Research Assistant Kotasek also reported on the latest answers to the routine questions regarding whether the respondents would recommend aspects of county life to friends, family members or acquaintances.
The associated slide focused on coming to the county for the following reasons: vacation, retirement, relocation, rearing children, work and opening a business.
The vacation question garnered a 97% positive response, she said. In regard to the county as a place to retire or living in the county in general, 96% of the respondents gave affirmative answers.
The most notable responses this year were related to opening a business in the county, Kotasek pointed out: 90% reported their willingness to recommend the county for that purpose. “This is a significant jump,” she said of that result, given the fact that the figure last year was 87%. In the 2021 survey, 84% gave a positive answer.
Looking at the answer trends since 2021, Kotasek noted the “consistent high level” of recommendations on all points.
Kotasek also reported on the responses to the routine question about trust in government, noting that the levels were highest for county and municipal governments. In each case, the associated slide showed, 69% of the survey takers said they trust their county and municipal governments “Most of the time.” Only 7% chose “Never” in regard to the local government bodies.
In summing up the survey details, Scacco emphasized the fact that “trust in Sarasota County Government stays well above trust in the state … and federal government …”
Commissioner Tom Knight expressed his interest in those details. “It kind of goes back to some of the things we’re dealing with,” he said: the loss of what is known as “home rule” because of actions over the years by the Florida Legislature. “We’re trying to navigate that a lot,” he added, noting that some of the laws “are prohibiting us from representing our citizens.”
The survey was conducted between June 30 and Aug. 11, the USF team said, with 13 minutes the average amount of time for people to answer the questions.
The margin of error was plus or minus 2.77%.