National Community Survey of Honolulu Residents (2021)

From Honolulu City Auditor, April 7, 2022

This is the 13th National Community Survey of Honolulu residents conducted for the City and County of Honolulu. The National Community Survey (NCS) is a collaborative effort between the National Research Center at Polco and the International City/County Management Association. The survey and its administration are standardized to assure high quality research methods and directly comparable results across over 600 NCS communities. Great communities are partnerships of the government, private sector, community-based organizations, and residents, all geographically connected. In addition, an on-line version of the survey (open participation survey) continued to be available to all Honolulu residents, and results of that survey are reported in a separate section of the report.

This year’s survey is consolidated into a single report and captures residents’ opinions across 10 facets of the community: Economy; Mobility; Community Design; Utilities; Safety; Natural Environment; Parks and Recreation; Health and Wellness; Education, Arts, and Culture; and Inclusivity and Engagement. The individual facets contribute to the residents’ view of governance and their overall assessment of the Quality of Life within their community. Residents were also asked to respond to a set of custom questions pertaining to the City and County of Honolulu. Also included are tables comparing Honolulu residents’ responses to all communities participating in the survey, to communities with a population of 300,000 or higher, and details of every response.

The results from this year’s NCS indicate:

• Honolulu residents place a high priority on protecting drinking water aquifers from pollution.

• Improved ethics, accountability, and transparency in government is also of high importance.

• Residents’ assessment of the effectiveness of the City’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic significantly improved in the last year.

• Residents believe it is important to offer an attractive coordinated public transportation system.

• Honolulu residents continue to prioritize efforts to improve and maintain the community’s natural environment.

• Residents recognized the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, but remained hopeful that there will be a continued economic upturn over the next six months.

We solicit inputs and any suggestions for improving this report.

The 2021 National Community Survey is posted on our website. An interactive version of report can also be accessed at the NRC/Polco site, The NCS report on Tableau.

Additional printed copies of the report are also available upon request; please contact: Office of the City Auditor City and County of Honolulu 1001 Kamokila Boulevard, Suite 216 Kapolei, HI 96707 Phone: (808) 768-3134 Email: oca@honolulu.gov

Respectfully submitted,

Arushi Kumar

City Auditor