Addressing crime would have the greatest benefit for St. Louis

The survey

St. Louis adults (n=141) were asked, “Many things affect the lives of people living in St. Louis. If you could address one of the challenges below, which do you think would have the greatest benefit for St. Louis?” They chose from 9 options, each of which is known to be a social determinant of health.

Main findings

One in three respondents (34%) said addressing crime would have the greatest benefit for St. Louis; addressing cost of living (13%), schools (13%), and racism/discrimination (11%) were the next most common responses. Other challenges selected included housing (9%), sense of community/isolation/loneliness (8%), jobs (4%), childcare (4%) and transportation (3%).

How do St. Louis’ responses compare to national findings?

The survey was administered to 558 adults in five states. Nationally, respondents said that addressing cost of living (29%), crime (21%), and housing (13%) would have the greatest benefit for their communities, followed by jobs (8%), racism/discrimination (7%) and sense of community/isolation/loneliness (7%).

St. Louis respondents rated addressing crime higher than respondents from any other state, with one in three saying it would have the greatest benefit for St. Louis compared to 4-21% in the other four states. Similarly, compared to all other states, more St. Louis respondents (13%) said that addressing education would have the greatest benefit. In contrast, only 13% of St. Louis respondents said that addressing cost of living would have the greatest benefit. This was the lowest percentage of the 5 states surveyed.

Share the findings, see what others think

If you could address one of these challenges, which do you think would have the greatest benefit for St. Louis? Share the resources below and ask your friends and family what they think. Talking about local challenges can help focus community response efforts.

Survey information

This week’s report is based on responses from a panel of 558 adult residents of St. Louis, MO (n = 141), Omaha, NE (n = 84), Texas (n = 59), Baltimore, MD (n = 168) and Colorado (n = 106) surveyed July 20-22, 2024. Explore these data and more at iHeardSTL.

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Suggested Caption:

We asked St. Louisans: “Many things affect the lives of St. Louisans. If you could address one of the challenges below, which do you think would have the greatest benefit for St. Louis?”

#iHeardSTL