Community Survey Finds Most Residents Satisfied with Salem Services, Concerned with Homelessness and Public Safety

In September 2025, the City of Salem commissioned a Community Satisfaction Survey to assess residents' satisfaction with City services and communications, gather opinions on the value and distribution of City resources and gauge residents' sense of safety and livability.

More than two thirds of Salem residents report satisfaction with City services overall. Most residents are satisfied with fire and emergency services, street lighting, water services, parks and recreation and the library. Satisfaction with most key services in Salem has increased since 2022.

Homelessness and public safety are the most important issues for residents. Homelessness (43%) and public safety (19%) are the most important issues cited by residents for the City to address. The survey captured residents' impressions of safety and livability, including:

• During the day, most residents feel safe in all parts of the city, and nearly all feel safe in their own neighborhoods. Daytime safety is high across all areas of the city.
• Residents have mixed feelings of safety at night. Most feel unsafe in north/northeast Salem and downtown at night.
• Residents rate the livability of their own neighborhoods the highest. South and West Salem are most positively rated.
• Nearly 9 in 10 residents visited downtown in the past month. Those who have visited feel a greater sense of safety downtown during the day and at night.

Areas for Improvement. The highest levels of dissatisfaction from survey respondents are around access to affordable housing, growing local job opportunities and City planning and development review. This decline in perception of job opportunities is consistent with negative economic sentiments nationally.

Despite gains in satisfaction levels since 2020, residents are still largely dissatisfied with the value of city services for the taxes and fees paid. While residents believe their part of town receives its fair share of city services, many residents think resources are not distributed fairly across the city.

While perceptions of the ease of interacting with the City has improved, residents still find many activities - like finding information needed to resolve an issue, or driving from one side of the City to another during peak hours - difficult.

Next Steps. Salem City Council will consider findings from this survey at its Oct. 13 meeting in preparation for its Strategic Plan Work Session on Nov. 17. Insights drawn from the survey and other outreach activities help City leaders plan for the future of Salem.

This year, with the City of Salem's update to the 2021 Strategic Plan underway, the Community Satisfaction Survey data is a critical to helping the City assess our progress, refine our priorities and create a clear roadmap for the next five years, ensuring that Salem continues to grow as a vibrant and resilient community.

There will be more touch points in the new year, as the Strategic Plan begins to take shape, including a survey in February. We'll present the final draft to City Council in March.

About the 2025 Community Satisfaction Survey. The 2025 Community Satisfaction Survey was conducted from Sept. 9-16 via cell and land-line telephone calls, with an online option for both English and Spanish-speaking residents. DHM Research took measures to ensure survey responses represented all areas of the City and the diverse backgrounds of its residents.

Survey data collected in 2025 can be used to track changes in opinion back to 2017. The City's current Strategic Plan, annual City Council Policy Agendas or work plans, and community satisfaction surveys can be found on the City's Strategic Plan webpage.