Жители Гермистона оценили качество жизни: опрос выявил рост негатива и отставание от национальных показателей

Hermiston residents weigh in on quality of life issues Published 8:00 pm Wednesday, August 26, 2026 HERMISTON — A recent community survey shows a little more than a quarter of Hermiston residents feel the city is moving in the right direction while 41% of residents have a positive view of the overall quality of life in Hermiston. During the Aug. 24 Hermiston City Council meeting, City Manager Byron Smith highlighted some of the results of the survey conducted by Zencity. The survey is conducted twice a year. Respondents were asked to answer the questions with a positive, neutral or negative response. A total of 412 people responded to the survey or about 2% of the population. “We can track our services, how we’re doing and how are the people feeling about it,” Smith told the council. Smith said the results were slightly more negative than the previous survey. “We’re really staying solid and steady even though in this one we went down a little bit,” Smith said. “But if we look at it over time, we’re really tracking in about the same range.” How residents view Hermiston’s quality of life When asked about the quality of life in Hermiston, 19% of respondents had a negative view, up 7% from the previous survey. The survey showed that 41% of residents between the age of 18 and 34 rated the quality of life positively (down 5%), with 35% of those between 35-54 rated it positively (down 9%) and 47% of residents 55 and up rated the quality of life in Hermiston as positive. The Hispanic/Latino community had a more positive view of the quality of life with a score of 52% (down 8%) compared to white respondents at 42% (down 3%). The survey showed 28% of respondents said Hermiston was moving in the right direction (down 8%) with 31% (up 8%) responded negatively (up 12%). “This one is maybe a little concerning,” Smith said. According to Zencity, any change of 5% or more from the previous survey is considered noteworthy. Smith said the results tend to fluctuate from one survey to another. “Even though this time it moved a lot (downward), last time it actually moved up about the same amount,” Smith said. When asked how likely they were to be living in Hermiston five years from now, 51% said yes (down 7%) and 27% said no (up 6%). Respondents’ view of city parks, recreational amenities When asked about the quality of Hermiston parks and recreational amenities, 41% were positive (down 7%) and 27% were negative (up 1%). “I don’t know what you can attribute these to,” Smith said. “I haven’t noticed a dramatic drop in the quality of what our parks are looking like or what our services look like. Maybe it’s a different set of people who answered the survey this time.” Only 33% rated the quality of education in Hermiston positively, down 6% from the last survey, while 31% rated it negative, up 1%. Less than a quarter of the respondents rated the ease of getting around by public transportation positively with 23% (down 8%) with 44% rating it negatively (up 10%). “Again, I don’t know what changed,” Smith said. “We didn’t reduce the amount of bus services or anything like that. We had no change in our taxi rates during this timeframe so I’m not sure what would have caused it, but we watch this and try to see what we can do to meet the interests of the community.” Views on arts, cultural events Only 18% of those surveyed rated the availability of arts and cultural events positively (up 2%) while 51% rated them negatively (up 2%). More respondents were positive about their overall sense of safety than the previous survey. A total of 42% gave a positive answer (up 3%), while 30% had a negative response (up 3%). Respondents were also asked what was the most important thing Hermiston can do to improve their sense of safety. The top response (40%) was to address public drug use and connect unhoused individuals to local services. “That was No. 1 by a long shot,” Smith said. The next highest response was to improve street lighting in public areas (12%) with increasing police visibility and presence in the community also coming in at 12%. The survey also asked what aspects of Hermiston’s growth they appreciate the most. Expanded shopping and dining options came in first with 24% (down 2%) and new job opportunities garnered 22% (down 3%). More community events and activities were third at 17% (up 4%). Respondents were asked what challenges related to Hermiston’s growth concern them the most. The top response was traffic congestion and commute times at 36% (up 5%), followed by the cost of housing and rent at 26% (down 7%). A total of 15% cited the rising cost of everyday goods and services (down 4%). “A couple of these we can try to have an impact on, some of them we can’t,” Smith told the council. “There’s opportunities to see what we can do.” Comparison to national average, similar cities The survey also showed how Hermiston residents’ responses compare to national averages and the average scores of cohort cities – those that are similar to Hermiston. Hermiston’s quality of life score (41%) is more than 20 percentage points lower than the cohort average (63%) and more than 25 percentage points lower than the national average (67%). A total of 37% of Hermiston respondents said they were likely to recommend Hermiston as a place to live. That compares to 64% nationally and 65% among cohort cities. On the issue of available affordable housing, 16% of Hermiston respondents gave a positive rating compared to 37% nationally and 38% among cohort cities. Just 18% of survey respondents rate the availability of arts and cultural events positively compared to 52% nationally and 45% for cohort cities. When it comes to overall sense of safety, 42% of Hermiston respondents rated it positively compared to 62% nationally and 58% among cohort cities. The full survey report can be found online.