Redlands residents report rising confidence in city government, strong quality of life in 2025 survey

REDLANDS, Calif. — Redlands residents are feeling more positive about their city government and overall quality of life, according to the 2025 National Community Survey (NCS). 

The annually benchmarked survey, completed by a sample of 308 residents, shows sharp improvements in key areas of governance and city services, even as challenges such as air quality, water resources, affordable housing and homelessness remain front-and-center for the community. The 308 responses represent about 0.4% of the city’s population, a figure typical for opt-in municipal surveys but not equivalent to a true random sample.

The survey, which has been conducted for five years now, received an 11% response rate from the randomly selected households who were invited to participate and is statistically weighted to represent the local population. Grace Arneson, the Senior Survey Associate at Polco and National Research Center presented some of the key results during Tuesday's City Council meeting. Like most municipal surveys, the results reflect the views of residents who chose to participate and may not capture the full range of perspectives in the city.

Why it matters: The NCS is one of the city’s primary tools for measuring resident satisfaction and shaping policy decisions. The 2025 results give city leaders clear insight into what is working and where change is needed.

Community strengths: Survey respondents continue to view Redlands as an appealing place to live. 

Eighty-five percent rated the city’s overall image as excellent or good, and roughly nine in ten said they would recommend living in Redlands and planned to stay for at least the next five years. Residents also reported increased satisfaction with preventative health services and affordable mental health care, both of which saw notable improvements since last year.

Economic perceptions were also strong. About seven in ten residents rated Redlands as a good place to work or visit, and downtown vibrancy received an 81% positive rating, well above national benchmarks.

Trust in local government: One of the most striking trends in this year’s survey is the rise in confidence in local government. Positive ratings for the quality of city services jumped from 58% in 2024 to 75% in 2025. 

More residents expressed trust in city leadership as well, with confidence rising by 15 percentage points and perceptions of transparency and fairness increasing by 14 points. The city’s overall direction saw a boost as well, with 58% responding positively.

Areas for improvement: The data also shows clear challenges. Residents gave low marks to air quality, with only about four in ten rating it positively. Water resources received even lower at 34%, a rating that is below comparison communities, according to the report. Open space saw a significant decline from last year, dropping by ten percentage points. 

Affordability remained a major concern. Only two in ten residents felt positive about affordable housing options, and fewer than half rated employment opportunities or growth planning positively.

Homelessness in Redlands: Homelessness continues to be a priority issue for residents. Most respondents, about 65%, said they had not heard about any city efforts to address homelessness within the past two years. Among those who had, half believed the city’s efforts were successful. 

“I’ll put our homeless program against any city in Southern California,” Councilmember Paul Barich said, noting city efforts such as the Step Up in Redlands facility that provides 100 supportive housing units, the grocery gift card program and the hiring of a Homeless Solutions Coordinator. “People have to be informed of what we do.”

Residents identified enforcing no-camping ordinances as the most important action the city could take, followed closely by improving access to healthcare and substance-abuse treatment. 

Homelessness and public safety were ranked as top priorities for the future.

What they’re saying: “I want to congratulate our employees and our citizens for working together as we have an improved survey with a lot of positive things happening in the community,” Mayor Mario Saucedo said after the report presentation. 

Councilmember Denise Davis also acknowledged the 11 point jump in satisfaction with public information services.

 “If you haven’t checked out our social media lately, I encourage you to do it,” Davis said. “It’s dramatically better than it used to be.”