Safety and the economy are the top two issues for Wichita residents in a community survey that was conducted late last year.

The City Council received the results of the survey during a workshop discussion Tuesday, and they were asked to give guidance to staff as preparations begin for the 2026-27 city budget.

The survey was conducted by the Wisconsin-based firm of Polco, from November 4th through December 27th, 2024.   The firm’s chief operating officer, Sonya Wytinck, said 5,000 households were selected for the survey and there were 461 responses.  Another 149 responses were received through open participation.

Wytinck said city government performance had significant improvement in the survey compared to 2023, and the people responding to the survey ranked Wichita highest in treating residents with respect, welcoming resident involvement and informing residents about issues facing the community.    She said 9 in 10 residents said safety was the highest priority to focus on in the next two years.   The survey had 85 percent of respondents rating fire services as excellent or good, but only 50 percent gave that rating to the police department, with only 43 percent for animal control.

The survey found that residents feel Wichita has a great cost of living, but there are economic concerns.  There were 46 percent of survey respondents who rated Wichita’s economy as fair, and 36 percent rated it as good.   The survey had 49 percent of respondents rating employment opportunities in the city as excellent or good.

Information from the survey will be used in shaping priorities for the 2026 budget that will be presented to the City Council next summer.  The survey information can be found on the city’s web page at https://www.wichita.gov/203/Resident-Survey-insights