2018 Report

Most Important Community Issue

When presented with a list of 12 possible community issues, residents most often selected education as the most important issue directly affecting their quality of life, with 17 percent of adults choosing it. This was followed by crime (15 percent), the economy (13 percent) and health care (12 percent). Crime is especially important to blacks, who selected it as most important at twice the rate of whites or Latinos, Asians and other minorities. Education is relatively more important to adults under the age of 45, who are most likely to either be in school or have school-age children, and females. The economy is relatively more important to blacks; those in mid-career (ages 35-54); those with a high school degree or some college; those who are unemployed, working part-time or self-employed; those with moderate incomes ($25,000-$50,000); those who are unmarried but living with a partner; and renters. As might be expected, health care matters most to older adults (ages 65 and up) and retirees, but it is also ranked relatively highly by those with less than a high school degree and Platte County residents.