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The Houston Metro Community Survey is a one-time, region-wide survey conducted from March 7 to May 7, 2025, which gathered detailed responses from over 9,600 adults across the nine counties of the Houston Metropolitan Statistical Area (Houston MSA). The Houston Metro Community Survey helped recruit more than 5,000 diverse participants representing the full geographic and demographic breadth of the Houston metropolitan region.

With a broad and diverse panel now in place, the SPACE City Panel will enter its next phase: regular, quarterly surveys that track shifting public attitudes, each covering two of four rotating topics—politics, resiliency, economics and sustainability. This rotation ensures that each topic is surveyed twice annually, allowing researchers to monitor patterns and shifts in public attitudes over time. By regularly capturing insights into these core areas, the SPACE City Panel provides a consistent, localized lens into how residents are experiencing key challenges across the Houston MSA region.

Report 2: Insights from the Houston Metro Community Survey 

Public safety concerns, climate risks and financial strain are pressing issues across the Greater Houston area. This report explores how residents perceive these local challenges using data from the Houston Metro Community Survey, which gathered responses from 9,684 residents across the nine-county region. 

Key Findings

Economic Concerns:

• Inflation and cost of living are top concerns across income groups.
• 58.3% of Hispanic and 56.5% of Black respondents are very concerned about inflation. 
• Even among those living comfortably, 70.1% report being concerned about the rising cost of living.

Crime Perception:

• 57.1% of all respondents rate crime in Houston as a major problem.
• 62.3% of women view crime as a major issue, compared to 51% of men.
• Only 38.1% of city residents feel safe walking in their neighborhood during the day.
• Perceptions of neighborhood crime and safety vary by geography: Residents in more urban, inner-city areas reported feeling less safe, while those in outer suburban communities expressed higher levels of safety and lower concern about crime.

Disaster Preparedness:

40.2% of Gen X and 41.5% of Millennials said they were very worried about their ability to withstand a natural disaster, compared to 31.8% of Baby Boomers and 27.1% of Silent Generation respondents. 

Among Black respondents, this number rises to 48.4%, and 44.9% for Hispanic respondents.
 

Climate Change Perceptions:

44.6% of Gen Z and 45.1% of Millennials view climate change as a major problem.

63.9% of Democrats rate climate change as a major problem; only 19.9% of Republicans do.
 

Political Engagement and Identity:

• 58.9% of respondents reported voting in the 2024 general election; 27.6% said they did not vote.
• Among voters, 51.7% voted for Kamala Harris, while 35.4% voted for Donald Trump. 
• No single political party dominates: 25.6% identify as Democrats and 25.3% as Republicans, while 17.3% say they are Independents and 29.2% did not identify with any. 
• Confidence in government declines with distance from the local level: While only 18.7% of respondents expressed no confidence at all in city government, distrust increases for higher levels of government—29.4% had no confidence at all in state government, and a notable 35.1% had no confidence at all in the federal government.

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Media Release, August 4, 2025