Gallup’s Camille Lloyd Unveils the Gallup Center on Black Voices Detroit Resident Voices Survey Report

At the 2023 Mackinac Policy Conference, the Detroit Regional Chamber and the Gallup Center on Black Voices released the Detroit Resident Voices Survey Report, highlighting Detroiters’ daily experiences and perceptions. The survey is designed to elevate issues that are central to Detroiters’ quality of life and provide insights that can be used in the public, private, and philanthropic sectors to develop new programs and initiatives to identify and close equity gaps.

“Bringing resident voices to the table is an important aspect of advancing racial equity,” said Camille Lloyd, Director of the Gallup Center on Black Voices. “Localizing these efforts is an approach that has not typically been employed in addressing inequities but allows us to amplify their voices and bring them into the decision-making process.”

The report highlights priorities in several areas that impact Detroiters’ overall well-being and their ability to achieve equitable life outcomes. These drivers of well-being are economic and educational opportunities, healthy environments, neighborhood conditions, and social capital and social opportunities.

“This premiere research maps the painful disparities in Detroiters’ experiences – those between city residents and suburbanites, between Black, Hispanic and white residents and how these different experiences impact residents’ wellbeing and the ability to achieve a life well lived,” said Lloyd. “The sheer magnitude of this study is enabling us to start to unpack the nuances of life from neighborhood to neighborhood. It’s a critical first step in creating a tool to leverage resident voices across the city.”

The Detroit Resident Voices Survey is part of the Chamber’s Racial Justice and Economic Equity Initiative and reflects its commitment to generate new data and research on racial disparities and the experiences of Detroit’s Black community.

“Gallup is globally recognized for its rigorous research and insight into public opinion and how people see the world,” said Sandy K. Baruah, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Detroit Regional Chamber. “The Chamber is proud to be partnering with Gallup in this important work. Our goal is for this data to not only enlighten policy makers and program delivery entities, but to drive more and more effective, collective action that delivers meaningful change in Detroit and across the Region.”

The Chamber and Gallup worked extensively with data and equity-focused entities such as The Skillman Foundation, Data Driven Detroit, Detroit Future City, the Damon Keith Center at Wayne State University, United Way, New Detroit and many others to shape the survey.

“We are very proud to begin this work in Detroit, with its rich history and composition,” said Lloyd. “Being first is not easy, and we are grateful to the Detroit Regional Chamber for their partnership in creating a framework that can be leveraged by many other cities.”

View the full Detroit Resident Voices Survey Report below.

Gallup’s Life Evaluation Index measures how people rate their current and future lives on a scale of 0 to 10. Those who rate their current life a 7 or higher and their anticipated life in five years an 8 or higher are classified as “thriving.” Those who rate their current life and anticipated life in five years a 4 or lower are classified as “suffering.” Those who are neither thriving nor suffering are considered “struggling.”

•  50% of all Detroit-area residents give life evaluations that classify them as “thriving.”
• 40% of Detroit city residents and 52% of Detroit suburban residents give life evaluations that classify them as “thriving.”
• While the percentage of “thrivers” in the Detroit area (50%) is similar to the national average (51%), there is a stark difference among residents based on whether they live in the city (40%) or the suburbs (52%).
• The rate of “struggling” residents in the larger Detroit metropolitan area matches the national average (45% for both), but the percentage struggling among those living in the city of Detroit (54%) exceeds those averages. 5% of Detroit-area residents are “suffering.”

• Just 30% of city residents are satisfied with the educational system or schools in their area. In Detroit’s suburbs, 58% are satisfied with their local schools, which is lower than the 68% of Americans overall who are satisfied.
• 44% of city residents say children in their neighborhood would be better off if they attended a school in a different area from where they live compared to one in five of residents in the region.
• 52% of city residents 18 to 39 years old believe children would be better off at school in another area.

Satisfaction With Job Availability Varies With Substantial Racial Gap in Suburbs

• About four in 10 Detroit city residents (39%) are satisfied with the availability of good jobs at a time of low national unemployment. That figure rises to 72% among Detroit’s suburban residents – even higher than the 66% among all Americans in early 2023.
• However, there is a substantial racial gap in Detroit’s suburbs, with 57% of Black residents satisfied with job opportunities compared to 76% each among Hispanic and white residents.
• One in two – or 51% – city job seekers cite access to a car as an employment barrier. 44% of city residents cite both access to convenient public transportation and level of education and training as additional barriers.

City Residents Are About Twice as Likely to Struggle to Afford Shelter and Housing

• 43% of Detroit city residents say there were times in the past year when they didn’t have enough money to buy food for themselves or their families, compared to 18% of suburban residents.
• 23% city residents say they didn’t have enough money to provide adequate shelter or housing, compared to 10% of suburban residents.

Black and Hispanic Residents Living in the City Are Significantly More Likely to Struggle With Buying Food

• 45% of Black Detroit city residents and 40% of Hispanic Detroiters say there were times when they couldn’t afford food, compared to 27% of white Detroiters.

Over Half of Residents Living in the City Say They Would Move Permanently

• 57% of residents living in the city say they would move permanently. Of those who said they would move, 47% say they would stay in the Detroit metro area.

 A Majority of City Residents Would Recommend Their Area to Others as a Good Place to Live

• 55% of city residents say they would recommend their city to a friend or associate as a good place to live.
• 53% of Black city residents would recommend.
• 66% of Hispanic city residents would recommend.
• 66% of white city residents would recommend.
• 80% of Detroit area residents say they would recommend their city or area to a friend or associate as a good place to live.

About Half of City Residents (51%) Are Satisfied With the Availability of Quality Health Care Services in Their Area, Compared to About Three-Fourths (76%) of Americans Overall.

Two-Thirds of Residents Living in the City Say It Is Easy to Get Exercise in the Area and Most Say It Is Easy to Get Healthy Food

• 66% of city residents say it is easy to get exercise in their area, while about 59% say it is easy to get healthy food.

Depression Is the Health Condition Most Strongly Related to Overall Life Evaluations of Detroit-Area Residents

• 26% of city residents in Detroit who have been diagnosed with depression rate their lives highly enough to be considered “thriving,” compared to almost half (46%) of those who have not been diagnosed.
• 14% of city residents, and 30% of suburban residents, say it is very easy to access mental health services in the area where they live, compared to the U.S. average of 20%.

Finding a Doctor of Same Racial or Ethnic Background Trails National Average

• 50% of Detroit city residents say it is very or somewhat easy to find a doctor who shares the same racial or ethnic background, which is below the national average of 79%.
• 67% of white city residents say it is very or somewhat easy to find a doctor who shares the same racial or ethnic background, compared to 48% for both Black and Hispanic residents.

• Almost two-thirds – or 64% – of city residents say local police treat people like them fairly. 71% believe police would treat them with courtesy or respect.
• Less than a third – or 32% – of residents living in the city say they feel safe walking alone in their area at night.
• 59% of all Detroit city residents would like the police to spend more time in their area.
• 83% of Detroit city residents say the relationship between police and their community is staying the same (57%) or getting better (26%). 17% feel it is getting worse.

RELATED: Chamber and Gallup’s Center on Black Voices Launch First Annual Survey, Detroit Resident Voices 2022