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Bay Area’s Mass Exodus Imaginary, Poll Reveals
Despite the Bay Area’s significant challenges, the 2019 Bay Area Council Poll reveals a strong majority of residents think the region is still the best place on earth to live. The survey explored the reasons residents call the Bay Area home, and details the many things—from its powerhouse innovation economy to its many cultural offerings—that makes the region so appealing to them.
According to the poll, 57% of residents say there’s no other place on the planet they’d rather live. Ties to family and employment were cited among the top reasons that residents call the Bay Area home, with the region’s temperate weather figuring prominently and the fact that many were born or have deep roots here.
Bay Area Council’s Jim Wunderman says, “You can count me at the top of the 57%. Sometimes our challenges can appear to outweigh the incredible wonders and advantages of this place we call home, but with a moment to reflect, we remember just how unique and special our region is.”
The overall findings don’t sugarcoat the Bay Area’s problems, showing that residents continue to harbor deep concerns about the region’s housing crisis, homelessness and traffic. But the poll also paints a more nuanced view of a region where rapid and almost unprecedented economic growth has exacerbated long-standing problems, caused many residents to consider leaving and generated doomsday headlines about the Bay Area’s future.
The poll found that 57% also think the Bay Area is heading in the wrong direction, up from 55% last year and a complete reversal since 2014, when the same number said the region was on the right track. And nearly half of residents say they are considering leaving the Bay Area in the next few years—up from 34% just three years ago—with the region’s high cost of living and stratospheric housing costs cited as the biggest reasons.
Among the high-level findings, the poll found:
- 74% said the Bay Area is a good place to live
- 90% said the Bay Area is important to the national economy
- 89% said the region is a center of innovation
- 82% said the Bay Area offers good job opportunities
- 87% said the region provides unique cultural experiences
- 74% said the region offers good educational opportunities
For comments, questions or concerns, please contact Dennis Kaiser
- ◦Economy
