A new poll conducted by SocialSphere, Inc. for the Boston Policy Institute shows that Boston voters are bullish on quality of life in the city and broadly supportive of Mayor Michelle Wu's performance in office, though they also have concerns that some significant challenges aren't being sufficiently addressed by city government.
Overall, 14% of voters surveyed said their quality of life in Boston was excellent and 65% called it good. Voters over 60, white voters, and voters with a college degree or higher were especially likely to describe their quality of life as excellent, while Gen Xers and people of color were more likely than members of other groups to call their quality of life not so good or poor.
Sixty percent of voters polled said they were likely to stay in the city long term, compared to 28% who said they were not. Sixty percent of voters also said things in Boston were either better (17%) or the same (43%) as they were five years ago, compared to 32% who said they were worse.
“Overall, I think that the city is happy,” pollster John Della Volpe said. “The city is in good spirits.”
Fifty-seven percent of voters surveyed said Wu was doing an excellent or good job as mayor, while 35% said her performance was not good or poor, Volpe said.
“I think she's in solid shape,” Della Volpe said, noting that Wu earned higher marks than President Joe Biden, the Boston City Council and Gov. Maura Healey.
However, the survey also suggested that Bostonians feel that not enough attention is being paid to certain key problems. While respondents described issues including the cost of living, affordable housing, public transit, and infrastructure as important, they gave the city low marks for its handling of them.
For example, while 70% said the cost of living was an issue of high importance, just 13% gave the city high marks for how it's tackling the problem.
“I think voters are wise enough to know that these are systemic challenges facing the city,” Della Volpe said. “They can't be fixed overnight. And I think the degree to which the mayor can show the residents and show the voters that she is actively working to address these issues, that goes a long way.”
Voters were more positive about Boston's handling of other issues they identified as highly important, including safety, employment opportunities, and social justice and inclusion.
The Boston Policy Institute previously released a report warning that declining commercial tax valuations would lead to greatly diminished tax revenues for the city in the coming years, a finding that prompted Wu to propose temporarily raising commercial tax rates to avoid an increased tax burden on homeowners.
The new poll found that 49% of Boston voters support that approach, compared to 28% who suggest cutting spending on city services and just 5% who want to increase residential tax rates.
The poll, which was conducted in late April, has a margin of error of +/- 4 percentage points.
