Quality of life rated as great in Kelowna, survey says

The vast majority of residents of Kelowna love the city, according to a new survey that found 91 per cent of respondents find the quality of life good or very good.

While that’s a drop of five per cent from the 2012 peak of satisfaction at 96 per cent, those who rated their quality of life as “very good” jumped by four per cent to 40 per cent over the same time period.

A similar survey in Kamloops found 95 per cent of those residents rated quality of life in that city as good or very good this year.

READ MORE: The results are in: Kamloops citizen survey shines light on hot topics

The survey was conducted by phone with 65 per cent of the 300 adult residents contacted on cell phone versus 35 per cent on land lines.

Twenty-two per cent said the quality of life has improved in Kelowna, citing more construction, better services and good planning as key reasons.

On the flip side, 35 per cent said the quality of life decreased because of things like poverty, safety and the cost of living.

While most people feel Kelowna is a safe place to live, only 20 per cent said it is very safe versus 67 per cent who only rated it as somewhat safe. Thirteen per cent said it’s an unsafe city.

Eighty-nine per cent feel the city is at least somewhat inclusive and accepting but only 32 per cent of those strongly agreed with that statement.

The survey is not conducted every year but this year it contained questions about COVID-19, with 32 per cent saying they are having trouble making ends meet.

It also found 18 per cent supported mandatory mask use or more enforcement of mask use.

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