KINGSPORT, Tenn. (WJHL) – The results of a survey given to Kingsport residents to gauge their satisfaction with the city’s services are in.

According to a release from the city, Kingsport residents see their city as a good place to live, raise a family and retire. Residents also say it is easy to travel within the city and that the quality of parks and recreational opportunities are good.

The release also states that citizens think the economy and safety should be top priorities and that more should be done regarding code enforcement and taking care of the city’s vulnerable residents.

Specific survey results are as follows:

  • 97% said overall economic health of the city is essential
  • 75% gave positive ratings to Kingsport as a place to live, raise a family and retire
  • 72% said the overall quality of life was excellent or good
  • 65% said the overall image of Kingsport was good or excellent
  • 63% reported the feeling overall feeling of safety as excellent or good

When Kingsport was compared to other communities the survey results were as follows:

  • 82% gave positive ratings to the ease of traveling the city by car
  • 72% responded positively to the ease of public parking
  • 71% responded positively to snow removal
  • 70% responded positively to street lighting
  • 69% said traffic flow on major streets was excellent or good
  • 66% said transit services are excellent or good

In addition, two-thirds of residents gave positive marks regarding street cleaning, traffic enforcement and sidewalk maintenance.

Although cost of living has been on the rise throughout the country, 60% of Kingsport residents held favorable views on the cost of living in Kingsport.

Aside from the economy, the next most important thing to respondents was safety. Nine out of 10 respondents said they feel safe in their neighborhoods and Kingsport’s downtown during the day safe from natural disasters.

According to the release, the lowest-performing safety questions were those that inquired about emergency preparedness and crime prevention.

The survey also discovered that only 46% of respondents viewed the city’s economic health as excellent or good and only four out of 10 described downtown Kingsport as “vibrant.”

The survey was conducted from Oct. 12 to Nov. 30 randomly selecting 2,700 houses. There were 442 responses which equated to about a 17% response rate which The National Research Center at Polco says is an average response rate.