Community Survey ResultsMarch 2019

MethodologyFrom November 16th - December 20th, the City of Allentown conducted an online community survey to help guide the direction of the Allentown Vision 2030 Comprehensive and Economic Development Plan. Led by Fourth Economy Consulting, the survey was distributed with the purpose of gathering resident input about the future of Allentown.

Questions focused on the following areas:

● Economic Mobility● Quality of Place● Accessibility● Community and Economic Priorities

The findings of this survey will complement additional data analysis and insights gained from community meetings held throughout the year. The following are key, high-level findings based on a representative group of Allentown residents who completed the survey.

Reviewing Survey ResultsAs you read and analyze the data, please keep the following in mind:

● Numbers shown reflect the combined results from both the English and Spanish surveys conducted, unless otherwise noted.

● Percentages and number totals represent the 1,215 survey respondents, not the entire Allentown residential community. When examining results by race, gender or age, refer to “General Demographics” section to add proper perspective.

● Numbers found next to percentages indicate the total number of respondents who answered the respective question.

● Most slides provide insight from a specifically asked question, others are a cross tabulation of two questions and/or related variables. Though other connections can be made, we’ve chosen only high-level highlights for public consumption.

General Demographics Here’s a breakdown of the 1,215 Allentown residents - and a few non-residents - who completed the survey.

Overview of Survey Respondents

Respondents by Age

1,215 survey respondents

1,099 English Version (margin of error: +/- 3%)

116 Spanish Version (margin of error: +/- 6%)

10% 24 years and under

47% 25 - 44 years old

42% 45 years and over

Respondents by Gender

55% Female

43.5% Male

1.5% No answer / Other

71.9% White

8.8% Black, African American

1.48% Asian or South American

1.1% American Indian or Alaska Native

0.5% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander

21.23% Other

28% Latino or Hispanic

70.2% Non-hispanic or Latino

Respondents by Race

5

Where Survey Respondents Live in Allentown

38.5% Center City

8.5% East Side

31.3% West End

2.2% First and Sixth

Wards

16.9% South Side

2.6% I don’t know

64.4% I live in Allentown

17.1% I am not a resident of Allentown

43.1% I work in Allentown

7.2% I own and operate a business in Allentown

14.5% I am involved in community and economic development work in Allentown

Economic MobilityWe asked residents questions around three determinants of wealth and mobility and explored the relationships between them - education, jobs and homeownership

Highest Level of Education Achieved

Education, Industry & Race

● Over 50% of respondents with at least a bachelor’s degree work in the Science,

Technology, Engineering and Math; IT; Hospitality and Tourism; and Education and

Training industries

● 62% of bachelor degree holders who responded to the survey work in marketing, sales

and services

● Nearly 80% of respondents who work in the warehouse and logistics industry have

some college education or less.

Employment Status of Survey Respondents

73% Working

6% Self employed

5% Student

5% Not working

4% Not working but looking for work

8% Retired

Students 31

Not working 39

Not working but looking 23

Retired 25

35% (118) of Latinx respondents are not currently working

Latinx respondents who aren’t working identified “language” “transportation” and “access to childcare” as the top three barriers impacting employment.

Transportation (24.3%), disability (16.3%, and the availability of quality and affordable child care (15%) are top reasons impacting employment for survey respondents who aren’t currently working.

Industries of Survey RespondentsAgriculture, Food, Natural Resources 0.7% Hospitality and Tourism 3.7%

Architecture & Construction 3.6% Human Services 5.2%

Arts, Tech & Communications 3.2% Information Technology 2.2%

Business & Administration 18% Law, Public Safety, Corrections, Security 2.6%

Education & Training 10.2% Manufacturing 4.3%

Finance 6.1% Marketing, Sales, Services 16.9%

Government & Public Admin 7.7% Science, Tech, Engineering & Mathematics 3.2%

Health and Health Services 7.7% Warehousing & Logistics 4.3%

Manufacturing / Warehousing + Logistics● Majority of the respondents who work in manufacturing or warehousing and logistics

live in Allentown, and respectively.

● 59% of respondents who work in manufacturing and 79% who work in warehousing and logistics identify as hispanic or latino.

● Nearly 70% of respondents in both industries have achieved only up to some level of a college education, an associate’s degree or less.

● More than ⅔ of respondents working in warehousing and logistics are renters, contrary to the just about of respondents working in manufacturing who own. ½

76.6% 94.4%

Health and Human Services

● 75% (88) of respondents who work in health and human services live in Allentown

● ⅓ of respondents who work in health and health science identify as hispanic or latino, likewise for human services field.

● Nearly 69% of respondents in both industries have received a bachelor’s degree or higher.

● Majority of latino respondents, 60%, in these industries have an associates degree or less, compared to only of non-hispanics who do.20%

Business & Admin; Marketing Sales & Services

● 46% (146) of respondents who work in business and administration or marketing, sales and services live in Allentown, mainly Center City & West End

● 16% of respondents who work in these industries identified themselves as hispanic or latino.

● Nearly 44% of respondents working in business and administration have an associates degree or less, ( (12) are self-employed.

● Professionals in the marketing sales and services travel varying distances to get to work, 40% travel less than 15 minutes, travel 15- 30 minutes and 30 minutes or more. 32%

12.6%

28%

Survey Respondents Who Own

44% Duplex,

townhouse, rowhouse

52.7% Single Family

1.4% Multi-unit apartment

50.4% of survey

respondents own their homes

56.8% (184) of white respondents are homeowners

40% (72) of black respondents are homeowners

36.4% (136) of latino respondents are homeowners

Those who own live in the following type of housing:

Survey Respondents Who Rent

46.3% of survey

respondents are renters

40.5% (184) of white respondents rent

54.2% (72) of black respondents rent

61.5% (136) of latino respondents rent

Those who rent live in the following type of housing:

19.8% Duplex,

townhouse, rowhouse

14.1% Single Family

63.4% Multi-unit apartment

How Long Survey Respondents Have Lived In Allentown

43.2% of respondents who’ve identified as Latino have lived in Allentown for less than five years.

Respondents under the

age of 35 (296), 66.8% lived in Allentown for less than 10 years, compared to

26.9% of those over 35 years old who’ve lived in Allentown more than 10 years.

17

How Often Survey Respondents Moved In Allentown

HOUSING INSTABILITYOver 25% of respondents

have moved at least ONCE in the last year

18

Over 10% and 17% of respondents are very likely or likely to move out of Allentown, respectively

How likely are you to

move out of Allentown?

10.4%Very likely

17.1%Likely

30.7%Neutral

27.2%Unlikely

14.3%Very Unlikely

Quality of Place We asked residents to rate their experience living in Allentown, including their comfort level with using the amenities and services available.

How do residents rate Allentown’s Quality of Life?

54.6% Good

28.8% Fair

1.1% Excellent

5.5% Poor

TOP THREE Investments to Enhance Quality of Life

29% affordable housing

48% safety and security

34% public schools

Comfort Utilizing Allentown Services & Amenities

Services & amenities residents are most comfortable utilizing to the left

Services & amenities

residents are least

comfortable utilizing to

the right

Accessibility We asked residents how far they lived from / travel to work and other community spaces important to them and their preferred method of getting there.

How long are commutes to work?Out of 878 respondents who work ...

37.5%15 - 30 mins

40.4%0 - 15 mins

15.5%30 - 45 mins

6.5%one hour

Industries where majority of respondents travel 15 - 30 minutes:

Warehousing & Logistics

56.5%

Science Tech & Math

51.7%

Architecture & Construction

48.3%

Hospitality & Tourism

43.3%

Manufacturing 39%

*Finance 34.5%

Hospitality & Tourism

30%

*Business Management

27.1%

*Marketing & Sales 27.6%

Information Tech 26.4%

Manufacturing 26.1%

*Human Services 25.7%

Industries where more than a quarter of respondents travel 30 minutes or more:

*More than 10% of respondents in these highlighted industries travel an hour or more to work

Top Modes of Transportation (1 - top ranked)1

2

3

4

5

6

1

2

3

4

5

6

1

2

3

4

5

6

1

2

3

4

5

6

1

2

3

4

5

6

City Center East Side South Side 1st & 6th Wards West End

Personal Car

Walk

Taxi, Uber, Lyft

Bus

Carpool

Bike

ACCESSIBILITY: How close do respondents live to certain amenities?

54.6% Good

28.8% Fair

● Majority of respondents live close to a restaurant and/or park and open space

● Only 24% and 29% of respondents can walk to a nearby recreational center and/or cultural arts and museums.

ACCESSIBILITY: How close do respondents live to certain amenities?

A breakdown of proximity to amenities by race, shows those identified as non-hispanic live closer to restaurants, parks and open spaces than latinos; those identified as hispanic/latino live closer to shopping centers than non-hispanics.

54.6% Good

28.8% Fair

Community & Economic PrioritiesWe asked residents what they thought were the top priorities Allentown should focus on in the next 10 years.

TOP Developments Respondents felt Allentown needs more of

Affordable HousingBars & Night ClubsRestaurants Youth Field (and other places for Youth to Engage)Target, Trader Joes & IMAX Theaters.

TOP THREE Neighborhood Investments

42% more retail and restaurants

62% street, sidewalk, lighting 50% existing housing stock

TOP THREE Economic Priorities

51% develop or start new local businesses

67% attract new businesses

58% retain existing businesses

TOP RATED Infrastructure Improvements (by importance)

Existing Road Improvements

Improvements Related to Traffic Flow

Pedestrian Improvements (ex: sidewalks, crosswalks

Public Transportation Services

OtherParking (more spaces, affordable)Abandoned Buildings + LotsTrain, Bus and Rail Service to Philadelphia + NYCStreetscape (more trees & lights)

70%

63%

61%

43%

14%

BIG IDEA: What would you change? We asked residents to write in one thing they would change/bring/fix that would have long-lasting impact.

Allentown’s downtown area and its housing, schools and communities are on the minds of most of its residents

“Build community involvement in the downtown area, shops, events, etc.”

“More new housing downtown would really help support local downtown businesses.”

“Encourage more home ownership and improve the dilapidated housing areas.”

“Allentown’s first priority should be the education of its citizens. Anything that can advance the children will advance Allentown”

Investment in the neighborhoods immediately surrounding the downtown (especially historic districts) by improving housing, preserving architecture, developing historic streetscapes, improving walkability, and improving schools.

Most common word, broken down by Allentown neighborhoods (number below represents how many times that word was written)

Most common two word phrases, broken down by Allentown neighborhoods (number below represents how many times that word was written)

Most common words, broken down by Latinx vs. not (number below represents how many times that word was written.)

Most common 2-word phrases, broken down by Latinx vs. not (number below represents how many times that word was written.)

THANK YOU!See you at the next community meeting!