Stockton, CA
Community Survey
April - June 2026
Presented by: Rachelle Cantero, Director of Civic Strategy and Engagement Powered by
1 City Council Meeting
August 18, 2026
Item #10.2
Survey Methodology
The current cycle of the web-based Community Survey
collected survey data between April - June 2026.
Respondents were digitally recruited (e.g., over social media, mobile apps, websites, and survey panels). These ads are targeted to residents, and responses are only included in the data when a local valid zipcode is provided.
Respondents who self-reported being under 18, who declined to provide any demographic information, or those who
provided an invalid zipcode are excluded from the results. 810 valid respondents participated in the web-based
Community Survey during this cycle.
Representation
Zencity ensures broad demographic representation in several ways:
Before data collection, Zencity employs national statistical data to establish response targets. These targets are defined based on race/ethnicity, age, and gender.
During data collection, we track the demographic composition of the survey responses in real time, comparing them to the predetermined targets. We fine-tune our distribution and advertising strategies as needed to target all demographic groups.
After data collection, Zencity employs an industry-standard statistical technique called rake weighting. This assigns a unique weight to each respondent based on their demographic characteristics. This method ensures that the distribution of these characteristics in the final weighted sample aligns with the community's overall demographics. 2 Zencity Community Survey April - June 2026 Powered by Sample Composition
810 valid respondents
Key
●
●
●
Unweighted demographics - What we collected, without
adjustments
Weighted demographics - Our sample, adjusted to be
representative of the population
Population demographics - The demographics of the 18
population
* The "Other" category includes missing data, people who selected "prefer not to say", and other groups not defined in the census.
Age Gender
Ethnicity
3 Zencity Community Survey April - June 2026 Powered by Overall
Quality of Life
Residents' quality of life is a key metric for local
government leaders. Here, we present how
Stockton residents are feeling about their quality of
life, looking at how this changes by demographic
group and geography.
We will show the percent of valid respondents who
reported either a 4 or a 5 on the 15 scale, weighted
by age, gender, and race/ethnicity (see page 3 for
details).
Scores will be shown only for groups (e.g., for a
geographic area or for a demographic group) with
at least 30 responses. For groups between 30 and
49 respondents, we highlight the small sample size
using an !. Use these scores with caution.
4 Zencity Community Survey April - June 2026 Powered by How is the overall quality of life in Stockton?
33%
of 810 surveyed residents are
satisfied with the overall
quality of life in Stockton
4% vs. previous cycle
33% 4%
Positive
42% 1%
Neutral
26% 3%
Negative
5 Zencity Community Survey April - June 2026 Powered by How is the overall quality of life in Stockton? | Geographic Breakdown Area Resident Satisfaction
DISTRICT 1 28% • 3%
DISTRICT 2 26% • 1%
DISTRICT 3 27% • 1%
DISTRICT 4 31% • 5%
DISTRICT 5 38% • 3%
DISTRICT 6 34% • --
6 Zencity Community Survey April - June 2026 Powered by How is the overall quality of life in Stockton? | Demographic Breakdown GENDER
Female 34% 8%-pt
Male 32% -- 0%-pt
AGE
1834 39% 5%-pt
3554 32% 8%-pt
55 26% 2%-pt
ETHNICITY
American Indian or Alaska Native 34% 1%-pt
Asian 35% 6%-pt
Black or African American 49% 15%-pt
Hispanic/Latino 34% 2%-pt
White 28% 2%-pt
EDUCATION
High school degree or less 34% 3%-pt
Some college or college degree 34% 7%-pt
Higher education degree 26% 7%-pt
INCOME
$49,999 or less 39% 6%-pt
$50,000$149,999 30% 3%-pt
$150,000 or more 30% 1%-pt
7 Zencity Community Survey April - June 2026 Powered by Community
Characteristics
Respondents were asked to rate how satisfied they
were with a range of community characteristics on
a scale from 1 Poor to 5 Excellent).
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10 Zencity Community Survey April - June 2026 Powered by Change Matrix Highlights
The Change Matrix showcases the questions with the largest changes from the previous cycle, highlighting the demographic groups and geographic areas contributing to these shifts.
Top Questions Overall
Score
Total
Change Ethnicity Gender Age Geographic Area
Economic development 21% 7%
Hispanic/Latino
7%
Male
8%
3554
11%
DISTRICT 5
7%
Access to quality health care services 40% 7%
Asian
17%
Male
8%
1834
10%
DISTRICT 6
5%
How is the overall quality of life in
Stockton? 33% 5%
Black or African American
15%
Female
8%
3554
9%
DISTRICT 4
5%
11 Zencity Community Survey April - June 2026 Powered by Focus Areas
The next pages highlight community characteristics
of interest and provide insights into these
characteristics, along with breakdowns by relevant
groups for further analysis.
These insights are designed to support targeted
strategic planning and deeper analysis. Where
applicable, follow-up questions were included,
focusing on responses that highlighted challenges
(e.g., low ratings).
Follow-up questions in Zencity surveys gather
detailed feedback, clarify responses, or provide
context triggered by prior answers to help address
issues or improve services.
12 Zencity Community Survey April - June 2026 Powered by Economic development
21% 6%
Neutral
32% • 4%
Negative
47% • 2%
This result is noteworthy
GENDER
Female 19% 5%-pt
Male 23% 7%-pt
AGE
1834 25% 5%-pt
3554 24% 11%-pt
55 12% 3%-pt
ETHNICITY
American Indian or Alaska Native 18% 2%-pt
Asian 20% 5%-pt
Black or African American 28% 4%-pt
Hispanic/Latino 22% 5%-pt
White 17% 4%-pt
13 Zencity Community Survey April - June 2026 Powered by Economic development | Geographic Breakdown
AREA
DISTRICT 1 15% 3%-pt
DISTRICT 2 13% 2%-pt
DISTRICT 3 16% 2%-pt
DISTRICT 4 16% -- 0%-pt
DISTRICT 5 24% 7%-pt
DISTRICT 6 22% 3%-pt
14 Zencity Community Survey April - June 2026 Powered by Acceptance of residents of all
backgrounds
48% 1%
Neutral
30% • 2%
Negative
22% • 4%
GENDER
Female 47% 1%-pt
Male 48% 1%-pt
AGE
1834 54% 8%-pt
3554 44% 1%-pt
55 46% 2%-pt
ETHNICITY
American Indian or Alaska
Native 47% 8%-pt
Asian 54% 7%-pt
Black or African American 43% 1%-pt
Hispanic/Latino 48% 2%-pt
White 48% 1%-pt
15 Zencity Community Survey April - June 2026 Powered by Acceptance of residents of all backgrouds | Geographic Breakdown AREA
DISTRICT 1 47% 1%-pt
DISTRICT 2 50% 2%-pt
DISTRICT 3 43% 1%-pt
DISTRICT 4 48% 3%-pt
DISTRICT 5 48% 2%-pt
DISTRICT 6 49% 3%-pt
16 Community Benchmark April - June 2026 Powered by
Community
Benchmark
We aim to help Zencity clients understand their
results and put them into context. To that end, we
will compare Stockton's results to the United States
as a whole and against communities with similar
characteristics such as size, population density, and
region (their "cohort").
These cohorts help to distinguish patterns unique to
each client from those that are common in similar
communities.
17 Community Benchmark April - June 2026 Powered by
How we compare Stockton to other similar communities
Creating the cohorts
First, all cities, towns, and counties in the USnot just Zencity clients--are put into cohorts based on geography and demographics using a method known as cluster analysis. This method balances a range of different characteristics to put communities into cohorts that are statistically similar to one another. The result of this step is one set of cohorts for cities and towns and a second set for counties.
We chose this method to create objectively similar groups of communities with respect to characteristics that are likely to be correlated with answers to the survey questions.
By creating cohorts of larger sets of communities we have found that our benchmark baselines tend to be more reliable than they would be if we had direct comparisons of a small number of communities. See our Help Site for more information on cohorts, including the full list of communities in your cohort.
Creating cohort scores and national benchmark scores
The Zencity National Benchmark Survey is conducted
semiannually, collecting about 5000 responses across the country. The cohort scores are the weighted average of scores for respondents in each cohort. These weights are calculated to match the client's own demographics, to make them directly comparable to the clients' scores. National scores are calculated in a similar manner.
18 Community Benchmark April - June 2026 Powered by
The overall quality of life
in Stockton is 34% lower
than its cohort and lower
than the national score.
33%
Stockton
67%
Cohort
67%
National
Stockton
Cohort
National
Question National Cohort Your Score Satisfaction Comparison How is the overall quality
of life in Stockton? 67% 67% 33%
How likely are you to
recommend Stockton as
a place to live?
64% 68% 25%
How likely are you to be
living in Stockton 5
years from now?
64% 64% 49%
0% 25% 50% 75% 100%
19 Community Benchmark April - June 2026 Powered by
Satisfaction with
Life in Stockton
Breakdown by characteristic
Stockton
Cohort
National
Question National Cohort Your Score Satisfaction Comparison Sense of community among residents 54% 55% 31%
Acceptance of residents of
all backgrounds 62% 67% 48%
Overall cleanliness and maintenance 59% 57% 18%
Quality of parks and
recreational amenities 64% 63% 26%
Quality of waste and recycling services 63% 63% 36%
0% 25% 50% 75% 100%
20 Zencity Community Survey April - June 2026 Powered by Free-Text
Responses
Respondents were asked open-ended questions
about what the Stockton government does well and
how Stockton could improve its services.
This section presents the main themes from both
questions. Using our proprietary AI algorithm,
responses are analyzed and categorized into
unique topics and subtopics for Stockton, with
multiple labels assigned to responses when
relevant.
To ensure comprehensive information, responses
that have been flagged as invalid (e.g., under 18,
missing demographic data, or invalid zip codes
but claiming residency in Stockton), as well as
responses collected through self-distribution
efforts, are analyzed in the free-text responses but
excluded from the quantitative results.
21 Zencity Community Survey April - June 2026 Powered by Question:
What is your favorite
thing about living in
Stockton?
Most Common Topics
600 labeled responses out of 732
34% • 4% Community Ties
25% • 4% Local Amenities & Culture
18% • 4% Parks & Waterfronts
14% • - 0% Access & Location
11% • 2% Housing Affordability & Street Conditions
6% • 2% Neighborhood Safety & Governance
6% • 2% Weather Discussion
3% • 1% Local Colleges
Top 3 Topics Breakdown
Number of responses by leading subtopic
Community Ties 203
Family Proximity 56
Sense Of Community 53
People Opinions 45
Local Amenities & Culture 152
Food Quality 60
Community Diversity Food 52
Local Shopping Options 29
Parks & Waterfronts 108
Parks And Recreation 58
Waterfront Recreation 29
Delta Waterways 19
22 Zencity Community Survey April - June 2026 Powered by Question:
What is the thing you
would most want to
change about life in
Stockton?
Most Common Topics
698 labeled responses out of 771
42% • 10% Public Safety
35% • 6% Homelessness
17% • 1% Economic Development
13% • 1% Civic Leadership
11% • - 0% City Cleanliness Safety
7% • - 0% Youth Activities Shortage
6% • 1% Infrastructure Maintenance
2% • 1% Weather And Environment
1% • - 0% No Changes Needed
1% • - 0% Public Transportation Improvements
Top 3 Topics Breakdown
Number of responses by leading subtopic
Public Safety 290
Public Safety - General 174
Crime Rates 145
Gang Violence 28
Homelessness 242
Homelessness Crisis 172
Affordable Housing Costs 63
Crime And Homelessness 36
Economic Development 122
City Improvement Priorities 76
Job Market Wages 35
Downtown Revitalization 19
23 Zencity Community Survey April - June 2026 Powered by Rotating
Survey Section
The rotating survey section focuses on areas of
interest each cycle and can be updated as new
areas of interest emerge.
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26 Published on July 9th, 2026 by Zencity
[email protected]
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