Elgin Residents Rate City Highly in Survey

A 605-response community survey by ETC Institute found 78% of Elgin residents rate the city as an excellent or good place to live.

Updated on Nov. 6, 2026 in City Hall

Tree-lined residential street of brick and clapboard homes receding toward a civic building under clear late-summer light, with no people visible. — ETC Institute told Elgin City Council on Wednesday that 78% of residents rate the city an excellent or good place to live, versus a 55% national average. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

Live Poll

Do you think your community is getting better or worse for people like you?

ETC Institute presented community survey results to Elgin City Council on Wednesday showing 78% of residents rate Elgin as an excellent or good place to live, compared with a national average of 55%. The survey was conducted over the summer and included 605 responses.

Why it matters

City officials say the results will help them evaluate performance, measure progress and inform planning and budget decisions. The survey also found 58% of residents name homelessness as the top future issue for the city.

Fire and ambulance services earned 93% resident satisfaction and police services 78%, 29 percentage points above the national average. The survey carries a plus or minus 4% margin of error at the 95% confidence level.

The players

ETC Institute

ETC Institute is a national research firm that conducts municipal community satisfaction surveys across the United States.

Elgin City Council

The Elgin City Council is the elected legislative body that governs the city of Elgin, Illinois.

The details

ETC Institute, which previously conducted similar polls in Elgin in 2017 and 2021, administered the survey by mail and online to randomly selected households. Nine areas scored below national averages, including code enforcement for exterior property maintenance.

Summer 2026: ETC Institute conducts the community survey.
Wednesday, November 4, 2026: Results are presented to Elgin City Council.

Season Trajectory

This survey continues a series ETC Institute has run in Elgin since 2017, allowing city officials to track resident ratings across multiple rounds. The 78% excellent-or-good rating sits well above the 55% national benchmark used in the same survey instrument.

Residents who want the full findings and maps can review the complete survey results on the city's website. The results may shape future council discussions on services and budget priorities.

The takeaway

Residents who want to see how their city compares can review the full survey breakdowns. Tracking these results across survey rounds shows whether service ratings are improving over time.