Summary Data

Respondents were asked to answer a series of questions on the following issues:

• Health - quality and variety of medical, nutritional and recreational options available to maintain a healthy lifestyle
• Caring - the degree to which people get involved and help others in the community
• Openness and Inclusion - the degree to which people welcome newcomers and are open to others who have different beliefs and backgrounds
• Learning and Growing - the quality of primary, secondary and continuing professional education in the community
• Fun - the quality and variety of cultural, dining, and entertainment options in the county
• Cost - the affordability of living and having fun in the county
• Ease - the convenience of getting to the places you need to go for work and for fun
• Local Government - the extent to which local government provides the support required to sustain growth and quality of life

The results are summarized below:

Respondents were asked if they believed that Brevard County is a Great Place to Live. Respondents generally rated Brevard County favorably with a score of 7.31 to this question. Over half the respondents rated this item 8 or above indicating strong agreement. A quarter of the respondents, however, rated this item 6 or below.

An analysis of demographic segments found the following:

• Married respondents are generally happier than single respondents
• Married 19-25 year olds are the happiest age group with 74% rating this item an 8 or above
• Only 37% of single new college graduates thought Brevard County was a great place to live
• The older the respondent, the more likely they were to think Brevard County was a great place to live
• Whites and Hispanics are happier than other racial groups

FLORIDA TODAY recently published an article stating that the county’s youth think that Brevard County is a “lame” place to live. A review of the data for respondents 40 and younger shows that this is not necessarily true. While the scores for single people are relatively low, married respondents report acceptable satisfaction levels.

We then asked respondents "What is the Most Important Factor when Choosing a Job?" their response is outlined below.

Employees who have chosen to work in Brevard County have done so primarily because of the job opportunity rather than choosing the community first and the job second. This pattern holds true for all age groups. For Blacks and Hispanics, however, the reputation of the employer for how they team employees is actually slightly more important than the job opportunity itself. Community considerations are either the fourth or fifth most important consideration for all segments of respondents.