Hanover County Quick Facts

2011 CITIZENS SURVEY RESULTS

• 94% said the overall quality of life in Hanover County was excellent or good
• 94% said their neighborhood as a place to live was excellent or good
• 95% said Hanover was an excellent or good place to live
• 97% said they would recommend living in Hanover to someone who asks
• 96% said they planned to remain in Hanover for the next five years
• 95% said they felt safe shopping in Hanover's retail areas during the day and 99% felt safe in their neighborhood during the day; at night, these figures were 81% and 93%, respectively
• 96% saw Hanover as a good or excellent place to raise children
• 93% rated the County's public schools as excellent or good and 87% said the same about library services
• 87% of respondents rated the overall quality of Hanover County's government services as "good" or "excellent"

The survey was developed, mailed and analyzed by the National Research Center of Boulder, CO. 1,200 surveys were mailed to randomly-selected households in July 2011 and 458 responded – Hanover's response rate of 39% is considered at the high end of the normal response rate (25-40%). The margin of error is calculated at ~5%. Over 500 local governments across the U.S. use the National Citizen Survey, enabling the National Research Center to compare Hanover County's results with those of other localities of similar size and demographics. (In addition to the data base of 500 localities nationwide, Hanover compares itself to local governments in the Southeast region. On six questions, the percentage of respondents rating Hanover County as "good" or "excellent" ranked first in the entire nation among localities using the survey; Hanover ranked #1 in the Southeast on 15 questions altogether).

(The complete survey report can be read by clicking here)