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Pittsburgh Regional Quality of Life Survey
2011-2012

PittsburghTODAY and the University Center for Social & Urban Research (UCSUR) are pleased to release a distillation of the findings of the Pittsburgh Regional Quality of Life Survey, the most extensive survey of the residents of Greater Pittsburgh since the historic Pittsburgh Survey was published in 1908.  Our intent in undertaking this survey was to use the most reliable methods possible to understand the behaviors and attitudes of Greater Pittsburgh´s citizens.  We believe that this survey provides information that can be valuable both as an historic document and as a guide to inform decisions about this region´s future.  We plan to repeat this survey in future years to gauge our progress in improving the quality of life in the region.

This report contains facts and opinions about life in Greater Pittsburgh, given by the people who live here.  The survey focuses on 10 major areas: arts & culture, economy, education, environment, government, health, housing & neighborhood, public safety, transportation and overall quality of life.  The Pittsburgh Regional Quality of Life Survey is based on landline and cell telephone interviews with more than 1,800 residents of a region that comprises 32 counties in four states.

The sampling strategy we used allows us to compare and summarize findings for Pittsburgh, Allegheny county, the seven-county metropolitan statistical area (Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Fayette, Washington and Westmoreland counties), and the "Power of 32" Greater Pittsburgh region (including parts of Maryland, Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia).  Additionally, we have "oversampled" African American citizens in order to obtain a statistically valid portrait of their lives and how their conditions and attitudes compare with citizens of other races across the region.

  Full Report

Detailed Data Tables

The following series of files (PDF format) present detailed question-by-question results of the survey for four levels of geography (City of Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, Pittsburgh 7-County MSA, and 32-county "Power of 32" region) and five key socio-demographic variables (sex, age, race, education, and income).

The "Mutually exclusive geographic comparisons" file compares survey responses across distinct geographic areas (i.e., City of Pittsburgh vs. rest of Allegheny Co. vs. 6-county rest of MSA vs. 25-county remainder of "Power of 32"). The "Cumulative geographic estimates" file presents survey data for expanding levels of cumulative "Pittsburgh region" geography (i.e., city, county, 7-county, 32-county).

The other files allow the user to examine survey responses at varying levels of "Pittsburgh region" geography, including sex, age, race, education, and income breakouts at the specified level. (No age, education, and income breakouts are provided for City of Pittsburgh due to low sample sizes.)

Each file contains both a navigation pane and clickable hyperlinks in the table of contents to allow for efficient searching by survey topic area. Each file also contains technical notes. 

  Mutually exclusive geographic comparisons

  Cumulative geographic estimates

  City of Pittsburgh estimates

  City of Pittsburgh - Sex differences

  City of Pittsburgh - Race differences

  Allegheny County estimates

  Allegheny County - Sex differences

  Allegheny County - Age differences

  Allegheny County - Race differences

  Allegheny County - Education differences

  Allegheny County - Income differences

  Pittsburgh 7-County MSA estimates

  Pittsburgh 7-County MSA - Sex differences

  Pittsburgh 7-County MSA - Age differences

  Pittsburgh 7-County MSA - Race differences

  Pittsburgh 7-County MSA - Education differences

  Pittsburgh 7-County MSA - Income differences

  Power of 32 Region estimates

  Power of 32 Region - Sex differences

  Power of 32 Region - Age differences

  Power of 32 Region - Race differences

  Power of 32 Region - Education differences

  Power of 32 Region - Income differences