Providing excellent service, setting the right priorities and cultivating an exceptional community requires any local government to regularly collect fair, measurable feedback from its residents. And according to data from a recent survey, this is a happy time to be a Lenexan.

Every other year since 2001, the City of Lenexa has worked with ETC Institute to survey Lenexa residents. This statistically valid survey measures overall satisfaction with major city services like public safety, code enforcement, city property maintenance, parks and recreation and more. The survey also asks residents to gauge how much of a priority certain services should be.

In fall 2021, 791 residents completed the most recent survey, far exceeding the goal of 600 completed surveys. The sample size helps ensure the results are accurate – these results have a precision of at least +/-3.5% at the 95% level of confidence.

The results? Lenexa continues to not only exceed the Kansas City metro area and United States in satisfaction ratings – the City has also significantly outpaced its own scores since 2019 and earlier.

• From 2019 to 2021, satisfaction ratings improved in 66 of the 75 areas assessed by the survey. Significant increases in satisfaction (4% or more) were identified in 28 areas. And, since 2005, satisfaction ratings have improved in 47 of the 57 areas that have comparison data.
• Lenexa rated significantly above (4% or more) the national average in 53 of 54 areas that have comparable data and above the national average in each category.

Satisfaction also increased from 2019 to 2021 in the three areas that are most important to residents:

• Maintenance of City streets: Up 5%
• Traffic flow/congestion management: Up 14%
• Police services: Up 4%

“We are proud to see higher satisfaction in so many areas,” said City Manager Beccy Yocham. “When you consider that past surveys showed us as a top-performing organization, it is amazing that we continue to see an improvement in results. I believe the numbers are a direct result of the hard work of the elected officials and professional staff.”

Here are a few of the top ratings we look at each year to gauge citizen satisfaction. Percentages shown are the number of people who rated us 5 (Very Satisfied) or 4 (Satisfied) on a scale of 1 to 5.

Overall quality of life

• Lenexa: 97%
• KC Metro: 80%

As a place to live

• Lenexa: 97%
• KC Metro: 85%
• U.S.: 52%

Overall appearance of the City

• Lenexa: 94%
• KC Metro: 64%
• U.S.: 66%

Overall image of the City

• Lenexa: 94%
• KC Metro: 68%
• U.S. 64%

As a place to raise children

• Lenexa: 95%
• KC Metro: 81%
• U.S.: 71%

As a place to work

• Lenexa: 90%
• KC Metro: 67%
• U.S.: 60%

View full survey results

View presentation from Dec. 7 City Council meeting