Summary of Senior (65+) Perceptions from 2023 Metro Atlanta Speaks

2023 Metro Atlanta Speaks crosstabs by age group

1. Close-Up 2023:
Senior (65+) Sentiments
Maria Sotnikova
Research & Analytics
[email protected]
1

2. Reminder: What’s MAS For?
•Administered since 2013 (varying areas and formats)
•Goals of the Survey
•Assess Perceptions
•Define Priorities
•Gauge Opinions
•Demographic Crosstabs-- include results by age group
•Latest iteration
•Conducted August 2023
•Hybrid of Phone and Online Surveys
•4,500 respondents; county significance
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3. Highlights: Senior Opinion “Close-Up”
•Survey respondents said that the top three issues were: Crime (26.5%), Economy (24.4%), and Transportation (10.9%). For
those 65+, 37.8% --nearly 4 in 10-- said Crime was the biggest problem, while 20.3% of seniors said it was the Economy,
and 9.1% of older adults said Human Services. By way of comparison, only around 2 in 10 of respondents aged 25-44 said
Crime was the biggest problem. However, 68.8% of older adults said they feel safe walking at night in their neighborhood--
and all other age groups responded similarly.
•Transportation is relatively less of an issue for older adults than for other age groups. Only 7% of seniors rated
Transportation the region’s biggest problem Just 35.2% of those 65+ indicated that they agreed or strongly agreed that
they would pay more taxes to fund expanded public transit with this proposal. This was the lowest of any age group.
•Not surprisingly, older residents were relatively less likely to own an electric vehicle “now” (at 3.5% compared to 9% in the
overall sample across age groups). It’s worthy of note however that the 65+ are only slightly less likely than other age
groups to say that they plan to own an EV in the next ten years.
•Seniors –at 8 in 10 (and all age groups)– are generally in agreement about the existence of and/or global impact of climate
change over the next ten years. A slightly lower share of those 65+ --but still 3 in 4-- said that climate change will be a
major threat to the Atlanta metro area over the next ten years.
•The survey also made it clear that the longer one lived in the Atlanta region, the more likely they would want to stay in the
region but move to a different neighborhood if given the opportunity. This includes a lot of seniors that want to age in
place.
•And optimism about the region’s future of is (as typical) slightly lower than with other age groups. 58.7% of respondents
65 and older indicated that in the next 3 or 4 years living conditions in Metro Atlanta will be better or about the same. This
compares to 68.1% of respondents ages 18-24!
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4. 4
3.9%
2.5%
6.0%
4.9%
4.3%
24.4%
10.8%
5.9%
26.5%
10.9%
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30%
Race Relations
DK
Taxes
Public Health
Other
Economy
Human Services
Public Education
Crime
Transportation
Of the following, which issue is the biggest problem facing residents in
the Metro Atlanta area today? Is it…
One question asked in the Metro Atlanta Speaks survey every year is: Which issue is the biggest problem facing the
residents of Metro Atlanta today? Overall, the survey respondents said that the top three issues were: Crime
(26.5%), Economy (24.4%), and Transportation (10.9%).

5. 5
6.9%
6.1%
20.3%
37.8%
3.1%
4.8%
9.1%
4.0%
4.2%
3.7%
10.9%
3.9%
24.4%
26.5%
4.9%
5.9%
10.8%
6.0% 4.3%
2.5%
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
45%
TransportationRace RelationsThe Economy Crime Public HealthPublic EducationHuman Services Taxes Other DK
18 - 24 25 - 34 35 - 44 45 - 54 55 - 64 65 and older Overall
Of the following, which issue is the biggest problem facing residents in
the Metro Atlanta area today? Is it…
How did older adult respondents answer this question? 37.8% of seniors said Crime was the biggest problem, while
20.3% of seniors said it was the Economy, and 9.1% of older adults said Human Services. This closely follows the
opinions of overall respondents, but with greater emphasis on Crime and Human Services.

6. 6
24.4%
24.4%
30.5%
32.9%
28.0%
24.6%
38.6%
43.3%
44.9%
38.4%
45.5%
44.2%
23.7%
20.8%
17.2%
21.1%
17.3%
21.3%
10.9%
9.2%
6.6%
6.5%
6.8%
8.4%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
18 - 24
25 - 34
35 - 44
45 - 54
55 - 64
65 and older
Strongly agreeAgreeDisagreeStrongly disagreeDK
“I feel safe walking at night in my neighborhood”
Despite their top concern being Crime, when asked by the survey 68.8% of older adults said they feel safe
walking at night in their neighborhood. In fact, all other age groups responded similarly.

7. 7
18.0%
20.7%
14.7%
10.4% 9.3% 7.4%
37.3% 33.2%
35.2%
32.6%
32.0%
27.8%
27.8%
27.4%
26.4%
30.6%
30.9%
37.1%
11.6% 15.1%
21.3% 24.8%
24.8% 25.5%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
18 - 24 25 - 34 35 - 44 45 - 54 55 - 64 65 and older
Strongly agreeAgreeDisagreeStrongly disagreeDK
“I am willing to pay more in taxes to fund expanded regional public
transit that includes buses and rail”
Looking at other modes of transportation, the survey asked if respondents would be willing to pay more in taxes to
fund the expansion of public transit. Here only 35.2% of older adults indicated that they agreed or strongly agreed
with this proposal. This was the lowest of any age group.

8. 8
16.8%
13.3%
14.6%
5.6%
2.7% 3.5%
83.2%
86.7%
85.4%
94.4%
97.3% 96.5%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
18-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65 and older
YesNo
Do you own an electric vehicle?
The Metro Atlanta Speaks survey also asked respondents if they owned an electric vehicle. Older adults age 65
and over were more likely to own an EV compared to their younger counterparts ages 55 to 64, but still had a
pretty low adoption rate of 3.5%.

9. 9
63.3%
65.9%
57.9%
58.1%
59.1%
52.7%
26.8%
22.9%
25.7%
24.0%
21.0%
23.3%
6.0%
7.1%
14.6%
14.9%
16.6%
21.3%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
18 - 24
25 - 34
35 - 44
45 - 54
55 - 64
65 and older
A major global threatA minor global threatNo threat at allDK
Thinking about climate change, how serious of a global threat do you
feel it will be in the next 10 years? Will climate change be…
The survey also asked respondents how serious of a threat climate change will be in the next 10 years on a global
and local level. Over half of older adult respondents said that climate change was a major global threat.

10. 10
How serious a threat do you think climate change will be to the
Atlanta metro area over the next ten years? Will it be…
44.70%
52.70%
49.20%
45.90%
48.60%
43.00%
40.50%
33.30%
34.40%
32.70%
29.10%
33.40%
10.90%
8.30%
14.80%
18.20%
18.90%
21.30%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
18 - 24
25 - 34
35 - 44
45 - 54
55 - 64
65 and older
A major threatA minor threatNo threat at allDK
However, locally that number was a little lower. Just 43% of respondents age 65 and older said that climate change
will be a major threat to the Atlanta metro area over the next ten years.

11. 11
12.9%
17.2%
19.1%
20.4%
24.1%
59.9%
59.2%
57.7%
52.7%
53.1%
26.3%
22.3%
21.6%
21.6%
22.6%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
31 Years or more
21-30 Years
11-20 Years
5 Years or Less
6-10 Years
Stay where you are nowMove to a different neighborhood in Metro AtlantaMove away from Metro AtlantaDNK
If you could, would you…
Move to a different neighborhood in the Metro Atlanta area,
stay where you are now, or move away from metro Atlanta?
The survey also made it clear that the longer one lived in the Atlanta region, the more likely they would want to stay
in the region but move to a different neighborhood if given the opportunity. This includes a lot of seniors that want
to age in place.

12. 12
30.2%
33.3%
27.8%
18.9%
22.6%
20.8%
28.1%
31.6%
39.3%
39.7%
40.8%
36.7%
37.9%
31.0%
31.5%
38.9%
34.2%
37.9%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
18 - 24
25 - 34
35 - 44
45 - 54
55 - 64
65 and older
Better in 3-4 yearsWorse in 3-4 yearsAbout the sameDK
As you look ahead to the next 3 or 4 years, do you think living
conditions in the Metro Atlanta area THEN will be better, worse, or
about the same as today?
Finally, how optimistic are older adults in the Atlanta region? 58.7% of respondents 65 and older indicated that in the
next 3 or 4 years living conditions in Metro Atlanta will be better or about the same. Compare that with 68.1% of
respondents ages 18-24!

13. 13
•Atlanta Regional Commission Website
https://atlantaregional.org/what-we-do/research-and-
data/metro-atlanta-speaks-survey-report/
•33N Blog
https://33n.atlantaregional.com/data-diversions/metro-
atlanta-speaks-2023-previewing-the-results
For more information…
Maria Sotnikova
Research & Analytics
[email protected]