Denton survey finds strong quality‑of‑life ratings but rising concerns over transportation and housing affordability

Amy Caslake, the city’s chief strategic officer, told the Denton City Council on May 19 that the 2026 community survey — sent to 18,000 randomly selected households and open Feb. 18–Mar. 18 — produced 1,509 completed responses and a margin of error of ±2.51 percentage points at the 95% confidence level.

Caslake said overall resident satisfaction remains high: 67% rated Denton’s quality of life as “good” or “excellent,” roughly in line with state and national benchmarks. But several areas showed declines or notable weakness. Perceptions of Denton as a place to work fell nine percentage points from 2024 to 53%, and ratings for employment opportunities were low at 34%. Transportation emerged as a prominent concern: only 23% of respondents rated traffic management during rush hour positively and 29% rated the overall transportation system favorably.

“Transportation, streets and sidewalks continue to be major themes,” Caslake said. She flagged resident concerns about the pace and pattern of development and declining perceptions of well‑planned residential growth, new‑development quality and housing affordability.

The survey also recorded strong results: nearly 90% of respondents said they feel safe in Denton overall, and parks maintenance saw the largest increase across survey items (an 11‑point rise since 2024). Fire and ambulance services and customer service interactions with city staff scored at or above benchmarks.

Council members used the presentation to press staff on methodology and equity of outreach. Representative District 5 asked where household contact information came from; Caslake said the city used utility billing email addresses available to the full‑service city. Council members sought the exact question wording and demographic breakdowns; Caslake said the appendices include the question wording and staff will provide segmented results (including by length of residency) and response‑rate details by race and language.

Council members also raised the low Spanish‑language response: staff reported nine completed Spanish surveys and agreed to explore outreach strategies to improve participation among Hispanic and other under‑represented groups.

What’s next: staff said the survey findings will inform planning and resource allocation, with streets and sidewalks, transportation, infrastructure and homelessness identified among the community’s top priorities. Caslake stood for questions; no formal council action was required at the meeting.