Survey Says 99% of Rochester Hills Residents Satisfied Living in City

Amidst a fanfare of pep bands and Oakland University mascot Grizz on a bustling, sunny day at the Village of Rochester Hills, Mayor Bryan Barnett proclaimed Wednesday that 99 percent of Rochester Hills' registered voters are happy living where they're at.

The figure wasn't pulled out of the Rochester Falcon band drum major's hat, either.

A public opinion survey of registered voters conducted through Oakland University's Public Affairs Research Laboratory (PARL) nine times since 1990 deemed 99 percent of Rochester Hills voters are satisfied with their decision to live in the city, the highest figure recorded in the survey's history.

View the survey results here

"Despite some admittedly rather challenging times over the last several years, this overwhelmingly positive response clearly indicates that more residents are happy with their choice to live, work and raise a family in Rochester Hills than any time in our city's history," Barnett said. "It's truly something worth celebrating."

The sources of satisfaction in Rochester Hills, Barnett said, were the school systems—Rochester Community Schools, the Avondale school district, Oakland University and Rochester College—and the reputation of the Rochester Hills community.

"A reputation, as you know, is not something that can be created overnight or by one person," Barnett said. "It's built over time, reinforced by what is great about our hometown."

Barnett credited the Rochester and Avondale school districts for helping make Rochester Hills an education destination.

"Rochester Hills has truly become the region's education epicenter," he said. "We take pride in the talent and sophistication of our residents and workforce and it all starts with an exceptional K-12 education program that includes two outstanding public school districts."

Barnett said nearly 50 percent of Rochester Hills residents have a Bachelor's degree, and nearly 25 percent have a Master's degree. 

Rochester Community Schools Superintendent Robert Shaner credited the community for contributing to Rochester Hills' success.

"Everything you see in the greater Rochester area is people committed to living in a community and actually working for a better community," he said. 

The survey was distributed to 800 registered voters evenly split between men and women, with 316 responses received, with a bulk coming from residents who have lived in Rochester Hills for more than 20 years. You can view the full survey results here.