In order to understand where we are going, we must first understand where we are. In that spirit, we 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.

To view and download a PDF version of The Pittsburgh Regional Quality of Life Survey, click here.

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 Georgraphic Comparisons’ file compares survey responses across distinct geographic areas (i.e., City of Pittsburgh vs. rest of Allegheny County vs. 6-County rest of MSA vs. 25-County remainder of “Power of 32”). The ‘Cumulative Geographic Estimates’ file presents survey data for expaning levels of cumulative “Pittsburgh region” geography (i.e., City of Pittsburgh, Allegheny 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 the 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 – Race differences
Allegheny County estimates
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 – Age differences
Power of 32 Region – Race differences
Power of 32 Region – Education differences
Power of 32 Region – Income differences