Quick Facts Survey digs into the numbers here

LAUREL — The recent Laurel Community Survey revealed some interesting things about area residents’ opinions of their hometown.

Here is a snapshot look at some of the survey results.

Two individuals live in 47 percent of the homes in Laurel.

One person lives in 18.1 percent of the homes in Laurel.

Three people live in 6.4 percent of the homes.

Four people live in 10.1 percent of homes in Laurel.

Five people live in 7.4 percent of homes.

Six or more people live in 6.9 percent of homes.

Laurel-Coleridge-Concord graduates made up 90 of those who responded to the survey. Forty-eight have children attending LCC. Twenty-four people said this school was a factor in their decision to live in Laurel.

Fifty-seven percent of respondents said there are sufficient safe routes to school.

One-hundred and forty five people of 187 surveyed said they would recommend the school.

A total of 65.7 percent of people said the community should expand to include new commercial and entertainment facilities.

A total of 74.3 percent said they support stricter enforcement of City ordinances regarding parking, junk vehicles and property maintenance. The same percentage of people also said they owned their own homes. Twelve percent rent their homes. More than 82 percent live in houses. Six people lived in apartments. Twenty-six did not respond.

More than 78 percent of people said they were satisfied with their current place of residence.

Thirty-one percent said their homes are in excellent condition and 39.5 percent said their homes were in good condition. Thirteen percent said they needed minor rehabilitation of their homes.

More than 65 percent of people said they would support the City of Laurel using state or federal grant funds to conduct an owner housing rehabilitation program.

More than 54 percent said they would support the City using state or federal grant funds to conduct a rental housing rehab program.

More than 78 percent said they would support the City establishing a local program to purchase dilapidated homes, tear them down and make lots available for family or individuals to build homes.

More than 70 percent of people said they would support the City using grant dollars to purchase, rehabilitate and resell vacant housing in the community.

Almost 70 percent of people said they would support the City using state or federal grant dollars to provide down payment assistance to first-time home buyers.

As Laurel residents, 36.3 percent of people would be willing to contribute or donate money to support a local community, economic or housing development activity.

A total of 9.1 percent of those surveyed said they would be interested in moving to the Laurel community. One-hundred and eighteen of those responding lived in Laurel. Four lived one mile or less from Laurel. A total of 29 respondents lived in rural Cedar County. Thirteen people lived outside of Cedar County. Thirty commute to Laurel for work. Most commute less than 10 minutes.

A total of 36.7 percent said they spend less than $499 on their rent or mortgage payment.

Less than 10 percent spend $500 to $649 on their rent or mortgage payment. $650 to $799 is the range for 7.4 percent of those answering the question. A total of 3.4 percent pay $800 to $949. A total of 5.1 percent pay $950 to $1,099. Five people responded that they pay $1,100 to $1,249.

Eighty-seven percent said they are satisfied with their current living and housing situation.

Total income ranges for the households responding included:

Less than $35,000 at 14.9 percent; $36,000 to $50,000 at 16.6 percent; $51,000 to $70,000 at 18.3 percent; $71,000 to $85,000 at 10.9 percent and $86,000 plus at 24.7 percent. Twenty-five did not respond.

Renters said most common barriers that they experience include the condition of their existing rental, lack of rentals in their price range, the cost of renting and the age of rental housing.

Home owner barriers included housing prices, lack of homes for sale, cost of real estate taxes and the condition of housing.

Those surveyed included 66.6 percent who said they would like to purchase or rent a home in Laurel.

Most said they would like a single family residence with two, three or four or more bedrooms. They indicated the most that they could pay for a home would be less than $175,000.

• Thirty people surveyed had lived in Laurel one to five years. They represent 16 percent.

Fifteen people had lived in Laurel for six to 10 years. They represented eight percent of those surveyed.

Twenty people responding had lived in Laurel for 11 to 20 years. They represent 10.6 percent of those responding.

Just over 50 percent of the people (94) who filled out the survey had lived in Laurel for more than 21 years.

Five people completing the survey had lived in Laurel less than one year. This represented 2.6 percent of the respondents.

Seventeen or nine percent of the people who filled out the survey did not live in Laurel.

Six percent gave no response to this question. They represented 3.2 percent.

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