A new survey has revealed something most of us already know – Wollongong is a happy place.
Commissioned by Wollongong City Council, the survey of more than 600 residents spread evenly across the city says 90 per cent of us agree Wollongong is a good place to live. While that's a strong result, the number has slipped a little from 93 per cent in 2021 at the height of the pandemic.
The majority of us are satisfied with our life as a whole (87%), how safe we feel (86%), our personal relationships (86%) and, in a bit of a surprise in the midst of the current cost of living crisis, 84% of us are satisfied with our standard of living.
As a multicultural city, the fact that 87% of us agreed it was good for our society to be made up of different cultures should come as no great shock.
Better than the national average
So, we are happy in the Gong, and the good news is we are 'above the average' happy on a national basis.
When compared to the most recent Australian Unity/Deakin University national wellbeing study, the Wollongong community outperformed the national index by 3.2 points (out of 100). That's an improvement on the +2.6 points margin in 2021.
There's good news in the survey too about our feelings of safety. People said they had very high feelings of safety at home during the day and their feelings of safety when walking alone in their local area after dark were significantly higher in 2024 than in 2014.
The random telephone survey of 371 residents was conducted in February this year, involving people aged 18 and over who'd lived in Wollongong for more than six months. The phone survey was complemented by an online survey that gathered an additional 245 responses.
Concerns over too much development
Among the concerns raised in the survey about development controls by Council, 'unsustainable development' rated highest (31%).
On the issue of 'infrastructure not keeping up with population growth', people aged 65+ expressed greatest concern (25%) compared to 3% for people aged 25-49.
When asked about whether they felt their area was neglected, 11% of Ward 3 residents said yes, whereas no one in Ward 1 or 2 said 'yes'.
Other survey questions revealed that 76% of people were satisfied with their overall health, 70% felt they were a part of the community, and 65% were confident about their future security.
Wollongong people have always been active, and the survey showed that 65% participated in sport or recreational activities while 60% were engaged in cultural or creative activities. Twenty percent of respondents said they engaged in neither.
Lagging on climate change
Worryingly, over the past three years, there appears to be a reduction of effort within individual households to address climate change. When asked if in the last 12 months households had reduced the amount of plastics they use, 82% responded yes, compared to 90% in 2021. On 'food organics and garden organics', 69% said yes, compared to 78% in 2021. And on 'improved efficiency of lighting and/or appliances', 64% said yes this year compared to 75% three years ago.
Other worrying trends included 'availability and access to health services', down from 77% in 2021 to 58% this year; 'access to affordable fresh food' down from 81% to 59%, and 'access to public transport' also down from 70% to 62%.
When asked about their future vision for Wollongong for the next 10 years; the most popular answer was 'improvement in traffic management/parking' (24%) followed by 'more green space and better use of green space' (16%) and 'less high rise development/density' (16%).
The survey was conducted by Taverner Research Group and follows on similar research done in 2014, 2018 and 2021. It will help form the basis of Wollongong City Council's State of the City Report to be released shortly.
Have your say
Council is currently updating our city’s Community Strategic Plan, which outlines our community’s goals and priorities for the next 10 years. Submit your feedback via Council's Our Wollongong page by 10am Monday, November 18.
