Wellington Wellbeing Survey Findings
May 2021
Summary
Wellington City is one of 30 cities currently participating in the Utah Wellbeing Survey Project in 2021. This project is designed to assess the wellbeing and local perspectives of city residents and to provide information to city leaders to inform their general planning process. It is important to note that the 2021 survey was conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic. This was intentional as the last round of wellbeing surveys were conducted in 2020 prior to the pandemic. This allows us to assess changes at this unique period of time. Future surveys are anticipated to gauge recovery.
What is in this report?
This report describes findings from the 2021 Wellington survey as well as some comparative information with other project cities. Feedback from city leaders and planners is welcome. We will continue with analysis and reporting.
How was the survey conducted?
In February 2021, Wellington City advertised the survey via social media and local news media. All city residents age 18+ were encouraged to take the online Qualtrics survey.
How many people responded?
- 66 viable surveys were recorded in this 2021 this effort with 82% complete responses.
-
The adult population of Wellington was estimated at 1,070 based on the 2015-2019 American Community Survey. The survey responses represent 6.2% of the adult population and have a conservative margin of error of 11.69%. These numbers suggest that this survey of Wellington should not be considered to be representative of the city’s residents.
Key Findings in Wellington
Overall Personal Wellbeing and Community Wellbeing in Wellington were average among 29 study cities. Personal wellbeing was more likely to decline for those without a college degree.
Highest Rated Wellbeing Domains:
- Connection with Nature
- Safety and Security
Most Important Wellbeing Domains:
- Safety and Security
- Mental Health
- Physical Health
- Living Standards
Red Zone Domain: (High Importance, Lower Quality)
- Physical Health
COVID-19 had greatest impact on Social Connections, Cultural Opportunities, and Mental Health. Overall personal wellbeing declined in last year for 35% of respondents. Personal wellbeing was more likely to decline for those without a college degree.
The majority of respondents felt the Pace of Economic Development was too slow.
Top concerns for the future of Wellington were:
- Opportunities for Youth (91% Moderate or Major Concern)
- Substance Abuse (83% Moderate or Major Concern)
- Employment Opportunities (81% Moderate or Major Concern)
- Recreation Opportunities (79% Moderate or Major Concern)
- Water Supply (78% Moderate or Major Concern)
- Roads and Transportation (78% Moderate or Major Concern)
What do people value most about Wellington?
The connected, small town feel, the quiet and peacefulness, good law enforcement, and good government.
Survey Respondent Characteristics
Full Time Residents of Wellington | 99.5% |
Part Time Residents of Wellington | 1.5% |
Length of Residency - Range | 1-74 years |
Length of Residency - Average | 25 years |
Length of Residency - Median | 20 years |
Length of Residence 5 Years or Less | 15.2% |
Demographic characteristics of the survey respondents are compared below with U.S. Census information from the 2015-2019 American Community Survey. As the table shows, survey respondents were quite representative of Wellington. People who were female, married, have children in the household, and who are employed were particularly overrepresented and people age 18-29 and people who rent their homes were particularly underrepresented. Not all respondents provided demographic information. Weighting was not used in any of the analysis for the findings presented below. Updates will be provided later in 2021 to account for weighting by demographic characteristics.
Table 1
Demographic Characteristics of Survey Respondents and U.S. Census Data for Wellington
Demographic Characteristics | Wellington Online Wellbeing Survey 2021 (N=66) |
American Community Survey 2016-2020 Estimates |
---|---|---|
Age 18-29 | 11.3% | 28.8% |
Age 30-39 | 32.1% | 15.2% |
Age 40-49 | 15.1% | 6.5% |
Age 50-59 | 9.4% | 15.0% |
Age 60-69 | 17.0% | 15.8% |
Age 70 or over | 15.0% | 18.7% |
Adult female | 71.2% | 58.1% |
Adult male | 26.9% | 41.9% |
No college degree | 86.5% | 85.2% |
College degree (4-year) | 13.4% | 14.8% |
Median household income | NA | $45,375 |
Income under $25,000 | 13.5% | 35.5% |
Income $25,000-$49,999 | 44.2% | 21.0% |
Income $50,000 to $74,999 | 13.5% | 30.9% |
Income $75,000 to $99,999 | 13.5% | 6.6% |
Income $100,000 to $149,999 | 9.6% | 4.5% |
Income $150,000 or over | 5.8% | 1.5% |
Latter-day Saint | 57.7% | NA |
Other religion | 21.2% | NA |
No religious preference | 21.2% | NA |
Hispanic/Latino | 5.9% | 14.5% |
White | 98.1% | 89.6% |
Nonwhite | 1.9% | 10.4% |
Married | 81.1% | 58.8% |
Children under 18 in household | 45.3% | 25.1% |
Employed (combined) | 67.9% | 44.4% |
Out of work and looking for work | 3.8% | 3.8% |
Other | 28.3% | 51.7% |
Own home/owner occupied | 94.3% | 66.8% |
Rent home/renter occupied/other | 5.7% | 33.2% |
Overall Personal Wellbeing and Overall Wellbeing in Wellington
Survey participants were asked about their overall personal wellbeing and overall community wellbeing in Wellington. These wellbeing indicators both measured on a 5-point scale from very poor (1) to excellent (5). The average personal wellbeing score in Wellington was 4.02, with 76% of respondents indicating their wellbeing at a 4 or 5 on the 5-point scale. The average score for community wellbeing in Wellington was 3.61 with 56% of respondents indicating city wellbeing at a 4 or 5 on the 5-point scale.
The COVID-19 pandemic dominated much of 2020. Survey respondents were asked if their overall personal wellbeing or wellbeing had changed in the last year. Survey findings show that 35% of respondents indicated that their personal wellbeing declined in that time and 33% of respondents indicated that wellbeing in Wellington declined as well.
Comparing Wellbeing Across Utah Cities
The Utah League of Cities and Towns classifies Wellington as a Traditional Rural Community (and we have combined these with Rural Hub/Resort Cities). Within this cluster, Wellington was right at the average in terms of the average overall personal wellbeing score and average community wellbeing score. Wellington was only statistically significantly different from Vernal in this cluster in terms of overall personal wellbeing, but it was statistically significantly higher than Price, Moab, and East Carbon on overall community wellbeing.
Wellbeing Domains in Wellington
According to national and international entities that track wellbeing, there are a number of common dimensions or domains of wellbeing. In this survey, respondents rated ten domains on a 5-point scale from poor to excellent, suggesting how their wellbeing was doing well in each area. They were also asked to indicate the importance of each domain to their overall personal wellbeing on a 5-point scale from not at all important to very important. The top three highest rated wellbeing domains for respondents in Wellington were Connection to Nature, Safety and Security, and Mental Health. The four most important wellbeing domains were Safety and Security, Mental Health, Physical Health, and Living Standards.
Wellbeing Matrix for Wellington
The graph below illustrates the relationship between the average rating and the average importance of wellbeing domains for survey respondents from Wellington. Safety and Security, Mental Health and Living Standards were highly important and highly rated. Physical Health fell into the red quadrant or “Red Zone”, indicating that they were of higher-than-average importance, but rated lower than average. Leisure Time and Environmental Quality approach the red quadrant as their importance was close to the overall average domain importance, but rating fell near the overall average rating.
How did the COVID-19 Pandemic Impact Wellbeing Domains?
The COVID-19 pandemic’s impact was most strongly felt regarding:
- Social Connections
- Cultural Opportunities
- Mental Health
No change was reported by most Wellington respondents for all other domains.
The following relationships were found in Wellington between demographic variables and declines due to COVID-19 pandemic:
-
Personal Wellbeing was more likely to decline for those without a college degree.
-
Cultural opportunities were less likely to decline for those with higher incomes.
-
Education was less likely to decline for those with higher incomes.
-
Physical health was less likely to decline for Latter-day Saints than those from other religions.
-
Safety and security were more likely to decline for those age 60+ than those age 18-39.
How are Demographic Characteristics Related to Wellbeing?
The number of survey responses for Wellington are insufficient for multivariate analysis of the influence of demographic characteristics on wellbeing. It does appear from other cities that factors such as age, gender, religion and income are significantly related to wellbeing. If we are able to gather more responses in the future, we will be able to asses these relationships.
Community Action & Connections in Wellington
Survey participants were asked about community actions and community connection in Wellington. Both questions were scored on a 5-point scale from not at all (1) to a great deal (5). When asked about the degree to which people take action together in response to local problems or opportunities in Wellington, the average score was 3.41. When asked about the degree they feel connected to their community, the average score was 3.09.
Respondents indicating their religion as Latter-day Saint were more likely to indicate higher perceptions of local action and higher levels of community connection. This is based on a multivariate generalized linear model with unweighted data (significance based on p < 0.1). Colors indicate strongest relationships (p < .05).
Demographic Characteristics and Community Questions
Community Questions | Age 60+ | Female | College Degree | Latter-day Saint | Higher Income | Resident 5 Years or Less |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Do people in Wellington take action? | + |
|||||
Do you feel connected to your community? | + |
A significant, positive relationship was found between individuals’ community connectedness and overall personal wellbeing.
Comparing Community Action and Connection Across Cities
The graphs below show how Wellbeing Project cities compare on the degree to which people take action in response to local problems and opportunities and how connected people feel to their city as a community. Wellington is in the mid-range on perceived community action and in the top 5 on community connection based on the number of people indicating a 4 or 5 on a 5-point scale.
Participation in Community Activities
Respondents were asked to indicate whether or not they participated in seven different activities and a community activeness score was calculated by adding activities. The average community activeness score for Wellington was 1.76. Contacting a public official about an issue was the most common activity reported by 40% of respondents.
Influence of Landscape on Wellbeing
Survey participants were asked about the influence of landscape features on their wellbeing. Natural landscape including mountains, trails, rivers and streams, and city parks were found to generally have a positive influence on wellbeing. In terms of development and industry in the landscape, Wellington respondents were somewhat more divided.
Perspectives on Population Growth and Economic Development
Respondents from Wellington were divided on population growth with 47% indicating they felt population growth is just right and 33% indicating it is too slow. On the pace of economic development, the majority indicated it was too slow (66%) and 26% indicated it was just right.
The graphs below show how Wellington compares to other participating cities in the Wellbeing Project on these perceptions of population growth and economic development.
Concerns in Wellington
Survey respondents indicated the degree to which a number of possible local issues were a concern as they look to the future of Wellington. Opportunities for Youth, Substance Abuse, and Employment Opportunities were the top four concerns with 81% to 91% of respondents indicating these were moderate or major concerns.
Other concerns were raised by 10 respondents who filled in the “other” category.
Cost of water (2) |
Law enforcement (2) |
||
Activities for youth (1) |
Biden’s new government is taking everything away from small cities like ours (1) |
||
COVID (1) |
Traffic (1) | ||
New business development (1) |
Wellington needs more (1) |
Summary of Open Comments
The survey provided opportunities for respondents to share their ideas about Wellington with one question on what they value most about their city and another for any additional comments on wellbeing. A summary of values is below. Analysis is ongoing regarding all additional comments and a summary will be added to the report later in 2021.
Key Themes for “Please tell us what you value most about living in Wellington”
Contact Information
Dr. Courtney Flint
courtney.flint@usu.edu
435-797-8635
On This Page
The Utah League of Cities and Towns is a collaborator on this project and the following people have contributed to this effort in many ways: Casey Trout, Rachel Sagers, Madison Fjeldsted, Jordan Hammon, and Sarah Wilson.
Utah State University is an affirmative action/equal opportunity institution and is committed to a learning and working environment free from discrimination, including harassment. For USU’s non-discrimination notice, see equity.usu.edu/non-discrimination.