O.C. Residents Have Up Look for an Outlook

To all the worriers out there who see political turmoil, economic uncertainty or a collapse in housing prices, most Orange County residents have a message:

Get happy. Be optimistic.

A survey released today by the San Francisco-based Public Policy Institute of California and UC Irvine finds that 90% of county residents are satisfied with their quality of life, and that a solid majority believes the local economy is strong and that the county’s future is bright.

The rosy outlook extends to state and national affairs, and starkly contrasts with that of Californians in general. Half of Orange County residents surveyed believe the state is headed in the right direction, compared with 32% statewide, for instance. And while 56% of county residents expect California’s economy to improve in the next year, only 39% of respondents statewide do.

In a sense, the county’s wealth and robust real estate market make it easy for people to say they’re happy. But with signs that the U.S. economy is improving, “in many ways Orange County residents may be a barometer or a leading indicator of attitudes we will see in the future elsewhere in the state and the nation,” said Mark Baldassare, who directed the survey.

The findings, in the 22nd annual survey of county attitudes, are based on telephone interviews in English or Spanish with 1,004 Orange County adults in early November. The margin of sampling error is plus or minus 3 percentage points.

Among the survey’s findings:

* Despite a tight job market, 53% of county residents said their personal finances improved this year, up from 50% who said that in 2002. About 6 in 10 said it was a good time to make a major purchase.

* Despite tight local government budgets, residents overall are satisfied with the services they receive, including parks, police, roads and schools.

* Despite soaring prices and concern that real estate nationally is poised for a fall, there’s strong confidence in Orange County’s housing market. Eighty-six percent of homeowners say a home here is an excellent or good investment, up 36 points from 1995, when California was in a real estate recession.

* The division between Latinos and non-Latino whites found in earlier surveys continues to exist. Whites were twice as likely to say that “things are going very well in Orange County,” although Latinos were nearly twice as optimistic as whites about the future.

“Latinos, while not doing as well economically as whites, have high expectations,” Baldassare said. “I think there are cultural issues involved, and historical issues. Latinos know what’s available to people in other cultures, so they have a positive outlook that things will improve for them here.”

Latinos rated jobs and the economy as the county’s biggest problem, while non-Latino whites said growth and development was the most pressing local issue. And Latinos were nearly three times more likely than whites to cite a shortage of high-paying jobs as a big problem in Orange County.

Seven in 10 Latinos say public schools are doing an excellent or good job, while only about half of whites feel that way.

Key differences also split North County and South County residents. While 70% of South County respondents rated the county’s economy as excellent, only 53% of those living in North County did.

Toll roads are more popular in South County: 65% said they’ve improved transportation in the county, while only 47% of North County residents agreed.

But there’s wide support countywide for light rail: 73% in South County and 65% in North County favor such a system.

In years past, respondents in North County had less confidence in the health of the real estate market than those in South County. This year, though, the level of confidence was equally strong in both regions.

This could mean that Orange County’s older cities are poised for a renewal, Baldassare said.