Deep-seated frustration with the high cost of living remains a main concern in Los Angeles, America’s largest county, as it confronts new challenges presented by the recent wildfires, the Trump administration’s threats to immigrants and the persistent problem of homelessness, according to an annual UCLA survey released today.
The Quality of Life Index, or QLI — a project of the Los Angeles Initiative at the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs — measures county residents’ satisfaction in nine categories. This year’s overall rating of 53 out of 100 matches last year’s lowest ever in the now 10 years of the QLI’s existence.
Despite the static score, the underlying elements that contribute to the overall score have unquestionably been shifting over the last 10 years.
According to Zev Yaroslavsky, director of the Los Angeles Initiative, the overall positives that can push the score higher — particularly the physical environment, diversity and tolerance in the region — are, to some degree, overwhelmed by the negatives respondents believe are even more important, particularly the high cost of living.
January 2025 wildfires
New questions were included in this year’s QLI that addressed the January 2025 wildfires, which occurred just before the survey was taken. The survey results showed that the collective trauma of the wildfires was more widespread than anticipated, with effects felt across the county.
“The wildfires that raged in Altadena and Pacific Palisades in January are the story of this year’s survey,” Yaroslavsky said. “These catastrophic events have left devastating physical and psychological impacts in their wake. Although the primary victims are those who lost their lives, homes and possessions, millions of other Angelenos have been touched by these terrifying events in myriad ways. These impacts cross geographic, economic and racial lines that can only be described as a shared trauma across Los Angeles County.”
More than two-fifths of respondents said that they knew someone personally affected by the fires. While areas near and adjacent to the two major fires reported the greatest connection to fire victims, roughly 25% of respondents in more faraway locales, such as the northern parts of the county and the South Bay, said they knew someone who lost a home or a business due to the fires.
Of the respondents, 14% said that an actual loss of income caused by the fires applied a great deal to them personally, while another 13% said it applied somewhat.
While the percentage of residents who lost income is lower than the percentages of those who experienced other impacts, it still represents millions of Angelenos.
The hardest hit were disproportionately Latino, younger, lower income and those more likely to work part-time jobs.
In terms of recovery and where the region goes from here, an overwhelming majority of county residents, 89%, believe that homeowners who lost their property to the fires should be allowed to rebuild at the same location. The same question was asked in 2019 after the Woolsey fire near Simi Valley; at that time, 76% agreed with allowing rebuilding in the same location. Both numbers are high, but suggest that the geographic breadth of the fires, the extent of the destruction and the collateral impacts they had on a wide swath of the county significantly influenced this year’s results.
In addition, 52% of county residents said they were willing to increase taxes to fund efforts to improve wildfire response. This question was asked in a broad sense, without respondents being presented with specific taxes or dollar amounts. Younger residents, Latinos and Asians were most supportive of a potential tax increase, while whites and African Americans were evenly split on the question.
Attitudes toward public officials, including the mayor of the city of Los Angeles and the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, were also affected by the fire response, which exacted at least a temporary political toll. In the case of Mayor Karen Bass, 37% of survey respondents view her favorably and 49% unfavorably, while the Board of Supervisors is viewed favorably by 34% and unfavorably by 37%.
Cost of living
Cost of living has always been an issue of great concern among survey respondents, along with job security and the state of the economy. However, this year, cost of living has soared to its highest salience level ever: On average, respondents chose it as the most important category affecting their quality of life, over all other categories, three-quarters of the time. This is a major contributing factor to why the overall QLI score remains unchanged from last year.
Immigration and deportation
“The new administration in Washington has once again brought the question of immigration and deportation to the fore,” Yaroslavsky said. “This is very much an issue that is front and center on the minds of a large part of our county’s population.”
A significant percentage of county residents (44%) are worried that they, a member of their family, or a friend could be deported by federal authorities — more than expressed the same concern in early 2017 (37%), at the onset of President Trump’s first administration.
By far, he likeliest residents to hold this view are Latinos (54%), residents ages 18–29 (57%) and those 30–39 (52%). These respondents are also more willing to believe that city and county governments ought to refuse to cooperate with the federal government and its new policies.
