Somerville 2025 Happiness Survey Released

How happy are Somerville residents? According to the City’s latest biennial Happiness Survey, residents continue to report high levels of satisfaction with life in Somerville.

Conducted by SomerStat in spring 2025, the survey gathered nearly 1,400 responses from a representative cross-section of residents. Participants answered questions on topics ranging from concerns about rats and mice to availability of out-of-school activities for youth, providing insight into how daily experiences, community connections, and City services shape feelings of wellbeing and satisfaction across Somerville.

This year’s survey introduces expanded geographic analysis, including results by census tract (25 distinct areas in Somerville) as well as the City’s seven wards. This new level of detail helps the City better understand how experiences vary across neighborhoods so that improvements can be targeted accordingly. The 2025 survey also features deeper exploration into topics such as public health, education, public space, and infrastructure.

Highlights from Somerville’s 2025 Happiness Survey

Residents reported feeling safe in their neighborhoods and are highly satisfied with the overall quality of City services they receive. Satisfaction was also high regarding opportunities for civic participation, having the information needed to vote in Somerville, Somerville’s community events, and the ability to create and enjoy art in Somerville. Residents also enjoy Somerville’s restaurants, shops, and other businesses as well as their proximity to parks and other public spaces.

Residents also identified opportunities for improvements in the city, including better maintenance of streets and sidewalks, more efforts to decrease the presence of rats and mice, and increased housing affordability.

Access the Data

The dataset and interactive visualizations from the 2025 survey are now available at somervillema.gov/HappinessSurvey and on Somerville’s Open Data Portal. The Open Data Portal includes results from prior years, survey questionnaires, and a data dictionary, and will be updated as additional analyses are released.

About the Somerville Happiness Survey

First launched in 2011, the Somerville Happiness Survey was the first of its kind in the United States and remains a cornerstone of the City’s data-informed policymaking. By repeating the survey every two years, Somerville tracks changes over time, measures progress on key priorities, and identifies new opportunities to enhance quality of life for residents.

Persons with disabilities who need auxiliary aids and services for effective communication (i.e., CART, ASL), written materials in alternative formats, or reasonable modifications in policies and procedures in order to access the programs, activities, and meetings of the City of Somerville should please contact Adrienne Pomeroy in advance at 617-625-6600 x 2059 or apomeroy@somervillema.gov.  

The City of Somerville can provide you with an interpreter in your language for free. To request an interpreter, please contact us at languageaccess@somervillema.gov or call 311 (617-666-3311) at least 7 days in advance of this event.