DETROIT – Detroit residents outlined what they believe are the most important issues facing the city as part of a poll of those likely to vote in the upcoming primary election.
WDIV and the Detroit News commissioned a survey of likely August 2025 primary election voters within the city of Detroit. The sample was 500 people over the phone from May 27-29.
Here are some of the results.
Important issues
When asked about the most important issues facing Detroit right now, here’s how participants answered:
- Lack of affordable housing/homelessness -- 13.4%
- Crime, drugs, and guns -- 18.5%
- Neighborhood/community improvement -- 8.5%
- Growth and improvement of the city in general -- 5.1%
- The economy and jobs -- 7.9%
- Inflation and cost of living -- 3%
- Roads and infrastructure -- 6.1%
- Taxes and government spending -- 4.5%
- Education funding and quality -- 5.9%
- Quality and cost of health care -- 1%
- Cultural/social division -- 1.2%
- Improving the whole city, not just downtown -- 2.6%
- Cost of auto insurance -- 1.2%
- Public transportation needs improvement -- 1%
- Care for seniors and retirees -- 0.8%
- Getting more people and businesses to come here -- 2%
- Donald Trump and the federal government -- 1.2%
- Trouble with local government and the election coming up -- 1.8%
- Miscellaneous -- 0.4%
- Don’t know/refused/nothing -- 14.2%
Is Detroit on the right track?
Participants were asked whether they think Detroit is on the right track or wrong track.
Here’s how they responded:
- Right track -- 71.1%
- Wrong track -- 11.6%
- Don’t know/refused -- 17.3%
City services
Participants were asked to name the most important service the city could provide to improve their lives.
Here’s what they said:
- Housing assistance to make it affordable -- 8.1%
- Improved public transportation -- 8.5%
- Public safety and improved policing -- 14.6%
- Better waste management/clean it up -- 8.3%
- Improved education and schools -- 2.2%
- Get rid of abandoned and blighted properties -- 1.8%
- Ordinance enforcement -- 1.6%
- Fix the roads and infrastructure -- 6.3%
- Tax cuts/reduce property taxes -- 5.1%
- Lower the cost of auto insurance -- 1.6%
- Better/cheaper utility services -- 4.7%
- Affordable health care -- 1.4%
- Better paying jobs -- 1%
- Monetary assistance and help finding it -- 2.8%
- General services for seniors -- 1.6%
- Things to do to keep kids out of trouble -- 1.4%
- People need to be kinder and more involved -- 1.4%
- Business funding and assistance -- 0.6%
- Food assistance -- 0.6%
- Lower prices -- 0.6%
- Community assistance not just downtown -- 0.8%
- Improve delivery of services in general -- 1%
- Miscellaneous -- 0.6%
- Don’t know/refused/nothing -- 23.8%
Poll methodology
WDIV and the Detroit News commissioned a survey of likely August 2025 primary election voters within the city of Detroit. The poll was conducted y The Glengariff Group, Inc.
It was a 500 sample, live operator telephone survey from May 27-29, 2025.
The margin of error is +/- 4%, and there is a 95% level of confidence.
Of the respondents, 10.4% were called via landline telephone, and 89.6% were called on a cellphone.
