2024 Zandan Poll:

The Voice of the Austin Community

It all began with an idea. What if we can get beyond the loudest voices and the media spend, and hear the truth about how our community feels about Austin.

My name is Noah and I’m from here.

My parents moved to Austin in the 1970s so my dad could attend graduate school at UT.

I was born in Hyde Park and moved to Rollingwood when my mom got a job teaching in Eanes ISD.

My best old Austin story is when I went fishing in Town Lake with Willie Nelson.

I grew up swimming on UT’s campus, played youth community soccer, played guitar around Austin, and attended high school in Austin.  

I left Austin for college and to start my career in New York and Los Angeles for a decade. And then decided I wanted to put down roots back in my hometown, reuniting with my family, friends, and a community that I loved.

So I moved back home.

In Austin, about half my friends are people I grew up with, and the other half have moved here for work or to raise a family.

Interestingly, it seems they have very different perspectives on Austin.

The original Zandan poll was launched by my family in 1998. I took over as the Director of the Zandan Poll as a longtime citizen of Austin who has watched this community grow and adapt. This survey stemmed from my curiosity to find a way to scientifically measure how Austin citizens feel about the changes going on around them and about their connection to the city. 

Later this year, the 2024 Zandan Poll will be released, continuing the tradition started by my father, of analyzing Austinites’ opinions on important topics including: growth, affordability, and our city’s unique culture.

For this public opinion poll, 800+ Austin-area residents were surveyed in late 2023 and early 2024, ending on January 4th. Respondents from the City of Austin as well as others from Travis, Williamson, Hays, Caldwell, and Bastrop counties were included and the survey was offered in both English and Spanish. The results are demographically representative.

The survey and methodology design was originally created and launched by my father, Peter Zandan, an evaluation research Ph.D. He believes in the benefits data can bring to all civic groups and organizations in fostering productive dialog. The poll is funded through my own resources, to ensure there is no agenda other than objectivity.

Thousands of Austinites have contributed to this community effort, with special appreciation to KUT, KLRU, Austin-American Statesman, Austin Business Journal, H+K Strategies, Response:AI, Cambia Information Group, United Way of Austin, I Live Here I Give Here, the University of Texas, the Texas Tribune, and Mayor Kirk Watson.

As we embark on the seventh wave of sharing results, my hope is that the 2024 poll continues to be a resource and inspiration for conversation for the Austin community.

Please join me in the online conversation about the important topics addressed in this year’s poll by using the official hashtag #atxspeaks.

Noah

Noah Zandan, Poll Executive Director and Financial Sponsor