The Wheaton City Council has received the results of the 2025 Community Satisfaction Survey.

The city enlisted ETC Institute to conduct an anonymous survey in May and June soliciting feedback from a random sample of Wheaton households to better understand how residents think the city is doing and guide future decisions.

Residents reported high satisfaction rates with city services and significant gains since the city’s previous survey. This was especially true in areas the city prioritized in its strategic plan, such as stormwater management, police community engagement and condition of the city’s streets and sidewalks, according to a news release.

The full survey report is available at wheaton.il.us/2025CommunitySurvey, and key findings are highlighted below.

“We are proud of the high level of services the City of Wheaton provides through careful planning, fiscal management and the hard work of city staff, and these survey results reflect that we’re on the right path,” Wheaton Mayor Phil Suess said in the release. “We appreciate the time each participant took to provide feedback. It will help guide us as we continue working to maintain and improve upon all the elements that make Wheaton a desirable community to live in, work or visit.”

To provide context for the city’s satisfaction scores, ETC Institute compared Wheaton’s results against its previous survey [completed by ETC Institute in 2014] and against other cities nationwide. Survey Highlights:

Satisfaction levels among Wheaton residents exceeded the U.S. average in all 46 areas assessed. Residents rated the quality of services provided by the city at 95.3%, compared to the national average of 49.0%.

Compared with the city’s 2014 survey, residents reported higher satisfaction rates in 45 of 53 service areas assessed.

Satisfaction levels increased more than 20% from 2014 to 2025 in many areas identified in the city’s strategic plan, including:

Effectiveness of the city’s stormwater runoff/management system (+27.3%)

• Maintenance of City streets and sidewalks (+27.0%)
• Police community engagement and safety programs (+21.2%)
• Efforts to use social media/technology to inform (+34.4%)

“Feedback from residents on how well the city is serving their needs is imperative,” City Manager Michael Dzugan said in the release. “We want to ensure that the services we’re providing meet the community’s expectations and that we’re dedicating resources in line with what the community wants.”

Among the notable findings were the percentage of residents who reporting being “satisfied” or “very satisfied” with the value received for city tax dollars, which increased from 53.0% in 2014 to 70.6% in 2025.

The survey also identified areas the city may consider focusing future efforts.

ETC Institute’s report identified the flow of traffic and congestion management as a top priority for investment over the next two years, noting residents rated this as an area of high importance and among areas they are least satisfied.

About the Survey

ETC Institute mailed the five-page survey to randomly selected households to return by mail or complete online, and the 601 responses represent a 95% level of confidence with a precision of +/-4%. The city also invited all residents who were not part of the randomly selected sample to participate online; these responses were collected separately and are included as an addendum to the survey report.