As journalists, we are out talking to people who live and work in Northern Kentucky every day. We hear about their fears, their hopes and what they love about this area.
But at the end of last year, we wanted to find out, on a larger scale, what you, the residents of Northern Kentucky, think about our region. What are its strengths? What are Northern Kentucky’s challenges, and what are its opportunities for growth?
So we partnered up with Janet Harrah, the senior director of the Center for Economic Analysis and Development at Northern Kentucky University, and student fellow Dylan Fogt.
A detailed online survey was disseminated in order to capture a wide swath of the community, then Harrah and Fogt conducted one-on-one interviews with underrepresented groups to address potential nonresponse bias and ensure a diverse array of perspectives.
“This report synthesizes the data collected, offering an understanding of Northern Kentucky’s current quality of life, areas for improvement, and priorities for future development,” Harrah and Fogt write in the final report. “By identifying key themes such as transportation, housing, education, and economic opportunity, this study aims to inform decision-making and foster a collaborative approach to addressing the region’s needs.”
The responses gathered in a word cloud to the question, “What areas do you think need the most improvement in Northern Kentucky?” gave a telling response to the region’s overall temperature.
Housing was the largest response, followed by roads, education, affordable housing, traffic and public transportation.
When speaking about Northern Kentucky’s strengths, respondents mentioned sense of community, location and accessibility and economic opportunity.
“The people here genuinely care about each other an their community,” one person said.
“It’s a great hub with easy access to major cities and businesses,” another said.
When asked to provide suggestions for improving the quality of life in Northern Kentucky, the top answer was leadership and governance. Growth and urban development, infrastructure and transportation, and engagement and communication were others.
“Improve communication about development projects before they begin,” one person said.
“Listen to what the community actually wants,” said another.
This information helped us decide what topics to focus on for our six super issues in 2025: Civic engagement, mental health, housing, education, infrastructure and workforce.
The first, on civic engagement, will be hitting your mailboxes later this week, and we hope it offers you myriad ways to become involved in your community, no matter what you’re interested in.
To read the survey in full, scroll down. And if you’d like to add any additional comments or feedback, please email me at mgoth@linknky.com.
NKY Community Survey Results by Meghan Goth on Scribd
