Washington County: Fewer Residents Name Crime, Homelessness as Top Issue in County Survey
- Fewer Washington County residents named crime or homelessness as the most important issue for county officials this year, according to the county's 2026 Community Survey by DHM Research.
- That leaves roads, housing affordability, the cost of living and taxes at the top of the list, with data centers showing up for the first time.
- Residents answered the question in their own words, and DHM grouped the answers into categories.
Fewer Washington County residents named crime or homelessness as the most important issue for county officials this year, according to the county’s 2026 Community Survey by DHM Research. Ten percent named crime or public safety, down from 16% in 2025, and 9% named homelessness, down from 17%.
That leaves roads, housing affordability, the cost of living and taxes at the top of the list, with data centers showing up for the first time. The Board of Commissioners is scheduled to hear the results at a work session on Tuesday, Oct. 20, at 9 a.m. in Hillsboro.
Crime and homelessness lose the top two spots
Residents answered the question in their own words, and DHM grouped the answers into categories. In 2025, homelessness and crime led the list. DHM’s presentation in the Oct. 20 work session packet says both have “significantly decreased as concerns since 2025.”
| Most important issue | 2025 | 2026 | Change (points) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Roads / infrastructure / traffic | 12% | 13% | +1 |
| Housing affordability | 13% | 13% | 0 |
| Cost of living / inflation | 12% | 12% | 0 |
| Taxes | 12% | 11% | -1 |
| Crime / public safety | 16% | 10% | -6 |
| Homelessness | 17% | 9% | -8 |
| Education / schools | 5% | 6% | +1 |
| Poor leadership / government mismanagement | 7% | 5% | -2 |
| Need more social services | 3% | 5% | +2 |
Source: DHM Research topline results, Oct. 20 work session packet, p. 52. Shows every issue named by at least 5% of residents in either year that also appears in both years. The survey reached 800 residents in 2025 and 850 in 2026. The change column is our calculation.
In relative terms, the share naming crime fell by about 38%. That is our calculation: the 6-point drop divided by the 2025 figure of 16%. The share naming homelessness fell by about 47%, or nearly half (8 divided by 17). By contrast, each of the top four issues moved by one point or less.
County voters passed Measure 34-346, the public safety levy, in the Nov. 4, 2025, election, according to a Sheriff’s Office release. The survey does not ask about the levy, and DHM’s slides do not give a reason for the drop in crime as a concern.
Fewer residents say they know the county’s safety services
While crime slipped as a concern, residents also grew less sure about the county’s public safety services. The survey groups these as “Safety & Justice,” including the Sheriff’s Office, the jail, probation and parole, juvenile services, courts and the law library. Familiarity fell from 63% in 2025 to 57%, a decrease DHM calls significant.
Ratings of easy access fell twice as far. In 2026, 39% said these services are easy to access, down from 51%. The share answering “don’t know” rose from 30% to 43%, and among residents familiar with the services it doubled, from 16% to 33%.
DHM’s summary says uncertainty about safety and justice “has grown the most” of the services tested. Satisfaction was asked for the first time this year, so there is no 2025 comparison. Overall, 52% of residents were satisfied with these services and 28% were dissatisfied. Among those familiar with them, the split was 59% to 31%.
Data centers appear on the list for the first time
Two other categories are new this year. Eight percent of residents named data centers or AI facilities as the most important issue, and 6% named growth or development. Neither appears in the 2025 results.
A second open-ended question asked for the one thing the county could do to improve quality of life. Four percent said to restrict, regulate or not allow data centers, also a new answer. Mentions of reducing urban growth rose from 3% to 7%, an increase DHM describes as significant.
Data centers come up again on the same Oct. 20 agenda. At 2:45 p.m., commissioners are scheduled to discuss a draft resolution that, according to the staff report, would say the board “does not currently support” large-scale standalone data centers in unincorporated areas, meaning areas outside cities.
The report says staff told the board in September that there were no known facilities of that kind in those areas and no active land use applications for one. It adds that a resolution is planned for board consideration at the Oct. 27 meeting.
How DHM ran the survey
DHM surveyed 850 residents between Sept. 12 and 24, 2026, by phone and by text message with a link to an online form. The survey was translated into 11 languages. DHM weighted the results by age, gender, race and ethnicity, language, commissioner district, education, income and housing type to make the sample representative.
The survey also measured the county’s mood. Seven in 10 residents rated quality of life in the county excellent or good, the same as in 2025. On the economy, 52% think it is getting worse, and 4% say it is improving, down from 7%.
The questionnaire does not ask whether the county is on the right track or how much residents trust county government, and the packet does not break results out by city. The project is paid for with federal American Rescue Plan Act money. A county update in the packet says that after 2026, “no funds are allocated to continue collecting these data.”
Commissioners take up the results Tuesday
The agenda lists three presenters: Aster Pitcher, a research and evaluation analyst; Alicia Sojourner, director of access and opportunity; and Hannah Borenstein of DHM Research. The item is set for 30 minutes. The staff report poses one policy question: “How might community opinion trends guide the budget process?”
The work session meets in Room 120D of the Charles D. Cameron Public Services Building, 155 N. First Ave., Hillsboro. It is also on the morning Zoom webinar, ID 817 3567 8766, or by phone at +1 669 444 9171. The agenda notes that start times are approximate.
The county’s meeting page says people watching work sessions should hold comments and questions for a regular business meeting. The agenda lists one at 10 a.m. the same day, and work sessions stream live on the county’s YouTube channel.
Top image: File photo, 2016: the Washington County Courthouse in Hillsboro. Photo: Steve Morgan, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (cropped).
