2018 Houston Civic Health Index

Report by Rice University’s Kinder Institute for Urban Research and the Center for Local Elections in American Politics
May 14, 2018

Kinder Institute for Urban Research   (Houston)

Residents of Greater Houston are less likely to trust their neighbors and volunteer than the average American.  These findings are revealed in the newly released 2018 Houston Civic Health IndexTM, a report from our partners at Rice University’s Kinder Institute for Urban Research and the Center for Local Elections in American Politics. The Houston report was made possible through the support of the Houston Endowment.

Click here to download the full report.

Key findings based on a three-year average include:

  • 44.5% of Greater Houston report trusting all or most of their neighbors compared to 56% nationally.
  • 79.1% of Houston’s residents did not volunteer.
  • Approximately 36% of Greater Houston do not discuss politics with their friends or family

While the report shows there are clear challenges in Greater Houston’s civic health, it is important to note that the city as a whole is economically and culturally vibrant. The challenge is to discover how these remarkable commercial and cultural assets can be leveraged to stimulate civic innovation. There is an exciting opportunity for ingenuity to dramatically increase public participation and vitality for Houston’s civic health.

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