LABarometer releases latest look at livability and affordability in Los Angeles

In 2025, following a year marked by wildfires, immigration enforcement actions and continued affordability pressures, researchers with LABarometer released the latest results from their ongoing Livability & Affordability survey, which tracks how Los Angeles County residents experience life in their neighborhoods.

Based at the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, LABarometer has been tracking livability and affordability conditions across L.A. County since 2019. The survey is designed to provide consistent, longitudinal insight into residents’ well-being, including mental health, housing conditions, neighborhood safety, access to services, and participation in public life.

The most recent wave of the Livability & Affordability survey was fielded from late August through mid-November 2025. It incorporated questions focused on the impacts of the January wildfires and immigration enforcement activity that took place across the county earlier in the year, alongside core measures that LABarometer has tracked over multiple survey waves.

Rather than serving as a snapshot of a single moment, the survey allows researchers to examine how conditions and perceptions change over time. By repeating key measures across waves, LABarometer can assess whether stressors persist, ease or evolve — and whether experiences differ across communities.

The survey is fielded to a probability-based panel of nearly 2,000 Los Angeles County adults and is administered in both English and Spanish. Participants are recruited using address-based sampling, and survey weights are applied to ensure the results reflect the county’s adult population across key demographic characteristics.

Together, the findings contribute to a growing body of data that can help inform public discourse, research and reporting on quality-of-life issues in Los Angeles — particularly in the context of recovery following major disruptions.