About the PPIC/GVC Central Valley Survey

The Central Valley Survey is an ongoing collaborative effort between the Public Policy Institute of California and the Great Valley Center. Each year, a representative sample of Great Central Valley residents are polled with a set of over 60 "benchmark" questions on a range of issues.

The purpose of the survey is to provide a comprehensive, advocacy-free study of the attitudes and public policy preferences of Great Valley residents. The survey is directed entirely by Mark Baldassare, Senior Fellow & Survey Director at the Public Policy Insititute of California, in consultation with the Great Valley Center.

Why Poll the Valley?

The Great Central Valley - the inland area of California stretching 400 miles from Bakersfield to Redding - is one of California's fastest growing regions.

Since neither of the major political parties has a large voter registration advantage in this region, the Valley is considered a critical "swing regions" in the state, consisting of independent-minded voters who can have a tremendous effect on statewide elections.

PPIC/Great Valley Center Central Valley Survey 2004
April 2004; Public Policy Institute of California, in partnership with the Great Valley Center


PPIC/Great Valley Center Central Valley Survey 2003
April 2003; Public Policy Institute of California, in partnership with the Great Valley Center


PPIC/Great Valley Center Central Valley Survey 2002
April 2002; Great Valley Center.
  


PPIC/Great Valley Center Central Valley Survey 2001
The Central Valley Survey – an ongoing collaborative effort of the Public Policy Institute of California and the Great Valley Center – is a special edition of the PPIC Statewide Survey.
38pp., Mar 2001; Great Valley Center.
  


PPIC/Great Valley Center Central Valley Survey 1999
Results from 59 question 1999 survey of 2,016 Great Central Valley Residents regarding land use, economy, education, and the environment; Includes breakout data for Latinos.
28pp., November 1999; Marc Baldassare, Public Policy Institute of California, in partnership with the Great Valley Center.
  
   

 

View a list of all of the publications we offer.

Each survey includes data on:

Variations in the social, economic, and political attitudes and policy preferences across the four different regions of the Central Valley (i.e., North Valley, Sacramento Metro, North San Joaquin, and South San Joaquin), between Latinos and non-Hispanic whites, between newcomers and life-long residents, and across the socioeconomic spectrum.


Evaluations of community services, and city/county government.


Regional perceptions, including appraisals of regional problems, satisfaction with key amenities and opportunities, and observations on traffic congestion.


Thoughts about specific problems, the regional economy, living in the Central Valley, population growth, water, and policies for improving quality of life in the Central Valley.


Political and social trends, including civic and religious involvement, political profiles, sources of political information, and use of computers and the internet.

Most Great Valley Center publications are available free of charge for download as an Adobe Acrobat® PDF file. If you do not already have Acrobat Reader you may download the free software here.

For hard copies, please contact us at info@greatvalley.org