Louisiana residents remain pessimistic about the direction of the state; confidence in state government remains low.
The first in a series of three reports from the 2023 Louisiana Survey, a project of the Reilly Center for Media & Public Affairs.
Summary Key results of the 2023 Louisiana Survey, a project of the Reilly Center for Media & Public Affairs at Louisiana State University, include:
State of the State
Most Louisiana residents (61%) believe the state is heading in the wrong direction. While this marks a slight decline of five percentage points from last year, it is the second consecutive year in which a majority of state residents said the state is heading in the wrong direction.
This year, crime surged to the top of state residents’ concerns, named by about one fifth of respondents (19%). • Confidence in state government remains low. Only 28% of Louisiana residents say they are either “very confident” or “somewhat confident” in state government to address pressing problems.
The index of consumer sentiment, which measures changes in the outlook for the economy, for Louisiana is 53.5 in the early spring of 2023, a slight improvement over 50.3 in 2022 but well below the value for the United States as a whole, 63.5.
Four out of five Louisiana residents (80%) say that crime has increased over the last few years. One fourth of state residents report they were the victim of a property crime within the past year, and 15% report they were attacked or threatened with violence.
Most Louisiana adults (76%) visited a doctor in the past year for a routine checkup. Yet, 22% of adult Louisiana residents have not seen a doctor in more than a year.
Overall, 13% of adult Louisiana residents have needed to see a doctor for their physical health in the past year but could not because they could not afford the cost. The same share (13%) have needed mental health care within the past year but could not afford it.
Read more: Louisiana Survey 2023 Report
