Move the Valley partnered with Faith in the Valley to conduct the San Joaguin Valley Speaks surveys via phone and email to better understand the perspectives, concerns, and priorities of voters across the San Joaquin Valley.
To track changes over time, two surveys were conducted, one in 2023 and the most recent in 2025, reaching thousands of voters across Fresno, Kern, Kings, Madera, Merced, Sacramento, San Joaquin, Stanislaus, and Tulare counties.
Notably, the 2025 survey reached nearly 5,000 participants, establishing itself as the region’s largest multigenerational and multilingual survey, according to Dylan Bryant, Integrated Voter Engagement Coordinator for Faith in the Valley.
“Together, the San Joaquin Valley Speaks surveys provide a grounded and evolving picture of life in the valley, highlighting community perspectives on critical issues, like the cost of living, housing, immigration, and water, capturing the voices and lived experiences of families across one of California’s most economically and culturally diverse regions,” said Bryant.
To ensure broad representation, the surveys were conducted in multiple languages, including English, Spanish, Hmong, and Punjabi. In 2023, 2,616 participants took part in the survey, with 50% identifying as female, 50% as male, and about 1.6% as non-binary. Looking at educational background, 43.5% of participants reported having an associate degree, 23.5% obtained a bachelor’s degree, and 13.5% held a master’s degree.
Building on that initial dataset, participation grew considerably in the following survey. By 2025, the number of survey respondents had increased significantly, with a total of 4,996 individuals participating. Despite this growth, the overall demographic breakdown remained consistent.
In terms of key concerns, responses across both survey methods revealed strong alignment. Respondents who completed the survey via email identified their top concerns as housing, crime, and cost of living, followed by homelessness, the economy, and rising prices. Similarly, phone survey respondents reported many of the same issues, while also emphasizing worries about food affordability, gas prices, and the broader economy, according to Bryant.
As concerns about affordability intensified, housing emerged as a particularly pressing issue. The 2025 survey indicated growing anxiety around housing costs, with more respondents stating that rent is too high and expressing concern about their ability to ever purchase a home.
“The issue of down payments on a home rose nearly 10%. So, in 2023, 25% of respondents said that they couldn’t afford a down payment, and 35% of folks answered that in 2025. There were a few other barriers to owning a home that we asked about—not having a job or income, folks not believing they would qualify alone, and then not being able to pay mortgage or HOA fees. You can see that there was a huge jump from 2023 to 2025. Only 10% answered that they wouldn’t be able to afford a mortgage in 2023, while 30% learned that they wouldn’t be able to afford a mortgage in 2025,” said Bryant.
Beyond financial barriers, other challenges also surfaced. Another issue noted in the 2023 survey was that 8.8% of respondents identified English as not being their primary language, which can present additional obstacles to homeownership.
At the same time, measures of civic engagement showed a decline. In the 2023 survey, 66% of respondents mentioned that they know how to contact San Joaquin Valley elected representatives. However, by 2025, that number had dropped to 54%.
In addition to sharing survey findings, Bryant highlighted opportunities for community involvement. During the virtual informational webinar, he noted that Faith in the Valley is still looking to fill spots for their phone bankers, with positions available on teams in Fresno and Bakersfield. Those interested can contact Dylan Bryant at 661-333-9501 or visit their website at faithinthevalley.org.
