COVID-19 Public Opinion Survey

“At the beginning of this crisis, I reached out to Loyola Marymount, knowing that the center had done amazing work looking at the way we look at our city and each other and I knew that this was information that could arm us with the right decisions to save lives.” 

Mayor Eric Garcetti
COVID-19 Response Update on April 10, 2020 

About this Study

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, StudyLA conducted a survey of Los Angeles County residents to assess how the pandemic has impacted them. Residents were asked about the government's response, their understanding of the coronavirus and the measures to take to limit its spread, and the emotional and economic impact it has had on them. 

Highlights

  • An overwhelming majority of Angelenos (95%) support the Safer At Home order.
  • Most Angelenos (59%) say that the local government response has been just right, but another 30% think that local government could do even more.
  • Angelenos are listening. Most Angelenos gave accurate answers to the ways they can protect themselves as well as the most common symptoms of the coronavirus.
  • Nearly half of Angelenos (48%) have been let go or had their hours reduced. Those most impacted are those who are younger or those who already had a lower household income.
  • Nearly one in five Angelenos do not have anyone they can depend on for care.

Methodology
The survey involved 15-minute telephone interviews and online surveys with 2,000 adult Los Angeles County residents (1,000 in the city of Los Angeles and 1,000 in the rest of the county). Data collection took place from March 23, 2020 to April 8, 2020. Respondents were asked a range of questions concerning the COVID-19 pandemic. The survey was administered in both English and Spanish. The margin of error ±2.0%.

Data

The presentation and data briefs are available here:

COVID-19 Public Opinion Survey – Presentation

COVID-19 Public Opinion Survey – Data Brief
Gilbert, Brianne; Guerra, Fernando J.; Vizireanu, Mariya; Dunsker, Max; & Akella, Vishnu (2020). COVID-19 Data Brief: COVID-19 Public Opinion Survey. Thomas and Dorothy Leavey Center for the Study of Los Angeles, Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles, California

School Closures: COVID-19 Public Opinion Survey – Data Brief
Gilbert, Brianne; Guerra, Fernando J.; & Vizireanu, Mariya (2020). School Closures Data Brief: COVID-19 Public Opinion Survey. Thomas and Dorothy Leavey Center for the Study of Los Angeles, Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles, California

StudyLA researchers are available to discuss the study. For questions about this and other StudyLA research, please contact Associate Director Brianne Gilbert at brianne.gilbert@lmu.edu.

American Association of Public Opinion Research

On June 11, 2020, StudyLA's Brianne Gilbert and Mariya Vizireanu joined researchers from Pew Research Center, Gallup, NORC at the University of Chicago, and several other research organizations in presenting insights into public attitudes and behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic as well as the methods used to measures these at the AAPOR 75th Annual Conference all-attendee kickoff session. 

Read more about the kickoff session here. Watch the presentation here.

Watch StudyLA's presentation here.

Media

Press Release

LMU Newsroom: Angelenos Support Even Stricter Measures to Halt Spread of Coronavirus, LMU Survey Finds

LMU Magazine "Off Press" Podcast: Fernando Guerra and Brianne Gilbert

LMU This Week: Mayor Turns to StudyLA for Survey 

City of Los Angeles COVID-19 Response Updates

On April 10, 2020. Mayor Eric Garcetti invited StudyLA's Associate Director Brianne Gilbert to share the final results from the COVID-19 Public Opinion Survey during the COVID-19 Response Update broadcast to Angelenos. The full Response Update can be found here and Gilbert's remarks can be found here

 

 

April 27, 2020 – Mayor Eric Garcetti cites final results of the study

April 7, 2020 – Mayor Eric Garcetti cites Wave 2 preliminary results of the study

April 6, 2020 – Mayor Eric Garcetti cites Wave 2 preliminary results of the study

March 30, 2020 – Mayor Eric Garcetti cites Wave 1 preliminary results of the study

March 29, 2020 – Mayor Eric Garcetti cites Wave 1 preliminary results of the study

In the News

July 16, 2020 | The Academic Minute
Brianne Gilbert, Loyola Marymount University, COVID-19 Public Opinion Survey

May 1, 2020 | LMU This Week
Mayor Turns to StudyLA for Survey

April 27, 2020 | Los Angeles Times
Newsom sued by California residents demanding end to stay-at-home rules
Phil Willon

April 27, 2020 | Los Angeles Times
California faces growing pressure to ease stay-at-home rules, at least in some regions
Rong-Gong Lin II, Luke Money, Alex Wigglesworth

April 27, 2020 | Los Angeles Times
Battling lockdown fatigue, California messages both hope and fear. Will it work?
Joseph Serna

April 22, 2020 | Los Angeles Times
Drive-through protest around LA City Hall calls for California to reopen economy
Christina House; Luke Money

April 22, 2020 | Politifact
Large majorities of Americans support keeping stay-at-home policies for now
Louis Jacobson; Bill McCarthy

April 20, 2020 | CBS Los Angeles
‘We Want To Reopen Right Now’: Protesters Speak Out Against Stay-At-Home Order

April 19, 2020 | Bloomberg
Los Angeles Mayor Says Virus Economic Fall Worse Than '08
Linus Chua

April 19, 2020 | NBC Los Angeles
COVID-19 Public Opinion Survey
News Conference with Conan Nolan

April 19, 2020 | San Bernardino Sun
Hundreds protest coronavirus stay-at-home order in San Clemente
Jeong Park; Mindy Schauer

April 18, 2020 | Los Angeles Times
Protesters slam California stay-at-home orders as ‘tyranny.’ But truth is more complex
Andrew J. Campa; Julia Sclafani

April 16, 2020 | The Nation
Los Angeles Faces Down COVID-19
Jon Wiener

April 15, 2020 | Buelna News
Los Angeles Study Reveals Ethnic Group Differences on Coronavirus
Gabriel Buelna

April 14, 2020 | CNN
California governor outlines plan to reopen in conjunction with West Coast states
Maeve Reston

April 14, 2020 | Spectrum News 1
Coronavirus Update: 95% of LA Supports Stay-At-Home

April 13, 2020 | Los Angeles Times
L.A. County coronavirus deaths reach 320 on a day when lowest number of new cases is reported
Colleen Shalby, Alex Wigglesworth, Laura Newberry

April 13, 2020 | Los Angeles Times
LA voters lack confidence in Trump's coronavirus performance, give Newsom, Garcetti high marks, poll finds
Doug Smith

April 13, 2020 | LAist
A Silent Easter: Catch Up On The Last 48 Hours In LA
Brianna Lee

April 13, 2020 | Los Angeles Times
95% of L.A. supports stay-at-home orders, poll finds. But for how long?
Doug Smith, Alex Wigglesworth, Rong-Gong Lin II

April 13, 2020 | LAist
A Reader Asks Why We Wrote About A Study Of 'A Mere .02%' Of LA
Megan Garvey

April 13, 2020 | Los Angeleno
Coronavirus: Supervisors Vote to Provide Relief for Renters; SoCal Pastors Sue Gov. Newsom
Tony Pierce

April 12, 2020 | CNN 
Trump wants to reopen country soon. But power really lies with governors
Maeve Reston

April 11, 2020 | LAist
A Lot Of Angelenos Support Further Restrictions To Fight The Coronavirus Pandemic
Brian Frank

April 11, 2020 | LAist
Angelenos Overwhelmingly Support Strict Stay Home Orders, Even As 58% Report Losing Income
Brian Frank

April 10, 2020 | Los Angeles Times
Lost wages and jobs haven’t dented support for coronavirus stay-at-home orders, poll finds
Doug Smith

April 10, 2020 | LAist
Almost Half of Workers in LA Have Been Let Go or Put on Reduced Hours, Survey Finds
Brian Frank

April 10, 2020 | We Like LA
Survey: 95% of Angelenos Agree With ‘Safer at Home,’ Half Have Lost Work
Juliet Bennett Rylah

April 10, 2020 | CBS Los Angeles
LMU Poll Says 95% of Angelenos Support Safer At Home Orders

April 10, 2020 | CBS Los Angeles
Coronavirus: Nearly 95% of All Angelenos Support Safer At Home Order