Why L.A. County residents are not happy, according to new study

Many people in Los Angeles County aren’t satisfied with their quality of life, as evidenced by the lowest level of satisfaction ever recorded, according to a recently published UCLA study. The rising cost of living , recent wildfires and executive orders on immigration are just some of the main reasons county residents expressed their discontent with living in L.A. 

The latest edition of the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs' quality of life index, published on Wednesday, revealed that despite being one of the most populated places in the United States, living in L.A. is a “downer” for many people. The 2025 quality of life index surveyed 1,400 L.A. County residents between February 23 and March 9, 2025. 

For ten years, the report, which surveys more than 1,000 Los Angeles County residents, has shown previous challenges like housing insecurity, as well as  new challenges, including the 2025 L.A. wildfires and recent Donald Trump administration’s threats to immigrants, have had a strenuous effect on many Angelenos, the majority of whom are Latino. 

Immigration and Latinos

Latinos are among the groups that expressed the most concern when it came to deportation by federal authorities. 

According to the report, the second election of Donald Trump has brought significant worry for many L.A. County residents, more than Trump’s first term. 

This year, 44% of county residents are worried that they, a member of their family or a friend could be deported by federal authorities. This is a major increase from 37% in early 2017. 

But these numbers and worries increased for the Latino community. Latinos (54% concerned) and residents ages 18 to 29 (57% concerned) and 30 to 39 (52% concerned) are by far the likeliest to have this worry.

“The new administration in Washington has once again brought the question of immigration and deportation to the fore,” Zev Yaroslavsky, director of the UCLA study, said. “This is very much an issue that is front and center on the minds of a large part of our county's population.”

Wildfire impacts 

This year, wildfires, specifically those that hit the communities of Pacific Palisades and Altadena, were also accounted for in theUCLA study, showing that L.A. residents are still healing from that and that there are still a lot of worries pertaining to the fire's aftermath.  

“Shared trauma” is how Yaroslavsky described the impacts the fires had on not only residents who lost their homes due to the fires but also on other residents' social and economic well-being. 

“The wildfires that raged in Altadena and Pacific Palisades in January are the story of this year's survey,” Yaroslavsky said. “These catastrophic events have left devastating physical and psychological impacts in their wake. Although the primary victims are those who lost their lives, homes and possessions, millions of other Angelenos have been touched by these terrifying events in myriad ways. These impacts cross geographic, economic and racial lines that can only be described as a shared trauma across L.A. County.''

As revealed by the study, more than two-fifths of the sample say that they know someone personally affected by the fires. Additionally, the reports show 14% of the sample said that an actual loss of income caused by the fires “applied a great deal” to them personally. Twenty-five percent of the respondents also reported that they considered evacuation at some point in January. One-third (32%) of L.A. County residents reported that they were wearing a mask due to the hazards caused by the smoke. 

The report shows 14% of the sample said that an actual loss of income caused by the fires “applied a great deal” to them personally, and an additional 13% said “it applied somewhat.” The index also found that the hardest hit economically are disproportionately Latino, younger, lower income and more likely to work part-time jobs.

The report also showed the majority of respondents support wildfire victims, showing the solidarity of L.A. County residents. Respondents were asked if they would be willing or not too willing to pay more taxes to make wildfire response more effective in the county and 52% were willing to pay more taxes, with Latinos among the most supportive of a potential tax increase, as well as younger residents. 

One of the ongoing main concerns that the study touched on is the high cost of living. This year, similar to previous years, the survey showed that the cost of living or fear of losing their homes remains a primary concern for many residents. As stated in the findings, the cost of living has soared to its highest noticeable level ever. For three-quarters of the time, on average, it was chosen as the more important category by respondents over all the others. 

One of the most outstanding data points is that of the concerns around homelessness. Although it is still among concerns throughout the county, this year showed more hopefulness when it came to this matter. For the first time in recent years, the number of county residents who believe the homelessness problem is getting worse actually declined by nearly 10 points -- from 60% in 2024 to 52% in 2025. At the same time, only 10% of respondents believe the situation is actually improving.

“The overall satisfaction score on our quality of life index is stuck for one main reason --  the impact of the high cost of living. Those concerns were the highest in terms of importance of any category we’ve measured in the last decade. And cost of living continues to be the lowest-rating category in terms of satisfaction,” said Paul Maslin, a public opinion and polling expert with Fairbank, Maslin, Maullin, Metz and Associates (FM3 Research), which has overseen the quality of life surveys since their inception.  

To read the full findings from 2025 and previous years, please visit https://www.lewis.ucla.edu/programs/data/qualityoflife/.