According to the 2021 Quality of Life surveys conducted for Escambia and Santa Rosa counties, the two counties almost offset the residents’ perceptions of the strengths and weaknesses of each other.
Residents of both counties see their counties heading in the right direction.
| Direction | Right | Wrong | Not Sure |
| Escambia | 52.0% | 36.0% | 12.0% |
| Santa Rosa | 49.3% | 37.0% | 13.8% |
Escambia residents saw COVID-19 as the most important issue, but that may be due to the survey being taken earlier in the year. The top issues for Santa Rosa were Traffic/Roads (20%) and Growth/Sprowl (18%). Both counties saw Economy/Jobs and Education among their top four issues.
| Most Important Issues | Escambia | Santa Rosa |
| COVID | 16% | 4% |
| Education | 14% | 10% |
| Crime/Drugs | 13% | 4% |
| Economy/Jobs | 13% | 15% |
| Cost of Living | 11% | 0% |
| Growth/Sprowl | 10% | 18% |
| Traffic/Roads | 8% | 20% |
| Taxes/Govt Spdng | 5% | 4% |
| Poverty | 3% | 1% |
| Environment | 1% | 1% |
| Poor Leadership | 1% | 6% |
| Housing | 0% | 8% |
| Downtown | 0% | 5% |
The areas where Santa Rose County excelled were Economic Conditions, Job Security, Â Quality of Public Education, Job Opportunities and Public Safety?
| Economic Conditions | Escambia | Santa Rosa |
| Good | 34% | 50.2% |
| Excellent | 2% | 6.6% |
| Subtotal | 36% | 56.8% |
| Only Fair | 45% | 30.7% |
| Poor | 17% | 11.7% |
| Subtotal | 62% | 42.4% |
| Don ‘t Know | 2% | 0.8% |
| Job Security | Escambia | Santa Rosa |
| Somewhat Concerned | 29.0% | 19.0% |
| Very Concerned | 20.0% | 15.5% |
| Subtotal | 49.0% | 34.5% |
| Not Too Concerned | 23.0% | 33.9% |
| Not At All Concerned | 24.0% | 26.6% |
| Subtotal | 46.0% | 60.5% |
| Don ‘t Know | 5.0% | 5.0% |
| Quality of Public Education | Escambia | Santa Rosa |
| Good | 29.0% | 48.2% |
| Excellent | 4.0% | 14.9% |
| Subtotal | 33.0% | 63.1% |
| Only Fair | 39.0% | 18.6% |
| Poor | 26.0% | 10.4% |
| Subtotal | 65.0% | 29.0% |
| Don ‘t Know | 2.0% | 8.0% |
| Job Opportunities | Escambia | Santa Rosa |
| Good | 32.0% | 39.0% |
| Excellent | 7.0% | 12.8% |
| Subtotal | 39.0% | 52.0% |
| Only Fair | 33.0% | 24.6% |
| Poor | 17.0% | 16.5% |
| Subtotal | 51.0% | 41.1% |
| Don ‘t Know | 11.0% | 6.9% |
| Public Safety & Low Crime | Escambia | Santa Rosa |
| Good | 27.0% | 53.1% |
| Excellent | 4.0% | 15.4% |
| Subtotal | 31.0% | 68.5% |
| Only Fair | 39.0% | 25.0% |
| Poor | 29.0% | 6.1% |
| Subtotal | 68.0% | 31.1% |
| Don ‘t Know | 1.0% | 0.5% |
These perceptions led to 81% Santa Rosa residents saying the Quality of Life was good or excellent, Escambia  65%.
| Quality of Life | Escambia | Santa Rosa |
| Good | 52.0% | 60.0% |
| Excellent | 13.0% | 20.3% |
| Subtotal | 65.0% | 80.8% |
| Only Fair | 30.0% | 14.4% |
| Poor | 5.0% | 4.8% |
| Subtotal | 35.0% | 19.2% |
| Don ‘t Know | 0.0% | 0.0% |
Escambia did well in Culture, Nightlife, Public Transportation, Getting Around in Traffic, Parks & Recreation and Elected Leadership:
| Cultural Opportunities | Escambia | Santa Rosa |
| Good | 39.0% | 22.1% |
| Excellent | 12.0% | 3.5% |
| Subtotal | 50.0% | 25.6% |
| Only Fair | 33.0% | 23.4% |
| Poor | 14.0% | 50.6% |
| Subtotal | 48.0% | 74.0% |
| Don ‘t Know | 2.0% | 0.5% |
| Vibrant Nightlife | Escambia | Santa Rosa |
| Good | 43.0% | 17.3% |
| Excellent | 14.0% | 7.0% |
| Subtotal | 58.0% | 24.3% |
| Only Fair | 22.0% | 25.9% |
| Poor | 10.0% | 48.3% |
| Subtotal | 32.0% | 74.2% |
| Don ‘t Know | 11.0% | 1.4% |
| Public Transportation | Escambia | Santa Rosa |
| Good | 15.0% | 5.0% |
| Excellent | 3.0% | 1.1% |
| Subtotal | 19.0% | 6.1% |
| Only Fair | 29.0% | 12.5% |
| Poor | 41.0% | 66.2% |
| Subtotal | 70.0% | 78.7% |
| Don ‘t Know | 11.0% | 15.2% |
| Getting Around in Traffic | Escambia | Santa Rosa |
| Good | 29.0% | 20.0% |
| Excellent | 8.0% | 1.6% |
| Subtotal | 37.0% | 21.6% |
| Only Fair | 28.0% | 25.8% |
| Poor | 35.0% | 52.6% |
| Subtotal | 63.0% | 78.4% |
| Don ‘t Know | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| Availability of Parks | Escambia | Santa Rosa |
| Good | 51.0% | 41.1% |
| Excellent | 22.0% | 13.6% |
| Subtotal | 72.0% | 54.7% |
| Only Fair | 19.0% | 26.9% |
| Poor | 9.0% | 17.8% |
| Subtotal | 28.0% | 44.7% |
| Don ‘t Know | 0.0% | 0.6% |
| Elected Leadership | Escambia | Santa Rosa |
| Good | 29.0% | 22.6% |
| Excellent | 3.0% | 2.6% |
| Subtotal | 32.0% | 24.8% |
| Only Fair | 39.0% | 27.7% |
| Poor | 26.0% | 37.3% |
| Subtotal | 66.0% | 65.0% |
| Don ‘t Know | 3.0% | 10.2% |
Areas like Affordable Housing (Esc 20% Good/Excellent to SR 23%), Healthcare (Esc 62% to SR 66%), Welcoming Diversity (Esc 53% to SR 55%) and Likely to Leave Within 5 Years (Esc 40% to SR 37%) were nearly identical.