Do you trust your neighbors? If you have Delray Beach real estate and are like most Americans, it could go either way.
A Pew Research Center survey reports that just 52% of us trust the people living in our neighborhood. Slightly less trust some or none of their neighbors with 48% identifying themselves in this category.
Where is the Trust?
You may have heard of a distrust in big business or the government, but why is it that Americans don’t completely trust people living in the house next to them. The General Social Survey, which has been tracking what Americans think and feel about issues including intergroup relations, crime and punishment, national spending priorities, and confidence in institutions since 1972, has seen a steady decline in trust between one another.
Beginning with the baby boomers, every generation that has followed has reported less and less trust.
Who are More or Less Likely to Trust their Neighbors?
Residents owning Delray Beach real estate are not the only ones affected by the results of this survey. In fact, some of the more trusting individuals in the survey fit Delray Beach real estate demographics.
Respondents displaying the most trust include:
- Whites: 62% trust their neighbors
- Age 65+: 73%
- Earning $75K+: 67%
- College Graduate: 66%
- Neighborhood Classification: Rural
The least likely to trust their neighbors included respondents identifying themselves as:
- Hispanics: 27% trust their neighbors
- Age 18-29: 39%
- Earning Less Than $30K: 37%
- High School Graduate or Less: 43%
- Neighborhood Classification: Urban
High-Crime Area
Respondents who report not feeling safe at all walking in their neighborhood after dark are the least likely to trust their neighbors. Only 17% of them report trust in the people living in their community, as might be expected.
On the other hand, people reporting feeling very safe when walking in their neighborhoods after dark, trust their neighbors, coming in at a rate of 71%.
Sense of Trust by Race
Some of the most interesting statistics are race related. The highest level of trust expressed by individuals in the U.S. comes from whites, who are more likely to trust and feel safe in their community whether their neighbors were white or of a different race. While some might argue that whites are wealthier than nonwhites adding to the trust factor, statistics still show gaps. The disparity between nonwhites and whites when it comes to trust remains ever present even when those respondents had similar earnings.
Do You Really Know Your Neighbors?
Social evenings with neighbors were normal back in 1974. According to the General Social Survey, 61% of Americans did just that at least once a month, while 39% said they would do so less than once a month or not at all.
In 2014, the numbers have shifted with more Americans reporting less socializing with neighbors. Approximately 54% of Americans do not spend evenings with their neighbors and fewer than half (46%) do so on a monthly basis.
Why Trust Matters for Delray Beach Real Estate
Not only does trust matter for residents purchasing Delray Beach real estate, but for Americans and neighborhoods everywhere. The reason is that “Social Trust” cultivates a society where people are more likely to work together for the common good versus their own personal gain.
When a community, city, or nation starts to distrust one another, researchers have found it encourages corruption and definitely produces more gated communities and legal contracts.
