A new community survey shows Anne Arundel County residents are fed up with worsening traffic, rising costs and what many see as a county government that isn't listening. Half of respondents said growth and development have deteriorated, and 63% said traffic congestion and transportation have gotten worse, according to the findings. Meanwhile, 51% said they had little or no confidence that the public receives sufficient advance notice before County Council votes.
Affordability Squeeze Hits Groceries, Transportation and Housing
The Fall 2026 Community Survey, conducted by Anne Arundel Community College's Center for the Study of Local Issues, gathered weighted responses from 1,373 county residents aged 18 and older between October 9 and October 18, as reported by Eye On Annapolis. Nearly half of respondents, 49%, said they had difficulty affording groceries, while 43% reported struggling with transportation costs. The survey also examined economic conditions, housing, county services, development, government transparency, technology, education and the upcoming November elections, per the same outlet's account of the results.
Affordability concerns extended well beyond the grocery aisle. The survey found 56% of respondents had difficulty affording electricity and utilities, and 62% said taxes were too high relative to the services they receive. The outlet's report also noted that concern about growth and development was selected as a county problem by 20% of respondents, with taxes ranking second among county problems overall.
Residents Overwhelmingly Back Limits on Data Centers
One of the survey's starkest findings: 82% of respondents favored some form of restriction on data centers, a flashpoint issue as the industry expands across Maryland. The breakdown showed divided opinions on how far those restrictions should go, with 35% favoring an outright prohibition on new data centers and 27% supporting development only in designated locations under specific operating standards, the survey data shows per Eye On Annapolis's report.
Only a small share of respondents, 5%, favored encouraging more data center development in the county. The partisan split was notable too: the report found that 46% of Democrats favored prohibiting data centers outright, while 44% of Republicans preferred allowing them only in designated locations with operating standards.
Confidence in County Transparency Hits a Low Point
Perhaps the most pointed finding for county officials: 51% of respondents said they had little or no confidence that the public receives sufficient advance notice before County Council votes, while just 32% expressed confidence in that process. Only 4% reported a great deal of confidence in the county's public notification practices, according to the survey findings relayed by Eye On Annapolis.
The frustration showed up in open-ended responses as well. Residents most frequently suggested better government communication through websites, email and media, with earlier notice of proposed legislation also a frequent suggestion, the report notes. Only 37% of respondents said they felt well represented in county decisions, while 46% said their views were not very well represented.
County's Direction and Economic Outlook Slide
The share of residents who believe Anne Arundel County is headed in the right direction fell to 33%, down from 39% in the spring survey, while 40% said the county is headed in the wrong direction. That marks a steep drop from the 59% who felt the county was on the right track back in spring 2020, per the figures reported by Eye On Annapolis. The outlet's report also found that concern about crime and drugs has declined since 2020, even as economic worries have stayed elevated over the same period.
Ratings of the county's economy told a similar story of decline. The share of respondents rating Anne Arundel's economic conditions as excellent or good fell from 51% a year earlier, marking the lowest favorable rating in the survey series since 2015, the survey data indicates.
Council Salary Hike Adds Fuel to the Debate
The affordability and trust concerns arrive as the county weighs a separate, related question: how much to pay its own elected leaders. A commission report filed with Anne Arundel County in December 2025 recommended raising County Council salaries to $57,400 by 2029 and $59,400 by 2030, representing a 30% increase spread across four years. The commission justified the raise in part by noting that council compensation remains well behind similarly sized jurisdictions across the state.
Not everyone on the commission agreed. A minority report filed by the Anne Arundel County Salary Standard Commission argued the increase was excessive given the uncertain financial situation facing both the county and the state, while also noting that council salaries in Anne Arundel still trail those in Howard, Montgomery and Prince George's counties.
The Center for the Study of Local Issues conducts these community surveys each spring and fall, per Anne Arundel Community College, giving county leaders a regular pulse check on resident sentiment heading into budget and election cycles alike.
