For the first time since March 2020, more San Franciscans say the city is heading in the right direction than on the wrong track. This is a huge change compared to our last poll in October, 2024 — just before the November, 2024 Mayoral election. "Right direction" increased 6 points, and "wrong track" decreased a staggering 28 points, both outside the margin of error. The idea that San Franciscans are full of fresh hope is clearly reflected in the data

Roughly half of San Franciscans who said SF was on the wrong track in October 2024 now report they are unsure. Rather than jump to a conclusion, they are waiting to see what City Hall will do next - another sign of cautious optimism.

It's clear that it's a new day in San Francisco.

Since Trump was inaugurated he has been dominating national headlines, but our poll shows that the vast majority of San Franciscans wants Mayor Lurie to focus on local issues, not on national politics.

This is a clear signal that San Franciscans want City Hall to focus on the basics and that the Mayor's focus on local issues is resonating with voters.

Mayor Lurie is riding high with the best overall favorability, by far, of any politician or organization in San Francisco.

Congresswoman Pelosi is very popular in the City, though perhaps not quite as popular as one might expect given her extremely high-profile role in Congress. State Senator Wiener, who has formed a committee to run for Pelosi's seat after she retires, is the second most popular local politician in San Francisco, behind only Mayor Lurie. (This is based on favorability polls run by other organizations which we have not duplicated here.)

And while the Board of Supervisors and the School Board are deeply unpopular, everybody loves Muni.

Market Street has been suffering long before Covid. During the election last November, some candidates pitched bringing cars back to Market as the solution, but our poll shows that it just isn’t that popular compared to the other options. Instead, what San Franciscans say they want is to make it a destination and that means making it easier for businesses to open, creating entertainment zones with alcohol, and increasing police presence to make it safe and clean.

Lower fees and tax benefits for struggling small businesses, faster and easier permitting, more police, and entertainment zones are all popular ideas to help Downtown and Market Street get back on track.

The SF "Healthy Mandate" was intended to help workers get health care, but since Obamacare was passed in 2010, almost no one qualifies to use it so the money is literally sitting unused in a bank account.

Diners are sick and tired of the "SF Mandate" and other hidden fees at restaurants. It's time for them to go.

San Francisco is a city of local businesses that give us our unique character. But San Franciscans don’t believe we should have a hard ban on formula retail, especially during times when our local economy is struggling. Chain stores are better than empty storefronts!

A solid majority of San Franciscans are employed, and almost no adults are unemployed. This is a mixed signal about our economy: on one hand, it's great that the job market is so strong, but on the other hand, it's a sign that the city is too expensive to have a parent not work.

Note that the official unemployment rate for San Francisco is just 3.5%, so our 9% "looking for work" number may include people who are employed and searching for a new job, plus the 4.9% margin of error.

A lot of San Franciscans work from home, with just a quarter of employed adults working in an office full-time. It's encouraging to see that if the city can deliver on better transit and safer streets, many people will return to working from the office and boost the downtown economy.

San Franciscans still take the homelessness crisis seriously and are still waiting for City Hall to take action. Support for shelters remains high, and opposition to shelters near homes has meaningfully declined. City Hall should stop waiting and start building.

Like our poll in October 2024 showed, San Franciscans are very supportive of building more housing in the city. The idea of building skyscrapers in SOMA, the Financial District, Dogpatch, and Mission Bay is very popular, as is the idea of building taller buildings along major streets and near major public transit stops.

This is great news for the city as it faces a looming deadline from the State to make room for new neighbors. All that City Hall needs to do is pass the popular changes that San Franciscans already want — if they can just ignore the loudest anti-housing voices that have controlled City Hall for too long.