The latest USC Dornsife LABarometer survey reveals Angelenos are grappling with climate stress, growing doubts about public transit and waning interest in electric vehicles.

Contact: Ileana Wachtel, iwachtel@usc.edu; Nina Raffio, raffio@usc.edu

As L.A. recovers from destructive wildfires and looks ahead to the 2028 Olympics, Angelenos are juggling climate anxiety and infrastructure concerns — with a few bright spots — according to a new LABarometer survey on mobility and sustainability.

The Center for Economic and Social Research (CESR) at the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences conducted the survey between February and April 2025, shortly after the January wildfires.

Following the wildfires that burned more than 40,000 acres in Los Angeles’ Pacific Palisades and Altadena neighborhoods, researchers found that more than half of Angelenos avoided going outside in the last year to avoid smoke from the wildfires. This nearly matches the number who reported smoke avoidance in 2021, after the Bobcat Fire scorched more than 115,000 acres in fall 2020.

Nearly a third of residents reported symptoms of psychological distress following the January fires, up from 26% following the 2023 fire season and 28% in 2021.

“These patterns indicate that even a fire as catastrophic as the one we just experienced is no longer unusual in terms of how it affects the majority of L.A. residents,” said Kyla Thomas, LABarometer director.

Despite the severity of the latest wildfires, Angelenos are less prepared for disaster than they were in 2020. Just 40% say they’re ready for a natural disaster compared to nearly 45% in 2020, a steady decline over the past few years.

“It suggests that even high-impact events like the January wildfires alone may not be sufficient to spur an increase in preparedness,” explained Thomas, a sociologist at CESR.

Yet, concern about climate change remains high — just over 70% of residents say it feels like a personal threat, a figure virtually unchanged since 2020.

Heat is also becoming harder to ignore. Nearly half of Angelenos reported symptoms of heat exposure, a 20% increase since 2023 when nearly 40% experienced symptoms related to heat exposure.

As Los Angeles prepares to host the 2028 Summer Olympics, well over half of residents indicated that they’re looking forward to the Games. But, of the remainder who aren’t, most cite traffic and transportation as their top concerns.

When explicitly asked about the city’s readiness, almost 40% said L.A. is “not at all prepared" and just over one-third said it is “slightly prepared.”

“Residents are clear-eyed about what’s working and what still needs to change,” Thomas said.

Even with major investments to expand rail lines, open new stations and improve safety in recent years, public transit ridership gains have been modest, raising questions about whether the system can support a car-free Olympics.

Metro Rail ridership rose just 2 percentage points over the past year. Bus use, meanwhile, remains stuck at 74% of pre-pandemic levels.

Comparing their data to Metro’s recent report that bus boardings increased last year, the researchers suggest that frequent riders may be using buses more often but occasional riders remain hesitant to return after the pandemic. According to their data, the total number of unique bus users hasn’t fully recovered since the pandemic — 18% thus far this year versus 24% in 2019.

One bright spot: The modest rail uptick is likely tied to the opening of the Regional Connector in June 2023, which linked the A (Blue), E (Expo) and L (Gold) lines through downtown, according to the researchers. The E line alone has seen a 17% jump in ridership since January of this year, according to Metro’s recent report showing an increase in ridership on rail lines.

Another encouraging finding, the researchers said, is that more residents say public transit feels safer now than it did a year ago. The share who rate buses as somewhat to very safe rose to 26%, up from 21%. Metro rail ratings around safety also saw modest gains.

Despite decades of environmental campaigns, an expanded electric vehicle market and rising fuel prices, most Angelenos haven’t moved out of their gas-powered cars — much less onto buses and trains — and they don’t plan to. Just over half expect their next vehicle to be electric or hybrid, about a 9% drop from last year.

Researchers suggest that the dip in enthusiasm is part of a broader statewide trend, exacerbated by national political polarization, tariffs on foreign electric vehicles and declining Tesla sales. The company underperformed its quarterly sales by nearly 25% this year.

Once the face of the EV movement, Tesla has become politically charged since the 2024 election, with some buyers now viewing the brand as a partisan choice.

Read the full story here.

About the survey

LABarometer is a probability-based internet survey panel of about 2,000 Los Angeles County adults, managed by the USC Dornsife Center for Economic and Social Research. It tracks participants over time to capture trends and shifts in their attitudes and circumstances.

A total of 1,370 residents participated in the Mobility & Sustainability survey from Feb. 19 to April 27, 2025, providing insight into transportation habits, climate-related experiences and views on the 2028 Olympics.

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(Composite: Letty Avila; Image Source: iStock)