A study released Wednesday on life in Santa Clara County shows that while the majority of people are satisfied with their quality of life, financial and economic issues are also a major source of stress.

According to the 2012 Santa Clara County Community Assessment Project's findings, 94 to 96 percent of county residents said they were "very satisfied" or "somewhat satisfied" with their overall quality of life.

Regardless of income or ethnicity, about 60 percent of county residents surveyed on the phone said they felt stress related to finances and between 28 and 41 percent of residents also said that they live in neighborhoods that lack a strong sense of community, according to the study.

The 2012 Santa Clara County Community Assessment Project's findings were based on more than 80 community discussions that included about 500 people, phone interviews with 1,200 randomly selected residents and 3,100 people's response to an online survey.

The study also found that many people felt that community changes were up to residents, rather than government and other institutions, according to the study's executive summary.

The coalition that conducted the study was organized by United Way Silicon Valley.

It was conducted in a number of languages spoken by county residents, including English, Spanish, Vietnamese and Mandarin.

"This effort resulted in a complex set of data that reflects the complexities of our community," said the Community Assessment Project Chair, Vanessa Cooper.

The results of the study were presented at the Microsoft Corporation office late this morning in Mountain View.

All the information gathered for the project is available at www.scc-cap.org.

— Bay City News Service

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