What Would Hank Hill Do? How Neighborly Are We Before and During the Pandemic, Study Asks

As residents stay close to home during the pandemic, we’re left mostly communicating with neighbors, just like we’re living an episode of King of the Hill.

We’re like Hank Hill, hanging out with our pals in a suburban Texas, hanging out in his back alley, sipping Alamo beers, and belching out a “yep” to keep the conversation flowing.

If this is you, you might have played a role in an ImproveNet study on America’s Most Friendly Neighbors. ImproveNet, an Evanston, Ill.-based site focusing on home-improvement tips, surveyed 2,500 Americans to learn more about how neighbors are getting along both before and during the pandemic.

To see how cities got along, ImproveNet’s surveyors asked which, among two dozen of the country’s most populous cities, is home to the most- and least-friendly neighbors (and the most- and least-helpful neighbors). Dallas held its own, according to respondents.

• 56 percent say they socialize with their neighbors frequently.
• 57 percent say they offered help to their neighbors during the pandemic.
• 37 percent say they socialized with their neighbors for two-plus hours during the pandemic.

Not exactly Hank mingling with Boomhauer, Dale, and Bill, talking yard work and propane and propane accessories but encouraging nonetheless.

Austin ranked higher than Dallas in all three categories, which probably wouldn’t sit well with Hank Hill because he considered Austin strictly hipster. Houston residents ranked second in offering help with 83 percent admitting they pitched in to help their neighbors.

The survey’s general findings:

• 69 percent of Americans have gotten to know their neighbors better during the pandemic while 65 percent have made an effort to be more friendly than usual.
• 57 percent say neighbors have helped fill the void of visiting with friends and family during the pandemic.
• 54 percent say they’ve had at least one socially distanced gathering with neighbors.
• 67 percent have offered help of some sort to their neighbors and 62 percent say they’ve received the same offer in return during the pandemic.

ImproveNet also wanted to access varied experiences residents have in cities where populations are denser versus in suburbs where neighbors have more elbow room and alley fences.

Fifty-seven percent of respondents identified with living in a city and 43 percent in the suburbs or exurbs. Surprisingly, city residents claimed to be more neighborly. In the categories of “frequent socializing with neighbors” and “made effort to be more friendly”, city folk scored higher than suburbanites.

Really? Those are the kinds of findings that would make Hank Hill say: “Got-dang it!”