Survey Methods#

The 2024 City of Fort Collins Community Survey provided residents the opportunity to rate the quality of life in Fort Collins, as well as the quality of service delivery and overall workings of local government. The survey also permitted residents to provide feedback on parks and recreation satisfaction and needs, and to share their priorities for community planning and resource allocation.

Surveys were mailed to 4,400 randomly selected resident households in April 2024. A total of 557 surveys were completed, yielding a response rate of 13%. In addition to the scientific survey of randomly selected households, a link to an online, community-wide, open participation survey was publicized through various community channels. This open participation survey was identical to the scientific survey and open to all Fort Collins residents. A total of 521 online surveys were completed, yielding a total count of 1,078 survey responses.

Survey results were weighted so that respondent gender, age, housing type (attached or detached), housing tenure (rent or own), race, and geographic location were represented in proportions reflective of the entire adult population of the city. The margin of error is plus or minus three percentage points around any given percentage point reported for all survey respondents.

Because Fort Collins has administered resident surveys before, some comparisons could be made between 2024 responses and those from previous survey iterations. To simplify and focus the results, the body of the report presents data from 2013 to 2024.

Fort Collins also elected to have its results compared to those of other jurisdictions across the nation and in the Front Range of Colorado. Comparisons are made possible through a national benchmark database created and maintained by Polco/National Research Center (NRC). This database contains resident perspectives gathered in resident surveys from over 500 jurisdictions over the past five years.

Key Findings#

Fort Collins residents continue to enjoy an excellent quality of life, but housing affordability is a concern.

• Fort Collins residents continue to rate the quality of life highly, with 83% awarding very good orgood marks in 2024. While this rating has slowly declined since the survey was first conducted in2013, the current 83% rating is similar to the national and Front Range benchmark comparisons.
• Residents also assessed other aspects related to quality of life in the city. About 9 in 10 respondentspositively rated Fort Collins as a place to live, and about 8 in 10 gave high marks to the city as aplace to attend college and as a place to raise children. About two-thirds rated the quality of publicschools and Fort Collins as a place to retire as either very good or good, and about 6 in 10 positivelyrated the openness and acceptance of the community toward people of diverse backgrounds.
• Ratings for affordability in the community tended to be lower. Fewer than 2 in 10 residents gavevery good or good ratings to the availability of affordable quality childcare, and fewer than 1 in 10positively rated Fort Collins in terms of the availability of affordable quality housing.
• In a question asking residents to identify in their own words the one item or focus area the cityshould work to improve upon in the next few years, housing issues (cost, availability, etc.) were, asin the previous survey, the most mentioned priority.

While residents feel safe overall in the city, feelings of safety at night and while utilizing Transfort might be areas of improvement.

• About 8 in 10 respondents rated the overall feeling of safety in Fort Collins as very good or good,which was on par with the rating of 2022 and 2023. Fort Collins ranked similar to the Front Rangeand national averages for overall safety of community members.
• Survey respondents were also asked to rate how safe they felt in various areas in the community. Atleast 9 in 10 residents reported that they always or usually felt safe in their neighborhood duringthe day, in Fort Collins overall during the day, in downtown Fort Collins during the day, and whenvisiting recreation facilities. About 8 in 10 respondents also indicated that they felt always or usuallysafe in parks, in natural areas/open spaces, in their neighborhood at night, and on trails. About two-thirds felt safe in Fort Collins overall at night and in downtown Fort Collins at night, while about 6in 10 felt at least usually safe on the Transfort/MAX. All ratings were on par with 2023 ratings exceptfor safety in recreation facilities, which increased since last year.

City parks, recreation, and cultural opportunities remain highly valued by residents.

• About 9 in 10 residents rated the quality of recreational opportunities in Fort Collins as very goodor good, on par with previous years. More than 8 in 10 residents gave high marks to the quality ofpublic library services, also similarly to previous years. The quality of arts and cultural opportunitiesincreased notably, from 56% in 2022 to 64% in 2024.
• Residents also provided their opinions about a number of City parks, recreational and culturalprograms, and facilities in Fort Collins. Among the highest rated parks and recreation items weretrails, natural areas and open space, parks overall, and the Gardens on Spring Creek. Each of theseprograms/facilities was rated positively by at least 9 in 10 respondents.
• Residents boasted about the visual attractiveness of Fort Collins, with about 9 in 10 assigning goodor very good scores, exceeding comparisons across the Front Range and nation. Around 7 in 10respondents positively appraised conservation efforts while over 6 in 10 were pleased with air qualityand recycling programs. Other than the rating for air quality, which improved 9 points year overyear, participants’ reviews for aspects of the environment remained stable from 2022 to 2023.

The local economy is robust, but residents would like to see more job opportunities in the city.

• About 7 in 10 residents favorably rated the city as a place to work, consistent with prior years. FortCollins ranked higher than the Front Range benchmark and similar to the national benchmark as aplace to work.
• Survey participants were also asked to rate several community aspects of economic health. About 7in 10 respondents positively rated the availability of quality healthcare, which was similar to 2023,but represented a 12 point decrease since 2021. About 6 in 10 residents gave very good or goodmarks to the quality of dining opportunities, the quality of entertainment opportunities, and thequality of shopping opportunities in the city. However, only about 4 in 10 positively rated theavailability of job opportunities in Fort Collins.

Residents appreciate City employees and many aspects of City services.

• About three-quarters of survey respondents rated the overall quality of City services as either verygood or good. This rating was similar to the ratings given in 2022 and 2023, but when evaluatinglonger-term trends, evaluations have slowly declined since the survey was first conducted in 2013.
• About 6 in 10 residents positively rated the City for respecting all community members regardlessof their background and orientations, encouraging sustainability in the community, the overalldirection of the City, and the efficient operation of programs and services. Meanwhile, about halfpraise Fort Collins for creating a welcoming, inclusive community and for welcoming communitymember involvement.
• Similarly to 2023, about 6 in 10 residents reported having contact with a City employee within the12 months prior to the survey. Those who had contact with a City employee were asked to ratevarious aspects of their interaction. Nearly 9 in 10 rated the courtesy of the City employee as eithervery good or good. Additionally, 8 in 10 positively rated the knowledge, promptness, and overallimpression of their interaction with the employee. About 7 in 10 gave high marks to the Cityemployee making them feel valued. All of these ratings were on par with previous years.

Public information ratings have declined over the long term, possibly as a result of shifting resident preferences in receiving information.

• About 4 in 10 residents positively rated the City for informing community members. The rating hasbeen steadily decreasing since the survey was first conducted in 2013.
• About 9 in 10 residents reported using the City’s website or word of mouth as information sourcesfor City issues while at least 7 in 10 indicated that they had used social media, the “Recreator”, orTracks and Trails for information. Further, more than half of respondents reported use of thenewspaper, newsletter/brochures from City departments, or City employees/departments forinformation.
• Asked to indicate their top three methods for receiving information from the City, nearly 6 in 10respondents indicated that one of their top preferred methods was the City’s website, while about4 in 10 selected social media as a preferred method. Further about one-quarter chose the newspaperand word of mouth. Among the least preferred methods

Survey Background#

The City of Fort Collins contracted with Polco to conduct a community-wide resident survey. The primary goal of the survey was to assess the attitudes and opinions of residents by:

• Evaluating City programs and services.
• Determining general perceptions of the quality of life in Fort Collins.
• Comparing survey results to other communities across the nation.
• Establishing trendlines to measure government performance over time.

The City of Fort Collins Community Survey serves as a consumer report card for Fort Collins by providing residents the opportunity to rate the quality of life in the City, as well as the community’s amenities, service delivery and their satisfaction with local government. Residents also provide feedback on what is working well and what is not and communicate their priorities for community planning and resource allocation.

Focus on the quality-of-service delivery helps City leaders, staff, and the public to set priorities for budget decisions and lays the groundwork for tracking community opinions about the core responsibilities of the City of Fort Collins government, helping to assure maximum service quality over time.

This type of survey gets at the key services that local government controls to create a quality community. It is akin to private sector customer surveys that are used regularly by many corporations to monitor where there are weaknesses in product or service delivery before customers defect to competition or before other problems from dissatisfied customers arise.

This is the 15th iteration of the City of Fort Collins Community Survey since the baseline study conducted in 2001.

Survey Administration#

2024 Survey Administration & Responses - Fast Facts:

• 4,400 household surveys mailed (144 returned undeliverable; 3.27% rate)
• 557 total responses received (225 on paper and 332 online); 13% response rate
• 521 additional non-probability, open participation (opt in) responses
• 1078 total survey responses
• Survey was available online in Spanish; 2 responses received
• 8% of survey respondents self-identified as Hispanic/Latinx/Spanish origin.
• 95% confidence interval with +/- 3% margin of error

A postcard was mailed to 4,400 Fort Collins households, selected at random, notifying residents that they had been chosen to participate in the survey. A paper copy of the survey followed in the mail after one week. Both mailings included a web link so that residents could take the survey online, if desired. The survey was also available online in Spanish. All mailing contained instructions in Spanish on how to access the online survey.

There were 557 respondents to the mailed questionnaire, yielding a response rate of 13%. In addition to the scientific, random sample, a link to an online “opt-in” survey was publicized through various community channels. This opt-in survey was identical to the scientific survey and open to all Fort Collins residents. A total of 521 online surveys were completed, yielding a total count of 1,078 survey responses. There were two completed surveys in Spanish. The margin of error is plus or minus three percentage points around any given percentage for all respondents.

Survey results were weighted so that respondent gender, age, housing type (attached or detached), housing tenure (rent or own), race, and geographic location were represented in proportions reflective of the entire adult population of the city.

How the Results Are Reported#

For the most part, the full set of frequencies or the “percent positive” are presented in the body and narrative of the report. The percent positive is the combination of the top two most positive response options (i.e., “very good” and “good,” “very safe” and ‘somewhat safe,” ‘strongly support” and ‘somewhat support,” etc.).

On many of the questions in the survey, respondents could give an answer of “don’t know.” The proportion of respondents giving this reply is shown in the full set of responses included in Appendix B: Complete Survey Frequencies and is discussed in the body of this report if it is 30% or greater. However, these responses have been removed from the analyses presented in the body of the report, unless otherwise indicated. In other words, the majority of the tables and graphs in the body of the report display the responses from respondents who had an opinion about a specific item.

For some questions, respondents were permitted to select multiple responses. When the total exceeds 100% in a table for a multiple response question, it is because some respondents are counted in multiple categories. When a table for a question that only permitted, a single response does not total to exactly 100%, it is due to the customary practice rounding values to the nearest whole number.

Precision of Estimates#

It is customary to describe the precision of estimates made from surveys by a “level of confidence” and accompanying “confidence interval” (or margin of error). The margin of error for this survey is generally no greater than plus or minus three percentage points around any given percent reported for the entire sample (N=1,078).

Comparison of Results Over Time and By Subgroups#

Because this survey was the 15th iteration of the Fort Collins Community Survey, the 2024 results are presented along with past ratings when available. To simplify and focus the results, the body of the report presents data from 2013 to 2023, when available. The full set of trends can be found in Appendix F: Comparisons of Survey Results by Year. Differences between years can be considered “statistically significant” if they are plus or minus three points on the 100-point scale or are plus or minus five percentage points or more around any given percent.

Selected survey results were compared by respondent characteristics as well as two ways of subdividing the geographic location of respondent households: geographic area (Northeast, East Central, Southeast, Northwest, West Central, and Southwest) and the six Council Districts. The full set of results by demographic characteristics and geographic areas can be found and are discussed in Appendix D: Responses to Selected Survey Questions by Respondent Characteristics. For each pair of subgroups that has a statistically significant difference, an upper-case letter denoting significance is shown in the category with the larger column proportion.

Comparing Survey Results to Other Communities#

Polco’s database of comparative resident opinion comprises resident perspectives gathered in resident surveys from approximately 500 communities whose residents evaluated their services. National benchmark comparisons and Front Range benchmark comparisons have been provided when similar questions on the Fort Collins survey are included in Polco’s database, and there were at least five communities in which the question was asked.

Where comparisons for quality ratings were available, Fort Collins’s results were generally noted as being “higher” than the benchmark, “lower” than the benchmark or ‘similar” to the benchmark. In instances where ratings are considerably higher or lower than the benchmark, these ratings have been further demarcated by the attribute of “much,” (for example, “much lower” or “much higher”).

These labels come from a comparison of Fort Collins’ rating to the benchmark where a rating is considered ‘similar” if it is within the standard margin of error (10 points or less on the 100-point scale); “higher” or “lower” if the difference between Fort Collins’ rating and the benchmark is greater than 10 points but 20 points or less; and “much higher” or “much lower” if the difference between Fort Collins’ rating and the benchmark is more than twice the standard margin of error (greater than 20 points). Comparisons for a number of items in the survey are not available in the benchmark database. These items are excluded from the benchmark tables.

Downloadable Report#

The complete 2024 Community Survey report is available for download below. The report includes detailed results and cross analyses of the data to show how different segments of the population feel about the community. For example, results can be compared by: respondent length of residency; age; race/ethnicity; and geographical area.  

Please note this report includes graphs and elements that are not fully ADA accessible. If you need assistance viewing or reading anything in this document, please call 970-221-6515 (V/TDD: Dial 711 for Relay Colorado) for assistance, or contact the City's ADA Coordinator at  970-416-4254.

Accommodation requests can be submitted online using the form below, or print and mail the completed form and send to City of Fort Collins, attn: Title VI Coordinator, 300 Laporte Avenue, Building A, Fort Collins 80521.

• ADA/Accessibility Complaint Form This link opens in a new browser tab(Online; English)
• ADA/Accessibility Complaint Form This link opens in a new browser tab(Online; Español)

Download the full report