The City of Durango reached out to residents for participation in a community satisfaction survey in the Summer of 2023. The survey was mailed to 3,000 households within the City of Durango. The survey was also available to residents through an online URL available to the public.
The National Community Survey was developed by National Research Center (NRC) at Polco. This scientific assessment measures community livability according to residents. It captures opinions on the economy, mobility, community design, utilities, safety, natural environment, inclusivity, engagement, and more.
The results comprehensively looked at the City of Durango's strengths, areas of improvement, and residents' priorities. As a result, city staff can compare Durango's data with more than 600 other communities around the nation.
"This is a very good data point to have, and it's important to understand that it's a data point that serves as a snapshot in time that we can reference back to show growth moving forward," Durango City Manager José Madrigal said.
Highlights from the survey:
- Natural environment is very important to Durango residents, as over 8 in 10 respondents said that they view the overall quality of Durango's natural environment to as an essential or very important area of focus in the years to come. On average 9 out of every 10 respondents reported that current overall quality of Durango's natural environment were either excellent or good, which is higher than the national benchmark.
- Durango residents reported that they feel safe, and experience a high quality of life. Eight out of 10 residents gave excellent or good ratings to Durango as a place to live. Safety services scored similarly to national benchmark percentages, with 95% of respondents saying that fire services are excellent or good, 87% saying that emergency medical services are excellent or good, and 74% saying that police services are excellent or good.
- Many aspects of Durango's local economy received positive reviews, but residents show some concerns about general affordability and their own economic outlook. Residents scored Durango higher than the national benchmarks as a place to visit and the vibrancy of its downtown and commercial areas. Durango scored lower than national benchmarks on overall cost of living and availability of affordable quality housing.
- Alternative forms of transportation are a community strength for Durango and are utilized at high rates by residents. In the last 12 months 86% of respondents indicated that had walked or biked instead of driving, and 76% said that they had carpooled with other adults instead of driving alone.