Boulder County 2025 Community Survey

Magellan Strategies is pleased to present the topline results of a text-to-web and online survey of 1,574 Boulder County residents. The interviews were conducted from November 13th to November 24th, 2025.

When asked in their own words to name the top two or three issues Boulder County should address over the next two or three years, residents most often raised housing affordability and availability, citing high rent and mortgage costs, a shortage of middle-income housing, and restrictive zoning. Homelessness and related safety concerns were also common, with references to encampments, drug activity, and mental-health needs, and many respondents asked for a coordinated long-term strategy that balances enforcement with supportive services. The overall cost of living, taxes and government spending, and traffic and transportation also came up frequently. Additional themes included road and infrastructure conditions, bike and pedestrian safety, open space and trails, public safety and crime, and public transit reliability.

Most residents rated Boulder County favorably as a place to live compared to other counties in Colorado. Seventy-five percent said it was a better place to live, including 33% who called it much better and 42% somewhat better. Seventeen percent said it was a worse place to live, with 5% saying much worse and 12% somewhat worse, and 8% were unsure or had no opinion.

Views on the county’s direction were more divided. Thirty-three percent said Boulder County is headed in the right direction, 40% said things are off on the wrong track, and 27% were unsure. Residents who felt the county was on the right track pointed to quality of life and the natural environment, investments in infrastructure and public spaces, social services and progressive values, responsive local government, and a sense of safety and community cohesion. Those who felt things were on the wrong track cited housing costs and overdevelopment, homelessness and open drug use, the cost of living and taxes, crime and enforcement, and frustration with county management and infrastructure.

On the value of county services relative to taxes, 55% of residents agreed that Boulder County residents receive good value for what they pay in taxes, including 15% who strongly agreed and 40% who somewhat agreed. Thirty-eight percent disagreed, split evenly between 19% who strongly disagreed and 19% who somewhat disagreed. Seven percent were unsure or had no opinion. When asked which services local government provides are most important, residents most often named public safety, parks and trails, road maintenance and transportation, social and human services, and education.

Residents rated several aspects of quality of life. Eighty-three percent rated their neighborhood as an excellent or good place to live, 79% rated Boulder County as a place to live, and 76% rated the overall quality of life in the county. Ratings were lower for Boulder County as a place to raise children (60%), the openness and acceptance of diverse people (53%), and the county as a place to work (51%). The overall sense of community drew a 47% excellent or good rating, and the county as a place to retire drew 46%. On county government performance, 58% rated the quality of services as excellent or good, 49% rated ease of access, 45% rated communication of events and programs, and 44% rated opportunities for community engagement.

Familiarity with county programs varied widely. Ninety-six percent of residents were very or somewhat familiar with Parks and Open Space and 88% with the motor vehicle office, while familiarity dropped to 25% for Workforce Development and 20% for the Coroner. Impressions followed a similar pattern. Parks and Open Space drew the highest total positive rating at 81%, followed by the motor vehicle office at 57% and the Fairgrounds at 51%, while the Coroner, Treasurer, and Community Planning and Permitting drew the lowest positive ratings at 8%, 10%, and 13%.

On the Board of County Commissioners, 29% of residents approved of the job they are doing, 31% disapproved, and 40% were unsure or had no opinion. Approval broke down to 4% strongly approve and 25% somewhat approve, while disapproval was 13% strongly disapprove and 18% somewhat disapprove. Agreement with statements about the Commissioners ranged from 29% who agreed they are spending time on things that help the community to 17% who agreed they prioritize transparency. On the Board’s strategic priorities, residents rated Good Governance most important with a mean of 8.43, followed by Economic Security and Social Stability at 7.84 and Climate Action and Environmental Stewardship at 7.33.

On the county’s progress toward its strategic priorities, 43% rated progress on Climate Action and Environmental Stewardship as excellent or good, 28% rated Good Governance, and 18% rated Economic Security and Social Stability. On growth, 44% of residents said residential housing growth was too fast and 38% said it was too slow, while 62% said population growth was too fast and 8% said it was too slow. For news and information about the county, word of mouth was the top preferred source at 79%, followed by the county website at 76%. Thirty-five percent of residents recalled receiving the Community Connections magazine in the mail; among those who recalled it, 52% said they learned something new about county government and 82% read the print version.