Mesa County 2026 Community Survey

Magellan Strategies is pleased to present the topline results of a text-to-web and online survey of 1,227 Mesa County residents. The interviews were conducted from June 18th to July 6th, 2026.

Mesa County residents gave the county moderate marks for service quality. Forty-nine percent rated county services as excellent or good, with 42% choosing good and 7% excellent, while 33% rated them fair and 15% poor. The county rated higher than the State of Colorado, which drew a 34% excellent or good rating, and the Federal Government, which drew 21%. On value for taxes paid, residents split closely, with 49% agreeing that Mesa County residents receive a good value in county services and programs and 46% disagreeing.

Views on the local economy were negative. Thirty percent of residents agreed that current economic conditions in Mesa County are satisfactory, while 69% disagreed, including 35% who strongly disagreed. Despite that, residents rated the county well against its peers. Sixty-seven percent said Mesa County is a better place to live than other counties in Colorado, 22% said it is worse, and 11% were unsure.

Most residents intend to stay. Seventy-eight percent said they were likely to remain in Mesa County for the next five years, and 56% said they would recommend living there. When rating specific attributes, 86% agreed Mesa County is a good place to visit, 81% agreed their neighborhood is a good place to live, and 74% agreed the county is a good place to live. Ratings were lower for the county as a place to raise children (54%) and as a place to work (48%).

Familiarity with county programs and services varied widely. The Mesa County Motor Vehicle Office was the most familiar, with 97% saying they were very or somewhat familiar, followed by the Landfill at 84% and the Fairgrounds at 77%. Familiarity dropped off for the Coroner at 32% and the Surveyor’s Office at 29%. On overall impressions, the Motor Vehicle Office drew the highest total positive rating at 63%, followed by the Landfill at 62%, while the Planning Department drew the lowest total positive rating at 12%.

When asked in their own words to identify the top issues the county should address, residents most often raised homelessness and the unhoused population, with responses split between calls for enforcement and camp removal and calls for shelters and services. Roads and road conditions were also common, including potholes, deferred maintenance, and specific trouble spots. Housing affordability and housing costs came up repeatedly, along with concerns that growth and development are outpacing infrastructure and water. Water scarcity, traffic and enforcement, cost of living and wages, crime and public safety, taxes and government spending, and mental health and substance abuse services rounded out the most frequent topics.

Residents assessed how the county operates and communicates. Sixty-eight percent agreed that county employees provide excellent customer service, and 57% agreed that residents have easy access to services and departments. Agreement was lower on statements about the county providing adequate support for vulnerable residents at 20% and adequate support for mental health and substance abuse programs at 18%. Fifty-three percent disagreed that residents have a voice in identifying areas that need improvement. For preferred communication outlets, the Mesa County website led at 60%, followed by direct mail at 44% and Facebook at 42%.

Fiscal management ranked as a top concern. Ninety-four percent said it was very or somewhat important that the county show it is managing taxpayer money responsibly by adopting a balanced budget that does not rely on reserve funds, with 78% calling it very important. When rating priority areas on a 1 to 10 scale, financial responsibility with public funds drew the highest very important rating (60%), followed by public safety (48%) and air and water quality (46%). Housing development and broadband connectivity ranked lower, at 32% and 24% very important.

On the pace of growth, 75% said job growth was too slow, and 50% said retail growth was too slow, while 65% said population growth was too fast. Residential housing growth drew a split, with 47% saying it was too slow and 33% saying it was too fast. Trail and park use was high, with 89% of residents saying they use trails or parks in Mesa County. In the past 12 months, 21% visited a county park two times a week or more, and 39% visited once a month or less, while 84% never used the bus or other public transportation and 74% never attended a county town hall or Round Robin event.