2017 National Citizen Survey

Each year, Denver is one of 350 communities across the country that participates in a survey measuring the quality of life for residents. The 2017 National Citizen Survey (NCS) is snapshot in time about how Denver residents from across geographical areas, ethnicities, and ages feel about their city.

The survey, conducted in English and Spanish during December 2017 and January 2018, captured opinions within three primary pillars of a community: community characteristics, governance, and participation. The 2017 survey covered eight community pillars:

• Safety
• Mobility
• Natural Environment
• Built Environment
• Economy
• Recreationand Wellness
• Education and Enrichment
• Community Engagement

Within the pillar of Community Characteristics, a few aspects were trending down and several were trending up in 2017 compared to 2016. Denver residents gave higher marks to safety downtown, the overall quality of new development, employment opportunities, vibrant downtown, health care, mental health care and adult education while giving lower marks to the overall ease of travel, the availability of paths and walking trails and the overall natural environment in 2017.

Approval remains high for the following areas (actual percentage of approval shown):

• Place to live (86%)
• Public libraries (83%)
• City parks (83%)
• Feeling of safety in neighborhoods (86%)
• Recreational Opportunities (80%)
• Cultural/arts/music activities (78%)

Ratings dipped in these areas (percentage showed as a decrease):

• Overall ease of travel (-4%)
• Paths and walking trails (-5%)
• Overall natural environment (-4%)
• Services provided by the federal government (-7%)

• Community Liveability Report (pdf, 380k)
• Trends Over Time (pdf, 818k)
• Technical Appendices (pdf, 2.3M)
• Open-End Report (pdf, 687k)
• Geographic Crosstabs (pdf, 637k)
• Demographic Crosstabs (pdf, 670k)
• Dashboard (pdf, 367k)