2021 Citizen Survey

The City conducts a statistically valid survey every two years to gauge citizen satisfaction and to garner input regarding quality of life, future initiatives, City services, and resource allocation. 

Results

Download the results

View the results online

Key highlights from the survey include:

  • 89% rated Rio Rancho as an excellent or good place to live;
  • 83% rated their overall quality of life in Rio Rancho as excellent or good;
  • 93% indicated they feel safe in their neighborhood;
  • 84% were pleased overall with police service;
  • 94% percent were pleased with fire, ambulance, and EMS service;
  • 80% percent were pleased with public library services; and
  • 70% percent were pleased with City parks and recreation opportunities.

In addition to asking similar questions every two years since 2015 for tracking purposes, the City also asked a series of custom questions as part of the 2021 survey for future ballot development/voter consideration purposes. Key highlights from this data include:

  • 90% support for requiring the elected Municipal Court Judge to have a law degree/license to practice law;
  • 83% support for the continuation of the public safety vehicles, equipment and facilities general obligation bond question, which would not raise taxes;
  • 88% support for the continuation of a roadway improvements general obligation bond question, which would not raise taxes;
  • 72% support for the creation of a Permanent Fund that would invest one-time funding sources and generate recurring additional funding, with no tax increase implications, over time to support public service needs; and
  • 81% support for a new quality of life (parks and libraries) general obligation bond question, which would not raise taxes.

How the Survey Was Conducted

This past summer, 2,700 households were randomly selected from Rio Rancho addresses provided by the United States Postal Service (USPS). Residents were asked to respond to a series of survey questions about Rio Rancho. The City conducted this survey to identify community strengths and weaknesses, establish benchmarks for tracking the quality of services provided to residents, and gain useful information for immediate and long-term planning.

Of the 2,700 surveys mailed out, 2,633 were able to be delivered by the USPS. Of that number, 399 surveys were completed and returned for a 15 percent response rate. This rate of return yielded a statistically valid survey of resident opinion that was random and representative of the entire community.

Measurements & Ratings

The data received compares the 2015, 2017, and 2019 survey results with the 2021 data. Data is also benchmarked against a database of results from hundreds of cities nationwide with populations smaller, the same, and larger than Rio Rancho.

National Citizen Survey

The City’s survey was conducted as part of The National Citizen Survey (NCS). The NCS is a collaborative effort between the National Research Center, Inc. (NRC) and Polco. The NRC developed the NCS to provide a statistically valid survey of resident opinions about community and services provided by local government.