The City of Rio Rancho’s 2021 Citizen Survey results indicated most participants are pleased with the city and its services.

Survey results are available at rrnm.gov/2021survey. 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.

“The results of this year’s survey show that most residents have a positive view and outlook about Rio Rancho and local government, and tremendous progress has been made since the 2015 survey was conducted,” said Rio Rancho Mayor Gregg Hull.

Key highlights from the data include:

  • 89 percent rated Rio Rancho as an excellent or good place to live;
  • 83 percent rated their overall quality of life in Rio Rancho as excellent or good;
  • 93 percent indicated they feel safe in their neighborhood;
  • 84 percent were pleased overall with police service;
  • 94 percent were pleased with fire, ambulance and emergency medical 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 percent support for requiring the elected municipal court judge to have a law degree/license to practice law;
  • 83 percent support the continuation of the public-safety vehicles, equipment and facilities general obligation bond question, which would not raise taxes;
  • 88 percent support the continuation of a roadway improvements general obligation bond question, which would not raise taxes;
  • 72 percent support for the creation of a permanent fund that would invest one-time funding and generate recurring additional funding, with no tax increase implications, over time to support public-service needs; and
  • 81 percent support for a new quality-of-life (parks and libraries) general obligation bond question, which would not raise taxes.

“When I came into office around the time of the first survey in 2015, resident confidence in the economic well-being of Rio Rancho as well as overall confidence and trust in local government was low,” Hull said. “However, with staff and the city council listening to community input, making appropriate policy decisions and making changes where necessary, and acting in a transparent manner, residents’ confidence in their local government and trust in the direction our city is taking has increased significantly in numerous ways. While we will continue to work on areas of improvement, these results clearly show why Rio Rancho is recognized nationally as a best place to live and that we continue to head in the right direction.”

 

How the Survey Was Conducted

This past summer, 2,700 households were randomly selected from Rio Rancho addresses provided by the U.S. Postal Service. Residents were asked to respond to a series of 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 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 as and larger than Rio Rancho.

 

National Citizen Survey

The city’s survey was conducted as part of The National Citizen Survey. The NCS is a collaborative effort between the National Research Center Inc. and Polco.

The NRC developed the NCS to provide a statistically valid survey of resident opinions about community and services provided by local government.