Loveland survey finds high marks for utilities and arts but persistent worries about economy and housing affordability

Loveland City staff on Tuesday presented results of the 2024 National Community Survey, telling the City Council that residents gave the city high marks for utilities, parks and support for the arts while expressing continuing concern about the local economy and housing affordability. Nicole Yost, the city’s communications and engagement director, introduced the findings and said staff will publish the full report on the city’s community-survey webpage and use the results in strategic planning and future engagement.

Brandon Barnett, senior survey associate with Polco/National Research Center, described the survey design and methodology and said the mailed random sample drew from 4,000 addresses. “A total of 622 completed surveys were received from these efforts, providing a response rate of 16% and a margin of error plus or minus 4 percentage points,” Barnett said during his presentation, noting that the results were weighted against census and ACS benchmarks to improve representativeness. Barnett also described an open participation option publicized by the city; the presentation slides show 914 open-participation responses reported separately from the random sample.

Survey highlights included strong resident satisfaction with drinking water, sewer services, stormwater management and Loveland Water & Power, and high ratings for the city’s library, parks and arts opportunities. Barnett told council that “nearly 8 in 10 residents celebrated Loveland as a place to live” and that about 80% of respondents said they were likely to remain in Loveland for the next five years.

At the same time, the survey identified lower ratings for overall economic health, employment opportunities and several measures related to safety and code enforcement. Barnett said fewer than half of respondents rated Loveland’s economic health favorably and that only about 2 in 10 respondents found the cost of living satisfactory — findings that echo residents’ written comments.

Councilors pressed staff on representativeness and sample skew. “There’s a couple of things that suggest the survey might be a little skewed,” Councilor Olsen said, noting the presentation’s slide showing roughly 85% of respondents reported voting in the last local election while turnout estimates for the eligible population are lower. Barnett replied that response-rate percentages can be misleading and that the sample was sized and weighted to produce estimates with a stated margin of error, saying the company aims for a minimum number of responses rather than a raw participation rate alone.

Nicole Yost said the city paid about $26,000 for the two-year survey contract and platform access, and that staff plan more targeted engagement in 2025 and 2026 to dig deeper into topics flagged by this year’s results. The council encouraged staff to return with specific outreach plans, to share results widely and to use the findings to inform council retreats and budget discussions.

The full report and supporting materials are to be posted on the city’s community-survey page; staff said they will include the findings in the December city update and will return with proposals for follow-up engagement and targeted analysis.