This story by Kyle Rojas Legleiter appeared on the Colorado Health Foundation website on July 17, 2024. We are sharing it in two parts. Read the original article here.
From its iconic signage welcoming residents and guests to ‘Colorful Colorado,’ residents’ growing concerns about housing affordability and rising costs of living across the state are writing an alarmingly less attractive state brand, highlighting a ‘Costly Colorado.’
Nearly nine out of 10 respondents (89%) to this year’s Colorado Health Foundation Pulse Poll, rated the issue of housing affordability as an extreme or very serious problem. Concerns about housing affordability and the cost of living are higher than at any other time in the five-year history of the poll.
A bipartisan team of researchers collected responses from 2,404 Coloradans between May 20 and June 24, 2024, which revealed these issues were, once again, at the top of the list of concerns for most Coloradans. In addition, the persistent challenges tied to housing and daily living expenses are driving their feelings and choices on tough issues like healthcare coverage, and their ability to create financial stability now and for the future.
Since 2020, concerns about the cost of housing as an extreme or very serious problem have risen from 67% to 89% of the respondents, with a clear 60% majority now saying it is an extremely serious problem, up from 51% in 2023 and just 37% in 2020.
Related, the overall cost of living was rated an extremely serious or very serious problem by 86% of those surveyed, up a percent from a year prior. Homelessness ranked third in the problems facing the state with 79% saying it is an extremely or very serious concern, while the cost of healthcare came in fourth at 68%.
“This year’s Pulse Poll results don’t just show that Coloradans perceive housing issues as a problem — they see them as a crisis,” said Dave Metz, Democratic pollster for Pulse and president of FM3 Research. “Nearly nine in 10 rate the cost of housing as a ‘very serious’ problem — more than say the same for any other issue, even the cost of living overall.”
Consistent with the results from prior years, in an open-ended question asking for the most important issues facing the state, respondents also called out the cost of living and housing affordability as the top two issues. Those feelings were corroborated when they were asked to rate the seriousness of several potential problems facing the state. Concerns about the cost of housing increased 6% in the last year with a 9% increase in people saying it is an “extremely serious” problem. All four of the top cited issues continue to relate to housing and the increasing costs of living. Since the earliest years of the pandemic, the percentage of people concerned about these issues dramatically increased and those concerns have continued to increase and intensify.
Calling Colorado home comes into question
Even among respondents who say they are “living comfortably” financially, concerns about the cost of housing persist. Many Coloradans continue to doubt their ability to own homes and their children’s ability to afford living in Colorado in the long term. In addition, respondents reported having to make hard choices and sacrifices about everyday needs, including healthcare, food and paying their other bills.
Of those who said they are living comfortably, a surprising 83% said they are concerned about the cost of housing, with about half (49%) saying it’s a serious problem in the state. Thirty-four percent of all respondents are worried that they might lose their home, have to downgrade their home or move in the coming year because they can’t afford the monthly rent or mortgage. For those who report they are really struggling financially, that number spikes to 80%, and for renters, it is 54%.
Among the concerning results of the Pulse Poll over the past few years are respondents questioning whether Colorado can remain home for them or for future generations of their families.
“Looking forward, Coloradans are worried that things will get worse before they get better – both for themselves and their children,” added Metz.
- 90% of renters aspire to own a home, but a majority do not think it’s likely they will ever be able to purchase a home in Colorado.
- 71% of people are worried they will not be able to afford to live in Colorado in the future, and that number spikes to 90% for current renters, 87% for people ages 18-29, 85% for people living on low incomes, and African American respondents.
- 90% of Coloradans worry about whether their children will be able to afford to live in Colorado in the future.
When it comes to paying rent and mortgage costs, many Coloradans are making hard choices that may have negative impacts on their overall health and well-being.
- 34% said they are working multiple jobs or more than they want to.
- Among renters, 32% have avoided asking their landlord to address problems because they feared having their rent increase or being evicted.
- Notably, the number of people saying they rent from a large management company, versus an individual or family member, increased by 11% since 2023 to 55% in 2024.
- 30% of respondents have cut back or gone without other needs, like food or health care.
- 27% have fallen behind on other bills or payments.
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