Colorado Voters Worry State Becoming Too Crowded

NumbersUSA 

June 2022 Poll of 1,024 Colorado Likely Voters

Rasmussen Reports

How would you rate the job Joe Biden has been doing as President… do you strongly approve, somewhat approve, somewhat disapprove, or strongly disapprove of the job he’s been doing?

 

18% strongly approve

20% somewhat approve

9% somewhat disapprove

48% strongly disapprove

4% not sure

 

The U.S. Department of Agriculture calculates that Colorado, over the last four decades, has turned more than 1,250 square miles of Open Space, natural habitat, and agricultural land into housing, shopping malls, streets and other urban development.  On balance, has this made Colorado a better place to live, a worse place to live or did it not have much effect?

 

14% better
62% worse
19% did not have much effect
6% not sure

 

Has Colorado developed too much, too little, or about as much as it should?

 

61% too much
8% too little
31% about right

Government data show that the United States now has about one-third less cropland for each American than it did 30 years ago.  How important is it to protect U.S. farmland from development so the United States is able to produce enough food to feed its own human population in the future? 

76% very important
18% somewhat important
4% not very important

0% not at all important

2% not sure

If recent trends continue, Colorado demographers project that the state's human population of 5.8 million will grow by another 1.8 million by 2050, joining Colorado Springs, Denver and Fort Collins together into a single "mega-city." Do you find this prospect to be more positive or more negative?

 

13% more positive

76% more negative

11% not sure

If Colorado adds another 1.8 million residents, do you expect traffic to become much worse or would the government be able to build enough extra transportation capacity to accommodate the extra residents without more congestion?

 

81% traffic will become much worse

13% the government could accommodate the extra residents without more congestion

6% not sure

Colorado cities compete for scarce water with the agricultural industry, which relies on irrigation for most of its cropland. Should water used to cultivate crops be diverted to support additional human population growth?

 

15% water should be diverted from agriculture to support more residents

71% water should not be diverted from agriculture to support more residents

15% not sure

 

Colorado is a mostly arid state with limited water in its streams and rivers. Is it more important for the remaining level of water in streams and rivers to be used to support wildlife habitat, fish and birds, or is it more important to use the remaining water in Colorado streams to support the projected increase of residents in the state?

 

76% water should be kept in streams to support wildlife

11% water in streams should be used to support more residents

13% not sure

 

From an environmental standpoint how important is it to preserve Colorado's mountains, native grasslands, rivers, forests, and canyons? 

 

78% very important
17% somewhat important
2% not very important

1% not at all important

2% not sure

How important is it to you that you can easily get to Natural Areas and Open Space? 

 

63% very important
26% somewhat important
7% not very important

2% not at all important

2% not sure

 

A study of government data found that 86% or more of the depletion of Colorado’s Open Space, natural habitat, and farmland in recent decades was related to Colorado's rapid population growth. Would continuing this level of population growth into the future make Colorado better, worse or not much different?

 

8% better
76% worse
11% not much different
6% not sure

 

"In recent years, have you sensed that Colorado's cities, parks, neighborhoods, schools, and roads have become much more crowded, somewhat more crowded, somewhat less crowded, or much less crowded?

 

65% much more crowded

28% somewhat more crowded

2% somewhat less crowded

1% much less crowded

5% not sure

 

Colorado's population has approximately doubled since 1980. Would you prefer that Colorado’s population continue to rapidly grow, that it grow more slowly, that it stay about the same size, or that it become smaller?   

 

7% continue to grow rapidly

31% grow more slowly

27% stay about the same

32% become smaller

3% not sure

A major source of Colorado’s population growth is people moving in from other states, especially California. Should local and state governments in Colorado make it more difficult for people to move to Colorado from other states by restricting development?

 

63% yes

17% no

19% not sure

 

Another major source of Colorado’s population growth is immigration from other countries.  Should the federal government reduce annual immigration to slow down Colorado's population growth, keep immigration and population growth at the current level, or increase annual immigration and population growth? 

 

53% reduce annual immigration

31% keep immigration at its current level

8% increase immigration

8% not sure

 

Currently, the federal government adds about one million legal permanent immigrants to the country each year.  What annual level would you prefer:  increase to two million or more per year, increase to one and a half million, keep it at around one million, reduce it to a half-million, or reduce it to 100,000 or less? 

 

7% two million or more

10% one and a half million

27% one million

21% half a million

22% 100 thousand or less

13% not sure

 

One way to handle continued population growth without losing as much Open Space, natural habitat, and farmland in Colorado is to change zoning and other regulations to channel more current and future residents into apartments and condo buildings instead of single-family houses with yards. Do you strongly favor that change, somewhat favor it, somewhat oppose it or strongly oppose it?

 

17% strongly favor

31% somewhat favor

22% somewhat oppose

20% strongly oppose

10% not sure

 

Do you live in a major city, the suburbs, a small city, a town or a rural area?

 

20% major city

22% suburbs

16% small city

11% town

19% rural area

1% not sure

 

Where would you prefer to live – in a major city, the suburbs, a small city, a town or a rural area?

 

10% major city

23% suburbs

19% small city

15% town

31% rural area

3% not sure

 

Have you lived in Colorado since childhood or did you move to Colorado as an adult?

 

60% since childhood

40% moved in as an adult

 

About how long have you lived in Colorado, less than 10 years, 10 to 20 years, 20 to 30 years, or more than 30 years? 

 

11% less than 10 years

14% 10 to 20 years

18% 20 to 30 years

57% more than 30 years

 

Were you born in Colorado, in another state, or another country? 

 

43% Colorado

54% another state

3% another country

 

NOTE: Margin of Sampling Error, +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence