March 2024: Cost of Living
Biden leads Trump by 10% in Colorado; Slight majority of likely voters favor focus on affordable housing over cutting property taxes
DENVER — Coloradans are deeply concerned about the high cost of living in the state, with 61% of likely voters saying they have considered moving or recently moved due to financial considerations, according to results of a statewide survey released today by the nonpartisan Colorado Polling Institute (CPI).
You can view the entire questionnaire and results here and the full cross-tabs here.
The bipartisan statewide survey of 632 likely 2024 voters was conducted March 15-19 via a mix of online panel and text-to-web responses. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percent and was conducted by Democratic pollster Aspect Strategic and Republican pollster New Bridge Strategy.
While the poll found that the expense of living in Colorado is deeply concerning to respondents, at the same time 88% of voters say they like the ability to vote directly on ballot measures affecting the state and largely think the ballot measures that have passed previously were good things for Colorado, with the Taxpayer Bill of Rights (69%) and legalized recreational marijuana (67%) receiving the highest plaudits.
State voters are highly proud of where they live, with 84% of voters saying they are proud to be a Coloradan. Concerningly though, in the post-Covid era, there has been a weakening of community connection, with 43% of voters saying they feel less connected to members of their community than they did five years ago, compared to 16% that said they feel more connected and 41% who said they feel the same level of connection.
When asked the perennial election year question of whether voters thought they were better off than four years ago, 53% of voters said they were worse off, 34% said they were better off, and 13% said they were about the same.
“Colorado is getting more expensive and it’s driving significant voter concern,” said Republican pollster Lori Weigel of New Bridge Strategy. “Concerns about increased costs coming out of the pandemic are not unique to Colorado, but when a majority of voters are seriously considering packing up and moving solely due to the cost of living, it should not escape the attention of elected officials.”
More than six-in-10 (61%) of respondents say they have considered moving, including to a different state that is more affordable (38%), a different community within Colorado (13%), or they have already moved to another location due to cost of living concerns (10%).
Asked for their views on the top issues for the state government to address, with open-ended responses allowed, 14% of Colorado voters volunteered something directly related to immigration, ranking it on par with long-time issues like homelessness (12%) and housing affordability (11%). However, when taken together, pocketbook issues are still dominant (32% mention housing costs, inflation, taxes, jobs, etc.).
When it comes to housing policy, 54% of voters would prefer policymakers focus on creating more affordable housing, compared to 46% who believe the focus should be on lowering property taxes.
“Housing affordability and homelessness are top-of-mind concerns, and majorities say creating more affordable housing should be a higher priority for policymakers than cutting property taxes,” said Democratic pollster Kevin Ingham of Aspect Strategic. “The desire to focus more on affordable housing is strongest among renters, but more than four-in-10 homeowners say the same.”
In the presidential race, President Joe Biden has a comfortable 10% lead, as 49% of likely voters say they are definitely or probably going to vote for him, compared to 39% who say the same of former President Donald Trump.
The race, however, is seen as primarily about Trump, as 63% of Biden voters say their vote is primarily against the former president rather than for Biden, while 55% of Trump voters say their vote is primarily for Trump compared to 45% who say it’s primarily against the current president.
Other notable findings include:
Reintroducing wolves on public lands was the most controversial past ballot measure with 34% saying it was a good thing for Colorado, 27% saying it was a bad thing, and 26% saying it was too early to tell.
The top two reasons that people moved to Colorado was to be closer to family and friends (25%) and our beautiful outdoors (23%)
Governor Jared Polis is the most popular politician in the state, with 50% viewing him favorably, compared to 44% who view him unfavorably. Congresswoman Lauren Boebert was the least popular politician tested, with 62% of voters viewing her unfavorably to only 22% with a favorable view.
Colorado is no longer seen as a purple state by voters, with 63% seeing Colorado as a “blue state” and 30% seeing it as a swing state. The same question was asked in a Rocky Mountain News/CBS4 poll in August 2008, when 60% of voters saw Colorado as a swing state and only 15% saw it as a blue state.
###
About Us: The Colorado Polling Institute is an independent nonprofit launched in 2023 with the mission of elevating the public dialogue and promoting informed decision-making through timely, trustworthy, and nonpartisan public opinion research on the most important issues facing Coloradans.
