About 95 percent of the 1,319 unincorporated Jefferson County residents who responded to the county’s 2010 Citizen Survey rated Jeffco as an “excellent” or “good” place to live, up 5 percent from the 2004 survey, according to the final results report from National Research Center (NRC), of Boulder.

About 45 percent of the 3,000 households in unincorporated Jefferson County that received the survey responded to it. NRC, which conducted the survey for $24,700 for the county, usually sees a 25 percent to 40 percent response rate. The margin of error is plus or minus 3 percent.

The survey was mailed in January and closed in February. The county conducted its last citizen survey in 2004.

The survey questionnaire was limited to five pages and asked a variety of standardized questions, as well as open-ended and close-ended questions. Questions measured perceptions of the quality of life, and county services and customer service in Jefferson County. The county plans to use the report for short-term and long-term strategic planning and communications.

"This survey is tremendously helpful to the commissioners in making decisions about our county," said Commissioner Kathy Hartman, chairman of the Board of County Commissioners.  "We will work hard to maintain the quality of life our citizens have affirmed they enjoy, while working to improve in areas such as citizen involvement. With citizen involvement, we can build an even better county."

To view the full report, click on the links below.

Jefferson County 2010 Citizen Survey Presentation to Board of County Commissioners
Jefferson County 2010 Citizen Survey Report of Results
Jefferson County 2010 Citizen Survey Demographic Subgroup Comparisons
Jefferson County 2010 Citizen Survey Geographic Subgroup Comparisons
Jefferson County 2010 Citizen Survey Benchmark Report
Jefferson County 2010 Citizen Survey Open-Ended Question Report

Notable results include:

• Ninety-five percent of respondents rated the overall quality of life in Jefferson County as “excellent” or “good,” which is up 6 percent from 2004.
• About 49 percent of respondents said they view population growth as too fast, down 28 percent from 2004.
• Seventy percent rated the ease of car travel in Jefferson County as “excellent” or “good,” compared to 61 percent in 2004.
• Thirteen percent said they think the economy will have a positive impact on their families in the next six months.
• Both Sheriff’s services and fire prevention and education received higher ratings in 2010. Eighty-four percent rated Sheriff’s services as “excellent” or “good,” compared to 80 percent in 2004; 85 percent rated fire prevention and education as “excellent” or “good,” compared to 72 percent in 2004.
• Ninety-six percent said they had visited a neighborhood or county park, and 81 percent said they had used library services within the last 12 months.
• Sixty-nine percent of residents rated snow removal services as “excellent” or “good,” compared to 74 percent in 2004.
• Services to low-income people were rated “excellent” or “good” by 48 percent of respondents, up 13 percent from 2004.
• Forty-five percent said the county does an “excellent” or “good” job of welcoming citizen involvement, and 54 percent said they rate the value of services for taxes paid to Jefferson County as “excellent” or “good.”
• The overall image or reputation of Jefferson County was rated “excellent” or “good” by 84 percent of respondents.
• Respondents were most willing to reduce building new roads (57 percent) and libraries (22 percent) and least willing to reduce law enforcement (44 percent) and road maintenance (21 percent).
• Forty-six percent said they would support a tax increase for law enforcement.
• Respondents said the two biggest issues facing Jefferson County over the next five years would be budget and taxes, and the economy.
• When compared to other jurisdictions across the nation with populations of 300,000 or more, Jefferson County ranked No. 1 in all community quality benchmarks. The county also ranked No. 1 among other jurisdictions that asked residents about open space programs, land use, planning and zoning, and community and personal public safety.