Aspen Survey Shows Only 56% of Residents Would Recommend Town

Aspen —“A 14% response rate might seem a little low, but it’s actually on the high end of what we see in surveys.”

Sonya Wytinck, Polco’s Executive Vice President of Data and Insights, told the Aspen City Council that. She said it while presenting results from the city’s 2026 community survey on Monday. The numbers are in. The story is not what you want to hear.

The short version: Aspen residents are less attached to their own town than they were two years ago. And fewer of them would recommend it to a friend.

The survey ran from June 8 to Aug. 3. Invitations went out to 4,200 addresses. Only 569 people finished the questionnaire. That is the 14% Wytinck defended as “robust” and “representative.” She leaned on research to back that claim. The council accepted it.

Read that again. 569 people defined the sentiment of a city of roughly 8,000 residents.

Wytinck pointed to the bright spots first. Aspen scored higher than comparable Colorado communities and national benchmarks on natural environment, parks and recreation, education, arts and culture, mobility, and safety. The city is still a good place to hike, learn, and drive around safely.

Then she hit the hard numbers. The rating for “recommended living in Aspen” sat at 56% affirmative. That is well below both state and national benchmarks. It means that for every two people asked if they’d tell a friend to move here, one said no.

Aspen Mayor Rachael Richards didn’t mince words about why that number is where it is.

“I can’t imagine, unless you know a few millionaires, telling people it’s a great place to move to,” Richards said.

She blamed the lack of affordable housing and cost of living issues directly. That is a blunt assessment from an elected official, but it tracks with what folks around here feel every time they open a bank statement or look at a lease.

The survey also showed a roughly 10% drop from 2024 to 2026 in people’s attachment to Aspen, their willingness to stay five years or more, and their view of the city as a place to raise children. The image and reputation metrics fell in tandem.

Concerns rose around mobility and the economy compared to other state communities. Against national benchmarks, concerns spiked in community design, affordability, growth, and development.

It is worth watching how the council handles these dips. The staff report noted that most areas of concern are already targets for existing improvement work. It flagged “community vitality and connection” as a possible future priority. That is bureaucratic language for “we need to fix the social fabric before it tears completely.”

There was one genuine win. The perception of local governance improved. Subgroups for communication, honesty, fairness, transparency, and acting in the best interest of the community all showed an upward trend. Council Member John Doyle thanked the community for that feedback, noting the sentiment was higher than in the previous cycle.

Make no mistake: trust in city hall is fragile. It went up, but it started from a low base. The survey was the second time Aspen used Polco’s National Community Survey, part of a biennial tradition dating back to 2006. The city calls the data “statistically valid.” Polco says it is representative.

But 56% would not recommend Aspen to a friend. That is the number that matters. It is the one that will shape the next budget, the next zoning debate, and the next argument about who this town is for.

Wytinck’s confidence in a 14% response rate rests on the assumption that those 569 respondents are a perfect mirror of the whole. The council bought it. The residents who didn’t answer did not get a vote in that mirror.

The 56% recommendation rate is the headline. The 10% drop in attachment is the warning shot. The city knows what it needs to fix. It has known for a while.

The question is whether the next survey in 2028 will show a recovery, or another slide.