Pitkin County Survey Reveals High Satisfaction Amid Housing Costs

Gunnison —“Not a lot surprised us who are experienced with the community,” Alycin Bektesh said.

The Pitkin County strategic communications manager wasn’t being modest. The 2026 Pitkin County Community Survey, released Tuesday, confirms what anyone who has tried to find a parking spot on Main Street or a dentist who accepts new patients knows: life here is good, expensive, and increasingly congested.

The headline number is 85%. That’s the percentage of respondents who rated Pitkin County as an excellent or good place to live. It’s a high bar, and it’s one the county has cleared before. But let’s look at the price of admission. Just 8% of people said there was ample affordable housing. Only 6% gave high marks to the cost of living.

For context, that means roughly one in twelve locals feels they can actually afford to stay here. The rest are paying the premium for the view.

The survey, administered by Polco, polled 5,000 randomly selected households in spring 2026, yielding 550 responses. An additional 124 came in via an open online survey. It’s a small sample size for a county that includes Aspen and stretches into rural enclaves like Redstone, which the 2020 US Census pegs at just 127 people. But the data holds up. Sonya Wytinck, representing Polco, noted that most facets scored above national benchmarks and many beat the Mountain West average.

Residents love the natural environment. They trust the safety protocols. They enjoy the parks and recreation offerings. But affordability is the anchor dragging the ship down.

Traffic remains a key frustration. While traffic ratings dipped below the national average, they remained consistent with peer resort communities like Telluride, Vail, and Frisco. If you’re driving the 6 to Telluride on a Friday afternoon, you know the drill. It’s not unique to us. It’s the tax we pay for being a destination.

The survey also highlighted specific pain points: food availability and child care. Bektesh pointed out that child care has seen improvement since the 2023 survey, a direct result of policy shifts to support facilities. That’s a win. But housing? That’s still the bottleneck.

Commissioner Patti Clapper urged the board to dig into the district-specific numbers. The five districts don’t all feel the same. The pressure in Aspen proper is different than it is in the lower valley. Clapper wants to know where those numbers are coming from so they can fine-tune solutions.

Commissioner Ted Mahon called the results “confirmation that maybe the focus is on the right things right now.” It’s a safe assessment. The board is prioritizing what the survey says matters: safety, environment, and yes, affordability. But “affordability” is a broad brush. The survey shows it’s a thin one.

The results are available now via an interactive online data dashboard. Locals can click through the numbers. They can see how their district stacks up against the 400 communities nationally and the 20 regional resort towns.

The bottom line? We’re happy here. We’re just broke. The 85% satisfaction rate is a badge of honor, but the 6% cost-of-living score is a warning shot. If housing doesn’t loosen its grip, that satisfaction rate might not last. The policy wins in child care are real. But until the housing market shifts, the majority of us are just paying more to feel good about it.