2020 Resident and Business Surveys

Survey Results
2020 Resident Survey - Results(PDF, 2MB)
2020 Business Survey - Results(PDF, 2MB)

Resident Survey Highlights

Quality of life marks Littleton as an attractive community in the region.

On the whole, 9 in 10 residents reported a high overall quality of life in Littleton, a rating that was similar to past survey years and continues to be much higher than the national and Front Range averages. Additionally, about 9 in 10 residents felt that not only was Littleton was an excellent or good place to live and to raise children, but their neighborhoods were excellent or good places to live as well. All these aspects have remained consistent over the past eight years and were higher than evaluations given in other communities across the country and in Colorado's Front Range.

Mobility remains a pressing issue for residents.

Residents' concerns about mobility and getting around town were reflected in their assessments of transportation-related city services. Looking across all survey years, evaluations of traffic flow and downtown parking have been decreasing steadily and snow plowing experienced a 28 percentage point drop between 2018 and 2020 (61% excellent or good versus 32%). The sharp decrease in snow plowing could be due in part to the timing of the survey administration and a particularly snowy winter. Compared to the nation and the Front Range, Littleton residents gave lower ratings to traffic flow, snow plowing, and Downtown parking.

Residents' interactions with the Police Department show marked improvements.

Eighty-three percent of survey respondents rated the quality of the Littleton Police Department as excellent or good. These high marks remained stable over time and were similar to those given by residents in other communities across the nation and in the Front Range. Similar to 2018, about one-third of respondents indicated they had been in contact with the Police Department at least once in the 12 months prior to the survey.

Business owners and managers highly rated Littleton's amenities and the quality of life.

Almost 9 in 10 owners and managers rated the overall quality of life in Littleton as excellent or good.
Overall, respondents were pleased with most aspects of Littleton and provided favorable ratings of the community including its educational opportunities, appearance, shopping, quality of businesses and mobility opportunities for walking, biking, and light rail. The exceptions were ratings for the amount of parking in Downtown Littleton and the traffic flow on major streets; 4 in 10 or less viewed these characteristics favorably. Additionally, almost all of the community characteristics rated received ratings that were stable between 2016 and 2018.
A vast majority of business owners and managers felt that there was the right amount of bars, restaurants, festivals/concerts, and shopping opportunities in the city.
Traffic, mobility, and real estate are increasingly challenging for the business community.

City employees are well-perceived but some areas of government performance show declines.

A majority of respondents who had contact with city employees rated all aspects of their interaction as excellent or good including the employee's respect and courtesy, accessibility, knowledge and responsiveness. However, ratings for employee knowledge of the respondent's issue or concern has declined significantly since 2012 from 90% to 64% in 2020; responsiveness showed a similar decline as well for the same time period (84% versus 68%).
At least three in five respondents gave excellent or good ratings to the overall direction the city is taking, attracting visitors to Littleton, and retaining existing jobs. Other areas of performance were rated positively by 42% or more of the employers. Since the 2012 survey, ratings for many aspects of government performance have been declining steadily.

Business owners and managers continue to support tax increases to help fund the city's economic development activities.

About 9 in 10 respondents supported strengthening Littleton's community image and identity, marketing Downtown to Littleton residents and visitors, and promoting efforts to attract and recruit new types of retail business to Littleton. The level of support for these initiatives were on par with past survey years.
About two-thirds of employers somewhat or strongly supported a three-quarters of a cent sales and use tax increase that would be used to fund needed improvements to aging infrastructure, such as maintaining streets to an adequate level, maintaining and adding sidewalks and maintaining existing buildings, though 35% opposed the measure. The level of support for this tax increase is similar to the levels of support seen in 2016 and 2018.
When asked about different potential amounts for a sales and use tax increase, about 1 in 10 supported a one-half of one cent sales and use tax increase in 2020, which was similar to 2016 and 2018. The remaining options of one cent, three-quarters of one cent, and no increase were evenly split (about 30% of business owners support each option).
Almost 80% of respondents somewhat or strongly supported a lodging tax that hotel room visitors would pay for tourism, marketing and promotion of the city.