RR residents like their city, but find it harder to travel, survey says

RIO RANCHO — A newly released survey of hundreds of Rio Rancho residents found that while they think highly of the city’s reputation and feel safe overall, they believe it’s more difficult to travel and their tax dollars are not getting the best bang for their buck.

Those findings were just a snapshot of the National Community Survey, presented by city staff to the Rio Rancho Governing Body during a work session last month.

Though the survey gave the city both higher and lower marks than in 2023 — when the data was last collected — Rio Rancho Mayor Gregg Hull said the city is “not going to shy away from the low points.”

“Those low points actually give us things to take aim at so we can try to improve upon those things,” Hull said. “They’re there as guiding instruments.

“That’s what this survey is about. The instrument lets us know where we’re succeeding, (and) it also lets us know where we need improvement,” Hull said.

According to the survey, the city’s overall image and reputation jumped from 60% to 82% between 2023 and 2025. Safety categories jumped even higher, with respondents feeling safer from violent crime (71% to 90%) and property crime (64% to 90%).

The survey also showed that respondents are happy with their city government. Overall, confidence with Rio Rancho government increased 46% to 56%. Treating residents with respect increased 60% to 71%. Being open and transparent with the public increased from 40% to 53%.

But categories in travel took significant dives during the same time period, the survey said. Satisfaction with traffic flow on major streets dropped from 52% to 47%; ease of traveling by car dropped 72% to 62%; and ease of walking dropped 42% to 32%; and ease of traveling by bicycle dropped 35% to 30%.

The survey also said responding residents believed the value of city services for the taxes paid to Rio Rancho declined, 50% to 47%.

The survey, conducted by the National Research Center and Polco, has been sent out every two years since 2015. This year, it was sent to more than 3,000 households, but only 329 of them completed it, amounting to an 11% response rate, according to Ryan Chavez, assistant to the city manager for policy and planning, who presented during the recent governing body meeting.

During the Sept. 19 meeting, District 4 Councilor Paul Wymer asked about the survey’s response rate and how it compared to past local surveys — and whether it was reflective of a national trend.

Chavez responded that she wasn’t sure if the response rate was indicative of a national trend, but over the years, the city has seen a lower rates of participation.

“That’s not completely unnormal when a survey is done regularly in the community,” Chavez said. “We’d always love to see it higher, but the more things become regular, the less novelty there is.”

Wymer responded, “That’s a good point. If people are happy, they tend not to respond; if they’re upset, they will.”

Resident reactionRio Rancho resident Nancy Weiser, who took the survey, said that she still likes Rio Rancho since she moved to the the City of Vision from Salt Lake City three years ago, but she is worried about development possibly taking away more trail space.

“The city has to create an environment of protection for trails and walkable areas,” said Weiser, who lives in Mariposa. “It’s going to be up to the city to put restrictions on what builders are able to do.”

Weiser said she doesn’t have too much a problem with the city’s traffic — her biggest gripe is the drivers. When she first moved from Utah to New Mexico, she thought they were respectful.

“That is diminishing,” she said.

Other residents, like Jerry Baca, said the city could include more bike trails. Similarly, resident Tim O’Neill wrote in an email that he would like to see more trails or bike paths made on abandoned roads.

‘Huge’ honor for Rio RanchoThe city touted the survey in a Facebook post once Polco honored Rio Rancho with its 2025 Best in Governance Awards. The organization cited Rio Rancho and four other cities, including State College, Pennsylvania, as achieving the “biggest transformations,” meaning municipalities that “made the most significant gains in earning residents’ trust and confidence.”

Hull said Polco’s recognition is “huge” — and Rio Rancho has a chance to place first in the National League of Cities.