The annual Community Survey, in collaboration with Polco, gives Rocklin residents the opportunity to provide feedback about City programs and services. According to the National Community Survey conducted in December 2022 and January 2023, Rocklin residents value their quality of life, feel a high level of safety within their community, and love our parks and recreation offerings.

The survey provides data for what we already know, Rocklin is a great place to live! All items relating to the quality of life in Rocklin received universally high marks, and almost all were higher than the national
average. Virtually all residents positively rated Rocklin as a place to live, a score higher than what has been observed in comparison communities across the nation. About 9 in 10 survey participants positively evaluated the overall quality of life and would recommend living in Rocklin to someone who asks; both of these evaluations were higher than the national average. Some noteworthy excerpts from the 76 page report are below.

View full report here: The National Community Survey - Rocklin 2023

Residents appreciate many aspects of the City’s leadership and governance.

Results relating to governance in Rocklin tended to be positive and on par with the national average. The overall customer
service by Rocklin employees and the quality of services provided by the City of Rocklin both received favorable reviews from about 8 in 10 residents. About 7 in 10 positively rated the overall direction that Rocklin is taking and gave high marks to Rocklin government for treating all residents fairly and with respect. The job Rocklin government does at welcoming resident involvement and the overall confidence in Rocklin government both were higher than the national average, with two-thirds offering excellent or good ratings. Evaluations of the value of services for the taxes paid to Rocklin, local government being
honest,, and the City being open and transparent to the public were all rated favorably by about two thirds of the survey respondents, on par with the national average.

Although residents feel safe in Rocklin, safety is still a priority.
Residents identified the overall feeling of safety in Rocklin as an area of priority, with 92% deeming it essential or very important for the City to focus on the next two years. Survey participants gave higher-than-average ratings to the overall feeling of safety in Rocklin (92% excellent or good), indicating that this area is also a strength for the community. Almost all respondents reported feeling safe in their neighborhood during the day. The majority of residents also felt safe from violent crime (90% very or somewhat safe), from fire, flood or other natural disaster (90%), in Rocklin’s downtown/commercial area
during the day (89%) and from property crime (80%); all of these scores were on par with the nation.
The City’s safety services garnered favorable reviews, with some scoring higher than the national average. About 8 in 10 residents positively evaluated crime prevention and animal control in Rocklin, both of which surpassed benchmark comparison communities. Fire services (93% excellent or good), ambulance or emergency medical services (91%), fire prevention and education (88%), police/sheriff services (86%), and emergency preparedness (79%) received ratings similar to the national benchmarks.

Alternate modes of mobility may be an area of opportunity, specifically related to public transportation.
Several mobility-related services received higher-than-average marks from respondents. About 8 in 10 offered favorable evaluations for Rocklin’s street cleaning, snow removal, ease of public parking, and street lighting, all of which surpassed comparison communities nationwide. Sidewalk maintenance (73% excellent or good) and street repair (64%) also scored higher than national averages. Additionally, about 6 in 10 residents positively rated the overall quality of the transportation system, ease of travel by bike, traffic flow on major streets, traffic enforcement, and traffic signal timing; these were similar to ratings
observed across the nation.

When asked whether they had used alternate modes of transportation in the last 12 months, over half of respondents said they had walked or biked instead of driving (64%) and carpooled with other adults or children instead of driving alone (51%), while 11% said they had used public transportation instead of driving. All of these were similar to benchmark communities. In a series
of questions unique to Rocklin, residents were asked how often they use various modes of transportation in a typical week. About three-quarters of the respondents reported driving alone three or more days a week, and just under half reported walking and driving with others three or more days a week. At least 9 in 10 survey participants indicated they never use the free shuttle, train/rail, taxi, bus, or train/rail, and about 8 in 10 said the same for Uber/Lyft or similar rideshare services. The City also included a question asking the reasons residents had for using local transit once a month or less in the past 12 months; about 4 out of 10 respondents indicated that they would rather drive their own car, while one-quarter felt that routes were not direct enough or didn’t go to the necessary locations.

Rocklin’s parks and recreational opportunities are highly valued by residents.
Ratings for survey items related to Rocklin’s parks and recreation tended to be positive and consistent with the national benchmarks. About 9 in 10 respondents gave positive scores to the overall quality of parks and recreation opportunities and to the City parks in Rocklin. Roughly three-quarters of survey participants favorably rated the availability of paths and walking trails, fitness opportunities, recreation programs or classes, and recreation centers or facilities. All of these reviews were equivalent to the national averages. In addition to the standard survey questions, participants were asked the importance of the City providing different types of aquatic recreational amenities. About 44% of the respondents indicated that it was essential or very important to both expand the recreational swimming opportunities in the City and have regular open swim opportunities and locations in the City. About one-quarter of the residents reported a strong need for a community-funded competition-level aquatics facility.