Progress Report Shows ABQ Trending in Right Direction

March 7, 2021

Today the City of Albuquerque released the 2020 Albuquerque Progress Report, a biennial summary of progress across eight major goals set by the City Council, compiled by the Indicators Progress Commission (IPC). The report compares Albuquerque to Colorado Springs, El Paso, Oklahoma City, Salt Lake City and Tucson.

“Albuquerque residents give our city high marks for quality of life, responsiveness to their needs and are hopeful about the future, which says a lot of about the strength and resilience of our community given what we’ve been through the past year,” said Mayor Tim Keller. “Combined with data from peer cities in the region, the progress report shows we’re emerging as one of the best places to live and work, despite the global pandemic and its local impacts. The challenges that remain are clear, and our work on public safety must continue.”

“In a year of unprecedented challenges, Albuquerque continues to move forward and make progress toward achieving the conditions sought by our community,” said IPC Board Member Diane Harrison Ogawa.

The Indicators Progress Commission provides a retrospective measure of how well Albuquerque is progressing toward its goals, based on a set of indicators. They also convene a biennial Goals Summit to obtain feedback from residents.

Read the 2020 Albuquerque Progress Report here.

Highlights from the 2020 Progress Report, broken down by goal area:

Human Development & Family

• Access to health care and the numbers of citizens with health insurance coverage is slightly above the national average in the U.S.
• The number of families living in poverty with children is still high but improving.
• Residents with a high school education or higher is slightly better in Albuquerque than the national average in the U.S.
• Affordable housing is improving, while homelessness continues to need improvement.

Public Safety

• Levels of trust in police officers, reform at the department and protecting resident’s constitutional rights are all trending upward.
• 75 percent of residents surveyed support the Keller administration’s new Community Safety Department.
• More people feel safe outside during the day and night, but both measures need improvement, showing how deep the hole to climb out of is.

Public Infrastructure

• Albuquerque is on track or improving on all measures, including EPA compliance rate, public transportation riders per capita, and renewable energy investments.

Sustainable Community Development

• Albuquerque residents can easily access mixed use areas in the City and park space.
• Available housing units per square mile is trending upward, as well as the rating for a vital, active downtown area.

Environmental Protection

• Albuquerque ranks high for open space, air quality, and recycling rates.

Economic Vitality

• Business registrations and businesses staying afloat are both on track.
• Weekly wages are on the rise and the City exceeded the goal of reaching an average of $932 per week.
• Recent economic development initiatives have resulted in successfully attracting companies to move to or expand in Albuquerque, including Netflix, Group Orion, NBCUniversal, Kairos Energy, and Jabil.

Community and Cultural Engagement

• Nearly 60 percent of residents rate Albuquerque’s quality life as excellent or good—a jump up from 2018—and more residents, about half of those surveyed, are feeling hopeful about the direction of the City.
• Participation in donating to nonprofits such as the United Way is on the rise, and 63 percent of residents support building a proposed multi-purpose sports arena for New Mexico United soccer games and other events.

Governmental Excellence and Effectiveness

• A significant jump was found in residents who see the City as responsive to their needs, and 60 percent feel that Albuquerque has done a good job keeping City services running amid the public health crisis.
• 61 percent of respondents felt that Albuquerque has done a better job than other cities in responding to the COVID-19, citing consistent communication with the public, and keeping residents safe and healthy while balancing support for business.