DENVER (KDVR) — The concerns weighing on Coloradans change with each passing year, so it’s no surprise the cost of living in the Centennial State tops the biggest challenge during high-inflation times according to a new poll from the Colorado Health Foundation.

The nonprofit has been conducting an annual poll for the past three years, to help inform policymakers about what is top of mind for likely voters in the state.

“We do that as an act of listening,” said Senior Director of Public Policy at CHI Kyle Rojas Legleiter. “So they can really see what are the patterns in what they’re experiencing in Colorado, what they’re worried about and keeping them up at night. Are those things different when we look across different geographies?”

The Pulse poll results indicate roughly 87% of the nearly 3,000 people polled believe the rising cost of living and the cost of housing are serious issues.

“Over the course of the last 12 months, it’s probably not shocking to hear that people are worried about the cost of living in our state and the cost of housing as one of the drivers of the overall cost of living in particular,” Rojas Legleiter said.

Rojas Legleiter said there was certainly an increase in the people polled that are concerned about the cost of living this year compared to last year. Meanwhile, concerns over COVID-19 and new variants of the coronavirus have dropped significantly since the first Pulse poll was conducted in 2020, with 46% of respondents saying it’s not too serious a problem in 2022.

Some other highlights of the most recent Pulse poll include 72% of respondents saying homelessness is a serious problem in Colorado, and 43% of respondents saying they are worse off financially than one year ago. You can learn more about the poll’s results through the Colorado Health Foundation.