‘A clear message’: Housing a ‘serious’ problem to 9 of 10 Boiseans, poll finds

Concerns over the cost of housing in Boise cross demographic lines, and residents don’t think that their local government has done enough to alleviate the ongoing crunch.

That’s according to a new poll of 806 Boise voters commissioned by the Gem State Housing Alliance and the Welcoming Neighbors Network, a housing advocacy group pushing for zoning changes to open more avenues for denser, smaller and less- expensive homes.

Bay Area pollsters Change Research found that nearly nine in 10 respondents said housing was a “very serious” or “somewhat serious” problem in the city, according to results published Tuesday. Three out of four said they or a loved one has been personally affected by the city’s dearth of affordable housing options.

“Boise voters across every age, income, and political party are sending a clear message: We need more homes that people can actually afford,” Byron Folwell, a local architect and leader of Neighbors for Boise, the local chapter of Welcoming Neighbors Network, said in a press release accompanying the data. “Our city should be a great place for everyone to find a home, from working families looking for a starter home, to seniors looking to downsize, to teachers, nurses, and workers who want to live in the communities they serve. “

The poll, which was conducted from Feb. 9-13, found that a majority of respondents favored every policy proposal suggested to bring down housing costs and spur availability.

Renters and voters ages 18-24 were particularly likely to support these ideas, Change Research said. They were less supportive of city officials: Six of 10 respondents said that the city “has not done enough to create more housing options” over the past two years. Just 11% of respondents felt that housing affordability had been the “highest priority” of Boise’s government in that time, but 40% — a plurality of respondents — felt it had been an “important priority.”

Tuesday’s release was designed to forerun a Tuesday, March 10, Boise City Council public hearing addressing zoning code amendments, “and this data speaks directly to where voters stand,” Ali Rabe, executive director of the Gem State Housing Alliance, an advocacy group, said in a statement accompanying the poll results. Folwell’s group aims to pack that meeting, which starts at 6 p.m. in City Hall. Online comments are due Thursday. The meeting agenda had not been published by Tuesday afternoon.

Neighbors for Boise’s key requests, pulled from a public comment letter template on its website, include:

• Creating incentives in code for smaller “starter” homes.
• Streamlining and simplifying development processes, “especially for infill and smaller home types.”
• “Right-size” parking requirements, emphasizing bike parking and other options near public transit to trim development costs.
• Amending code to allow more small homes, “such as design and other standards that allow more of these projects to pencil.”

“These adjustments would support Boise residents across generations,” the letter states.

Respondents to their poll generally agreed. Seventy percent of those polled said that Boise “does not have enough housing options to meet everyone’s needs.” Among renters, that figure jumps to 87%.

Critically, the poll found, nearly 60% of respondents said creating more housing “that regular people can afford” was more important than “limiting the creation of new housing to protect neighborhood character.”

For Rabe, consensus spreads beyond the Treasure Valley. In an email to the Idaho Statesman, she pointed to a statewide 2026 Idaho Policy Institute survey, which found housing to be Idahoans’ top budget priority for the third year in a row. In that poll, administered by the Boise State School of Public Service, 53% of renters said that they don’t own a home because prices are too high, and 20% said they couldn’t afford the down payment.

Across all respondents, nearly two-thirds of those asked said they were “just getting by” or struggling financially.

“Neighbors for Boise’s main takeaway is that Boiseans continue to want to see action on the issue of housing,” Rabe told the Statesman. “It’s also clear a majority of Boiseans continue to support allowing different sizes and types of housing to meet different families’ needs in their neighborhoods.”

Support fell short on one question: a levy. The poll asked if voters would back a fundraising mechanism to preserve and develop affordable housing in the mold of the city’s Clean Air and Open Space Levy, which passed with around 80% support in 2025. Per Idaho law, these measures typically require a two-thirds supermajority to pass; in the poll, 57% of those questioned were in favor.