The April 2010 Utah Priorities Survey conducted by Utah Foundation indicated government spending ranked number two of the top ten issues and concerns among Utah voters. While government spending has been a concern for Utahns in past surveys, it is likely that the recent economic recession contributed to the topic’s continuing relevance and Utahns’ continuing concern for how governments utilize tax money. … Read more »

As part of the 2010 Utah Priorities Project, Utah Foundation, KSL Television and Radio, Deseret News, and the Hinckley Institute sponsored a ground-breaking survey of Utah voters and delegates to the major party conventions. The survey shows distinct differences between party delegates and voters, with delegates usually taking more zealous positions than their party’s voters. The strongest distinctions are, as expected, between the two major parties. The survey also provides insight on Republican delegates’ opinions in the U.S. Senate race. … Read more »

Did you know Utah is the sixth-lowest state in the nation for violent crime rates? Or that we have more property crime than the national average? Did you also know that the popular allegation that Utah is the nation’s leader in white-collar crime is a myth? Read this research brief to learn more about crime in Utah, including crime rates in the five best and worst cities by category. … Read more »

Since 1991, Utah state government spending has generally grown slower than Utah’s economy, except for brief “bumps” during economic booms. Through most of this period, health spending and transportation capital spending grew faster than the economy, while all other categories, including public education (the largest state spending area) declined in terms of spending per $1,000 of personal income. The most recent two fiscal years, however, brought large increases in state spending, mostly focused in public education and transportation capital projects. … Read more »

Throughout this election year, Utah Foundation will work to provide information, analysis, and public dialogue on the issues that matter most to you as you consider the future of Utah. The project began with a survey conducted by Dan Jones and Associates to understand which issues are of greatest concern to voters. The results of this survey are now available here by clicking the links below.

The survey found that the top 10 issues for Utah this year are: … Read more »

Utah Foundation performed the research for the Community Assessment released in April 2007 by the United Way of Salt Lake. This project involved four research phases: … Read more »

For most of the last four decades, Utah’s crime rate has largely mirrored the national crime rate. Beginning in 1995, Utah’s index crime rate has been significantly higher than the national average, which is also a trend among the Western states. Index crimes include murder, rape, aggravated assault, robbery, burglary, larceny-theft, and motor vehicle theft. Over the last ten years (1993-2002), the number of index crimes committed in Utah has grown 8.8%, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) Uniform Crime Report statistics. … Read more »

As Utah heads toward the initial stages of the 2004 election season, Utahns are feeling optimistic about the state’s future. However, Utahns continue to be concerned about the future of Utah’s public education system, the economy, water supply and quality, health, crime, and a number of issues. … Read more »