Written by: Peter Reichard
In this edition of Utah Thrives, Senior Analyst Christopher Collard and President Peter Reichard discuss the May 2022 Utah Foundation report, The Flowering of Youth: The Next Generation in Utah. The report is the sixth installment in the Utah Social Capital Series. The report revealed some surprising trends nationally, but also in a state that takes pride in its focus on youth.
Written by: Christopher Collard
Population Growth – Should we Stop It? Attitudes around limiting grow vary according to religious affiliation. Figure 1: Whether voters agreed or disagreed with the statement, “Utah Should Take Action to Slow its Population Growth in Urban Areas” As outlined in Part III, much of the Utah Foundation’s work directly or indirectly addresses the problems created by Utah’s population growth. We often examine ways to address these problems. However, in the Utah Priorities Project survey, … Continued
Written by: Christopher Collard
Growth and Transportation Infrastructure Utah has a history of robust investment in transportation infrastructure. Utah’s investment in transportation went to a new level after 2020; the state budget for transportation in 2022 is nearly twice that of its 2012-2020, even after accounting for inflation and population growth. While traffic decreased during the pandemic, it recovered by January 2021, and while Utah is among the top five states for remote workers, it is not clear to … Continued
Written by: Christopher Collard
Utah’s rapid growth means the state can expect to continue seeing a growing economy and increased national prominence. But it would be a mistake to assume that this growth can come without a price. Certainly, survey respondents to the Utah Foundation’s 2020 Utah Priorities Project have concerns. When thinking about population growth, most Utah voters were concerned about infrastructure for roads and water. Those that were more concerned with roads tended to be affiliated with … Continued
Written by: Christopher Collard
In the decade preceding 2020, Utah grew by 18.4%, making it the fastest-growing state in the nation. This news comes despite births in Utah continuing to decline in a trend beginning in 2008, meaning that although Utah still has one of the highest fertility rates in the nation, more and more of its population growth comes from migration. It is expected that by 2031 Utah will have added an additional half million people to its … Continued
Written by: Christopher Collard
The Utah Foundation has released a series of Significant Statistics on the relative importance of housing affordability among Utah voters, noting the steep increases in housing prices and rental prices. Why are we seeing these increases? The Utah Foundation has looked at whether it might be due to an influx of Californians. That does not seem to be the whole answer. When looking at Utah’s larger metropolitan areas, the recent rate of people moving in … Continued
Written by: Peter Reichard
Interest rates are at historic lows, Utah’s AAA bond rating is still going strong, and we have significant bonding capacity, even within the state’s tight statutory and constitutional constraints. Under normal circumstances, these factors alone would make this an advantageous time to consider a bonding program for infrastructure. But with Utah and its local governments exploring options for economic stimulus, a strong case can be made for focusing efforts on infrastructure. Investments in infrastructure protect … Continued
Written by: Staff
Earlier this month, Utah Foundation held a Breakfast Briefing looking at income inequality. Utah Foundation has also dedicated multiple Significant Statistics posts to looking at how income inequality varies across the state. We found that urban counties in Utah have the same levels of inequality when compared to more-rural counties (though income baselines varied significantly). However, the broad analysis obscures some of the detail, showing wide variation in inequality among counties and regions. Similarly, looking … Continued
Written by: Staff
Income Inequality in Utah: Urban Versus Rural Last week, Utah Foundation held a Breakfast Briefing on income inequality in Utah. One question that the briefing didn’t address is what income inequality looks like off of the Wasatch Front. While last week’s Significant Statistic looked at inequality by county and region, this week’s post looks more directly at the urban/rural divide.[1] Utah Foundation sorted Utahns by urban and more-rural counties, dividing each into five evenly-sized groups … Continued
Written by: Staff
Income Inequality in Utah: Comparing Counties and Regions UTAH CAN CLAIM both one of the nation’s least unequal income distributions and one of the highest measures of social mobility. However, it has not been immune to national trends of growing income inequality. According to one of the panelists at a June 30 Utah Foundation Breakfast Briefing, the bottom 10% of income earners in Utah saw their real income decline between 1990 and 2014 and the … Continued