Utah ranks among the nation’s strongest states in social capital, economic productivity and family stability, but continues to face significant challenges in mental health and affordability, according to new report by the Utah foundation.
The findings were presented as part of the State of the States project, which evaluates states across dozens of indicators designed to measure overall well-being. While Utah outperformed the majority of the states on economic metrics, the report pointed to mental health concerns and rising housing costs as areas requiring needed attention.
“We are a nation of extremes, extreme successes and extreme failures,” Carlton Christensen, Utah Foundation Board Chair, said in opening remarks, summarizing one of the project’s central findings.
Utah Foundation President Shawn Teigen said Utah’s report card contained considerably more positive indicators then the national report, particularly in measures of social capital, which measures community engagement and volunteerism.
“In fact, we’re number one,” Teigen said. He then noted that Utah has remained at or near the top nationally for more than a decade.
According to the report, Utah also ranked highly for family-related measures and income equality. Utah recorded the nation’s lowest share of children living in single-parent households and maintained lower income inequality than most states, though researchers noted that inequality has slowly increased over time.
Robert Spendlove, senior economist at Zions Bank, reported Utah’s strong population growth, employment gains and relatively low unemployment rate.
Utah’s still higher than the nation,” Spendlove said. “We’re kind of in the center of a really strong climate growth area.”
The state remains one of the few in the nation with a median household income exceeding $100,000, while wage growth continues to outpace national averages. However, Spendlove acknowledged a growing disconnect between strong economic indicators and public sentiment.
Consumer confidence fell sharply despite low unemployment and continued spending, a phenomenon Spendlove described as “vibecession,” a period in which people feel worse about the economy than some metrics may suggest.
“Consumers don’t feel good about the economy,” Spendlove said.
He attributed much of the consumer frustration to affordability pressures, especially in housing cost and national inflation.
“We’re facing this affordability crisis in Utah, and people are struggling,” Spendlove said. “How can you buy your first home? How can you even rent an apartment in a market that’s so much more expensive than it was before the pandemic?”
While affordability became a rising concern, mental health was one of the reports most troubling findings.
Laura Summer, director of industry research at the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute, said Utah continues to rank near the bottom nationally for several adult mental health metrics.
According to the data, Utah ranks among the highest states for adults experiencing mental illness, serious mental illness and suicidal thoughts. Reports indicated elevated rates of anxiety and depression among children and adolescents, and nearly two-thirds of parents surveyed said mental health services for children are difficult or impossible to obtain. Roughly 70% of Utah residents fall in federally designated mental health provider shortage areas.
Summers did point to some progress: Youth mental health indicators begun to improve since the pandemic, and Utah’s suicide rate ranking fell from among the nation’s three highest states to 11th.
“I think the state is moving in a positive direction all of these issues,” Summers said. “We do know that demand exists in our state.”
Audience members during the presentation of the report questioned how a state that performs so well economically and socially continued to struggle with depression, anxiety and suicide. District 2 City councilwoman, Suzanne Hyland, from Cottonwood Heights said addressing those challenges will require greater collaboration across political and community lines.
“The single biggest thing I would like to change is the return to normalization of bipartisan work groups,” Hyland said. “Anytime I get together with people, I find that almost 95% of what we talk about, we agree on.”
She also pointed to affordability and mental health as issues she hopes improve before the next report.
“Affordability is one of the biggest challenges we have,” she said. “I don’t want our children to have to move out of state to be able to stay here.”
As part of the celebration of the nation’s 250th anniversary, presenters expressed the state’s report reflects both strengths and challenges. The data suggests Utah remains one of the country’s strongest economies, but the state has yet to resolve concerns over affordability, mental health and overall well-being.
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