Demographics & Population

Healthy Communities: Enhancing Open Space

Written by: John Salevurakis

Utah’s natural resource endowments and its past cultivation of urban and suburban open spaces will likely continue to spur population growth in the future. As a result, additional stress will be placed upon existing endowments. Doing nothing in the coming years threatens to decrease the quality of life that Utahns – both newcomers and long-timers alike – have come to expect and value. This report provides an understanding of why open space is important, looks … Continued

The Comforts of Home: Family Life in Utah

Written by: Christopher Collard

UTAH SOCIAL CAPITAL SERIES Check out the other sections of the Utah Social Capital Series. Links will become live as reports are published Civic Engagement Social Trust Community Life Family Health Social Cohesion Focus on Future Generations Social Mobility Overall Index Family is the basic building-block of society and a core component of social capital. To the extent that families are stable, the larger civilization benefits from greater social stability. To the extent that family … Continued

Measuring the Miles: Road Usage Charges in Utah

Written by: Stephen Hershey Kroes

Utah has joined about a dozen states in exploring a new kind of revenue for road maintenance that charges drivers for miles driven, rather than fuel consumed. While many states have conducted research and pilot projects on road usage charges, Utah and Oregon are the only two states with currently operating programs. Measuring the Miles: Road Usage Charges in Utah examines the broader movement toward road usage charges among the states; how these charges can be … Continued

Beating the Odds: Post-Secondary Success for Adult, First-Generation and Lower-Income Students

Written by: Shawn Teigen

Beating the Odds: Post-Secondary Success for Adult, First-Generation and Lower-Income Students explores various means of promoting both student retention and completion of certificates and degrees. It focuses on subsets of students who have been less likely to attain higher levels of education and receive the benefits of that attainment. Among the findings of the new report: Utah’s population is changing. If the state’s post-secondary educational institutions do not respond to those changes, tens of thousands … Continued

El Estado de los Latinos en Utah: A Look at Utah’s Hispanic/Latino Population

Written by: Shawn Teigen

Researchers often examine populations by looking closely at certain demographic characteristics to help understand such groups, which can then inform policy decisions. In 2020, a group of Hispanic civic, business and elected leaders approached Utah Foundation asking us to provide key data related to Utah’s Hispanic/Latino population. In addition, this project received support from the Utah Division of Multicultural Affairs. The metrics in El Estado de los Latinos en Utah: A Look at Utah’s Hispanic/Latino … Continued

Insights on Incentives: Optimizing Local Approaches to Tax Incentives in Utah

Written by: Christopher Collard

Utah Foundation’s series on state and local incentives addresses the risks that can come with providing public financial benefits to select private parties. The series explores ways to minimize those risks. This third report of the series focuses on local incentives. This report relies on a survey that compares Utah’s cities and counties with their national counterparts. Utah Foundation supplemented the survey results with dozens of interviews with local governments. Cities and counties in Utah … Continued

Driving Toward a Cleaner Future: Alternative Fuel Vehicles in Utah

Written by: Shawn Teigen

Driving Toward a Cleaner Future: Alternative Fuel Vehicles in Utah examines the incentives and disincentives around electric cars, as well as the policy decisions around preparation for a wide proliferation of electric vehicles in the future. It also examines the incentives and requirements around public and private heavy-duty fleet vehicles.   Key Findings of this Report Electric vehicles – or battery electric cars and plug-in hybrids – accounted for less than 2% of the nation’s new … Continued

A Lighter Load: Utah’s Changing Tax Burden

Written by: Christopher Collard

Taxes and government spending are a top issue for Utah voters. Tax reform is a top priority for the Utah Legislature and administration. In early 2019, legislators attempted a sweeping tax reform, and have continued to discuss options throughout the year. Utah’s tax burden has steadily decreased from 2007 to 2016. The corresponding decrease in state ranking signifies that this is not just part of a national trend. Among all states, Utah’s tax burden saw … Continued

Paying for Water: A Summary of the Series

Written by: Christopher Collard

Utah ranks as one of the nation’s driest states — and one of the fastest-growing. It is therefore essential that Utah’s water is well managed to ensure the sufficiency of affordable, quality water into the future. Utah Foundation’s series of water reports discusses Utah’s reliance on both water rates and property taxes to fund water infrastructure, operations and maintenance. Paying For Water Series This series contains four parts as outlined below. • Entire Report: Paying … Continued