Demographics & Population

Taking Care of Our Seniors: An Assessment of Utah’s Aging Services

Written by: Mallory Bateman

The oldest Baby Boomers turn seventy this year. Though Utah is known as a young state, older adults represent more than ten percent of the population, and their numbers are increasing rapidly. Though there have been initiatives in the past, there is currently no state plan to address the needs of the growing senior population. This report describes some of the most critical services that the state’s twelve Area Agencies on Aging offer to seniors, … Continued

Millennials and Boomers: Politics and Society (Part IV)

Written by: Mallory Bateman

PART IV: POLITICS AND SOCIETY (See Part I: Demographics, Part II: Finances and Workplace Preferences, and Part III: Housing) Increased voter turnout in the 2008 presidential election helped create movement around understanding younger voters, who in previous election cycles had been thought of as an inactive group. National research has painted Millennials as a socially-conscious generation who do not identify with the two major parties. These attributes are influenced by their goals and values in … Continued

Millennials and Boomers: Housing Preferences (Part III)

Written by: Mallory Bateman

PART III: HOUSING PREFERENCES (see Part I: Demographics, Part II: Finances and Workplace Preferences, and Part IV: Politics and Society) Many headlines and reports in the past several years have highlighted location and housing preferences of Millennials. While Millennial home purchases stalled during the recession and subsequent years, Millennials were the largest share of home buyers in 2014. Since the economy is improving and more Millennials are getting older and forming new households, this trend … Continued

Millennials and Boomers: Finances and Workplace Preferences (Part II)

Written by: Mallory Bateman

PART II: FINANCES AND WORKPLACE PREFERENCES (See Part I: Demographics, Part III: Housing, and Part IV: Politics and Society) In the next decade, projections show that Millennials will make up 75% of the U.S. workforce. But what do Millennials want out of the workplace, and how does that differ from other generations? How does student debt affect workplace preferences? And how do Utahns feel about their current employers and incomes? In an effort to answer … Continued

Millennials and Boomers: How Utah’s Generations Compare to Each Other and the Nation (Part I)

Written by: Mallory Bateman

PART I: DEMOGRAPHICS (See Part II: Finances and Workplace Preferences, Part III: Housing, and Part IV: Politics and Society) In 2015, Millennials will overtake Baby Boomers in the U.S. as the largest generation. This is in contrast to Utah Millennials, who have been the largest proportion of the population since before the youngest members were even born. While nationally Gen Xers have held a smaller proportion of the population than either group, Utah Baby Boomers … Continued

Reaching Toward 2050: Education in the Midst of Population Growth

Written by: Shawn Teigen

The prospect of adding 385,000 school-aged Utahns over the next 35 years seems daunting. With this public school growth will come certain challenges, some of which the state has already been facing over the past two decades. Inadequate policy responses to these challenges may have produced a slide in national academic rankings, a decrease in education funding efforts, and an increase in tuition for college students. One way to address growth in the coming decades … Continued

Utah in the Fast Lane: An Analysis of Driving and Traffic Safety

Written by: Mallory Bateman

Are Utahns good drivers? That question is much debated. Many people think that they themselves are good drivers, but that other drivers are terrible. This report gestures towards the range of subjective assessments, but then turns to a more serious examination of Utah traffic laws that involve restraints and restrictions affecting safety on the roads. Specifically, the report discusses laws regarding seatbelts, booster seats, motorcycle helmets, teen driving, impaired driving, and distracted driving. Within the … Continued

The Roads Less Traveled: Survey Analysis and Research Regarding Utah’s Local Roads

Written by: Mallory Bateman

Over 75% of Utah roads are under city or county jurisdiction, and nearly 25% of vehicle miles traveled are on these local roads, which connect Utahns to their communities, the region, and the interstate highway system. Local connections provide a framework on which cities and counties grow – with roadways being one of the longest lasting pieces of infrastructure that a community will build. Utah Foundation conducted a survey of Utah’s cities and counties to … Continued

United Way of Treasure Valley Community Assessment 2014

Written by: Shawn Teigen

In 2013 the United Way of Treasure Valley retained Utah Foundation to perform a Community Assessment of the United Way’s three-county service area. Work was completed in 2014. The Community Assessment is seen as a foundation to achieve community goals. For the assessment, Utah Foundation analyzed community data as indicators of community success, barriers to reveal hindrances to community success, and opportunities as potential solutions to barriers. To inform the assessment, Utah Foundation held focus … Continued

Flowing Toward 2050: Utah’s Water Outlook

Written by: Mallory Bateman

Utah’s population is projected to grow by 2.5 million people in the next 35 years. The implications of this projected growth are far reaching for state and local agencies and for policy makers. Previous reports in the 2014 population growth series have discussed where growth will occur, who new Utahns will be, and what they will need to continue to have the quality of life that current Utahns enjoy. This report, the third in a … Continued