Report: Utah’s price-adjusted $98k median income leads the nation

While not a purely scientific measure, the cost of a date isn’t a bad jumping-off point for a peek at the relative costs in different areas of the U.S.

A breakdown published earlier this year by The Black Tux shows, perhaps not surprisingly, that New York and San Francisco hold down the top two spots as most costly locales for a night out on the town. And, by comparison, Salt Lake City looks like an absolute bargain in its place, sitting in 40th among the top 50.

Turns out this discount date night data equates pretty well when it comes to a bigger, and more rigorous, assessment of Utah’s economy and particularly so for the state’s nation-leading status in household earnings and overall economic growth.

What’s behind the state’s high household income

A new report from the University of Utah’s Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute found Utah households are No. 1 in the nation when measured by median household incomes, adjusted for the state’s cost of living. That figure, $98,336 is not only tops in the U.S. but 27% higher than the average across the country. Even when evaluated at a nominal level, and ignoring cost of living advantages, Utah’s $93,421 comes eighth nationally.

“In recent years, Utah’s median household income ranks high relative to other states, meaning Utah’s middle-income households earn more on average than middle-income households in other states,” according to the report.

Maryland and Massachusetts came in just behind Utah, while West Virginia and Mississippi had the lowest median household incomes in the country.

One of the primary drivers behind the difference between Utah’s nominal ranking and the cost-of-living adjusted figure is that the state remains solidly affordable, even in the face of rising housing-related costs.

Using data from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Gardner researchers found that Utah is tracking well below the rest of the country in most, but not all, expense categories. Those include an all items measure, the cost of goods, utilities costs and “other services.” Utah ranks above the national average in only the housing category.

Those higher-than-average housing costs, driven by Utah’s soaring real estate market over the last few years, is blunted somewhat by the high rate of home ownership across the state, according to Gardner analysts.

“While some readily consider home prices when assessing cost of living, most Utahns (about 70%) own their homes, meaning higher home prices in recent years do not heavily weigh on the typical household’s budget and therefore do not result in a regional price parity score indicating higher than national average cost of living,” wrote Natalie Roney, Gardner research economist and author of the new report.

Cost-of-living varies widely across the state

While Utah, overall, remains solidly in the affordable category compared to the rest of the U.S., the cost of living factor, even within the state’s boundaries, varies widely.

“Urban areas like the Wasatch Front generally rank higher on cost-of-living measures than rural areas, although tourist hot spots also tend to be among the most expensive,” the report reads. “Summit County, for example, experiences the highest cost of living in Utah largely due to its tourist-driven economy.”

While Summit County residents are navigating a cost-of-living score of 111, with 100 representing the U.S. average, some rural counties come in well below that mark.

Emery County came in as the most affordable in the state, with an 81.3 on the cost-of-living index with Wayne County not too far behind with an 81.9 score. Counties that make up the state’s Wasatch Front had rates ranging from the low to upper 90s.

Big households are a big deal

Utah’s big household factor is also a big deal when it comes to pushing the state to the top of the income rankings.

Looking at the five-year average that includes the most recent U.S. Census Bureau data up to 2023, Utah had the nation’s largest average household size at 2.99 persons. That helped drive the country’s highest level of income earners, or labor participants, for each household at 1.59.

“Utah’s demographic composition in part explains Utah’s high ranking — Utah has the largest average household size and among the highest labor force participation rate,” according to the report. “Larger households lend toward more workers, increasing income potential for a given household.”

Utah’s overall economy kinda rules, too

Utah’s nation-leading numbers also extend into measures of the state’s overall economy.

For the first time ever, Utah’s GDP, a measure of the total value of goods and services produced in the state, broke the $300 billion mark in 2024, hitting $301 billion last year. Utah’s GDP year-over-year growth rate in 2024 came in at 4.5%, the highest in the U.S. The state is also holding down the No. 1 spot in cumulative GDP growth over the last 10 years with a 64% rate.

Phil Dean, chief economist for the Gardner Policy Institute, along with Roney, co-presented the report findings on Thursday and noted numerous factors have helped drive, and support, Utah’s robust economic performance.

“We often get asked why is Utah experiencing this growth,” Dean said. “I would go back to Utah’s very strong fundamentals. That we have a young and well-educated population, we have very competitive fiscal and regulatory policies that businesses really like. Our location as the Crossroads of the West is definitely a major contributor. If you look at the strong growth over the last several decades in the U.S. it’s in the South and the West but particularly the Intermountain West and we’re right in the middle of that.”

Dean also mentioned Utah’s “secret sauce” as a contributor to the state’s ongoing fiscal successes.

“And what we call social capital, social cohesion, our ability to talk to each other,” Dean said. “Our ability to work together. Sometimes we call that the secret sauce of what we do. It’s a topic that consistently comes up when people are looking to locate here.”