1 of 13

2 of 13

THE U.S. IN 2022 VERSUS 2018: MOVING IN THE WRONG DIRECTION ON MULTIPLE FRONTS.

Since 2020:

Children have suffered learning loss.
Mental health has declined.
Drug overdoses are up.
About 50% of Americans feel their health has declined since 2019.
Inflation is at its highest level in 40 years.
Mortgage rates in 2022 have surged to highest level since 2009.
The stock market is in a rough patch.
There are recessionary signals.
Trust in institutions – the government, the media, the the medical system, public schools, business, criminal justice, etc. – is in swift decline.

3 of 13

Utah’s strong performance in multiple categories

help to make it the nation’s leader on social capital.

4 of 13

While year-to-year variation had been small between 2011 and 2018, Utah’s Community Quality of Life Index score decreased significantly in 2022.

5 of 13

Housing affordability and other costs of living accounted for nearly two-thirds of the overall decrease in community quality of life from 2018 to 2022. Eleven other factors also decreased during the same time period.

Two factors bear most of the blame for the downturn. Housing affordability and other costs of living accounted for nearly two-thirds of the overall decrease in community quality of life from 2018 to 2022. Eleven other factors also decreased during the same time period. The availability of good jobs is the only factor on Utah Foundation’s Community Quality of Life Index that has trended upward during the past decade.

Affordable housing by far has the lowest performance rating in the index. This should come as no surprise. The cost of housing in Utah went through the roof from late 2020 to late 2021 – with a year-over-year appreciation of nearly one-third. From 2010 to 2021, an inflation-adjusted mortgage payment with 10% down on a median-priced Utah home increased by $469, from $1,131 to $1,600.

6 of 13

Homeownership is critical to long-term housing affordability. But the American Dream is rapidly becoming unaffordable for a growing proportion of Utahns.

Expanding homeownership opportunities is an important component to long-term affordability. In a 2018 report, the Utah Foundation found that, when adjusting for inflation, Utah homeowners’ monthly costs had decreased by 10% during the previous 10 years, while renters’ costs had increased by 14%. And those increases just keep going. For example, Davis County and Utah County rents increased more than 50% from January 2019 to July 2021.

Furthermore, homeownership is correlated with wealth. The median Utah homeowner’s net worth is $255,000, while the median renter net worth is $6,300. Unfortunately, in 2020, the share of renters priced out of Utah’s median-priced home jumped to 73%, from 63% the year before. In other words, the American Dream is rapidly becoming unaffordable for a growing proportion of Utahns.

7 of 13

MISSING MIDDLE HOUSING

8 of 13

Focus Areas for Policymakers

Promote quality affordable housing and find other ways to reduce the cost of living.
Build on policies and programs aimed at improving air quality.
Invest in the built environment and enhance land use policies to promote attractive, high-quality developments and pedestrian-friendly streetscapes with key amenities.
Improve transportation infrastructure.

9 of 13

10 of 13

All seven factors in the Personal Quality of Life Index declined between 2018 and 2022.

11 of 13

12 of 13

Electronic device usage is rapidly becoming a major feature of daily life for Utah children.

Share of Children 0-17 that Spent 4+ Hours on Electronic Devices in the Average Weekday, Utah and the United States: 2007-2017

But it’s not all about money. Nationally, mental health went into steep decline beginning in 2020. Homicides surged. Drug overdoses spiked. Meanwhile, the surge in electronic entertainment device usage suggests that we’re self-medicating through technology. And an increasing chorus is suggesting that this is having a negative impact, particularly on teenagers and particularly when it comes to social media. It doesn’t help that we’re seeing declining trust in national institutions, increasing political polarization and a national media profit model built on drama, rancor and fear.

To be sure, the public sector can act to improve community quality of life, and that may have knock-on benefits for personal quality of life. Remember, the findings from the community report suggested a need for promoting the production of quality, affordable housing and exploring other ways to reduce the cost of living. They also suggested investing in the built environment and enhancing land use policies to promote attractive, high-quality developments and streetscapes that are pedestrian friendly and include key amenities; building on policies and programs aimed at improving air quality; and investing in transportation and transit infrastructure to reduce traffic and improve the quality of roads and highways.

When it comes to challenges like inflation, Utah is subject to national levers and, more importantly, broad market forces. But given what taxpayers are saying about their cost of living and financial outlook, it is becoming more critical to make tax dollars count.

As we look to invest infrastructure dollars, then, let’s keep quality of life in the background.

13 of 13

HOW CAN WE PROMOTE HEALTHY LIFESTYLES IN UTAH?

This leads to our work with GetHealthy. The Utah Foundation is working with Get Healthy Utah on an in-depth analysis around policy decisions that can affect active and healthy lifestyles, as well as the related fiscal and health (mental and physical) costs to the public. We’ll be looking at land use, transportation and related policies, as well as planned investments in active transportation and recreation infrastructure. These are some of the very issues at the core of the policy findings around our community quality of life work. I would also point out that in the personal quality of life study, we found a reported decline in personal health. So that brings added impetus to this work. Other areas to explore include decisions around healthy food access, including zoning policies. We know that health disparities exist in Utah, so this policy analysis will specifically look at populations and geographic areas that may need special attention due to disparities in offerings or health outcomes.

I could go on, but I’ll leave it at that out of respect for the clock. Thanks for your attention.