May 8, 2025 (Salt Lake City) – Each year, the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute recognizes individuals and entities that work, often behind the scenes and with little fanfare, to help our community prosper. We call them “Informed Decision Makers” and select them based on criteria consistent with the Institute’s committable core values: Responsibility to the community, research integrity and relevance, accountability, collaboration, positivity, and passion. […]

May 8, 2025 (Salt Lake City) – Utah’s international trade sector continued to be a powerful driver of the state’s economy in 2024, with $18.2 billion in goods exports supporting 70,171 jobs, according to a new report released today by the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute. The report details the significant contributions of exports to Utah’s economy, including nearly $8.0 billion to the state’s gross domestic product (GDP) and $15.9 billion to the state’s gross output. […]

May 7, 2025 (Salt Lake City) – Utah’s consumer sentiment fell slightly in April (down 1.4%), from 81.1 in March to 80.0, according to the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute’s Survey of Utah Consumer Sentiment. A similar survey conducted by the University of Michigan measured a significantly steeper decline (8.4%) in sentiment among Americans as a whole. While four of the five questions comprising the state index showed little movement this month, the question gauging expectations for business conditions in the near future declined 8.6%. U.S. consumer sentiment, as measured by the University of Michigan, has declined 29.5% since December, [...]

May 1, 2025 (Salt Lake City) – Utah’s energy sector continues to evolve as the forces of supply, demand, and technological change influence production and competition. The state benefits from abundant and diverse energy resources, including large reserves of conventional fossil fuels and several areas suitable for renewable resource development. A new research brief documents Utah’s record crude oil production in 2024, an exponential increase in utility-scale PV solar capacity, a return as a net energy exporter, and other details of Utah’s evolving energy landscape. […]

April 28, 2025 (Salt Lake City) – States and the federal government share a vital economic relationship. This data summary, the eleventh in a series on state and federal economic linkages from the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute, presents the Utah-federal government nexus for federal public education funding in Utah. […]

April 25, 2025 (Salt Lake City) – States and the federal government share a vital economic relationship. This data summary, the tenth in a series on state and federal economic linkages from the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute, presents the Utah-federal government nexus for federal housing assistance. […]

April 22, 2025 (Salt Lake City) – Utah’s distinctive marriage demographics set it apart from the nation. A new report from the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute shows that Utah has the highest percentage of married adult residents in the nation (54.9%) and comparatively small shares of widowed and divorced residents. In 2023, Utah’s female marriage rate was also the highest in the nation. Adding to these distinctive marriage demographics, Utahns marry younger than residents in every other state. […]

April 22, 2025 (Salt Lake City) – Various state and federal tax provisions and programs may create a “marriage penalty” or a “marriage bonus.” A new report from the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute focuses on selected state-level policies to determine whether they create different levels of marriage penalties, many of which tie directly to federal policies carried into state-administered programs. […]

April 17, 2025 (Salt Lake City) – Peer support specialists are “individuals who use their lived experience in recovery from mental health and/or substance use disorder…to deliver services promoting recovery and resilience.” The Utah 2025 Peer Support Specialist Workforce Survey, conducted by the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute and Utah Peer Network, suggests ways to effectively engage peer support specialists as part of an integrated care team and help address retention, burnout, and turnover challenges. […]

April 10, 2025 (Salt Lake City) – Median household income provides helpful insights into a region’s overall economic well-being. A new research brief from the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute details how Utah’s median household income has ranked high in recent years relative to other states, meaning Utah’s middle-income households earn more on average than middle-income households in other states. After adjusting for cost-of-living differences between states, Utah’s median household income of $98,336 ranks highest in the country, nearly 27% higher than the U.S. average of $77,719. […]