Monthly Archives: August 2022

Utah Thrives Podcast | Social Capital in Utah

Written by: Peter Reichard

Social Capital: An Overview of the 2021-22 Series In July, the Utah Foundation released the eighth installment in its Utah Social Capital Series. The series examined roughly 30 metrics in seven topical areas. They included civic engagement, social trust, community life, family life, social cohesion, social mobility and the focus on the next generation. The Network of Relationship: Utah’s Social Capital Index is the final report in the series. It takes together the findings of the previous … Continued

Press Release: Garffs to be Honored with the Utah Foundation’s 2022 Insight Award

Written by: Peter Reichard

Katharine and Robert Garff to be Honored with the Utah Foundation’s 2022 Insight Award Annual Luncheon Features Education Innovator Michael Horn as Keynote Speaker (August 24, 2022) – Katharine Garff and her late husband Robert will be honored with the Insight Award at Utah Foundation’s 2022 Annual Luncheon on November 16 at the Marriott City Creek Hotel. The purpose of the Insight Award is to recognize civic leaders who, through a career of service or philanthropic support, have … Continued

Significant Statistics | Salt Lake Remains Second Highest Metro for Home Price Increases

Written by: Shawn Teigen

The Utah Foundation’s 2022 Quality of Life project shows that Utahns’ perception of community quality of life is in decline. 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 The Federal Reserve increased interest rates four times in five months (March, May, June and July) in part to slow inflation. That seems to be having an impact in the housing … Continued

Op-ed: Utahns lead the nation on social capital — but do we spend enough time with our kids?

Written by: Peter Reichard

When it comes to the network of relationships people use to benefit themselves and the larger community, Utah stands apart from the nation at large. In late July, the Utah Foundation released the eighth report in its Social Capital Series, summarizing the findings of the series and tallying the metrics we deployed. Utah emerged with a strikingly high composite score of 94. This contrasts sharply with the national number, 54. Social capital comes in many … Continued

Op-ed: Utah’s economy is roaring, but how’s quality of life?

Written by: Peter Reichard

As the pandemic began, we predicted that Utah would emerge economically stronger than the rest of the nation. That’s what happened. On multiple measures, Utah tracks among the nation’s tippy-top performers. Take, for instance, the GDP growth from 2019 through 2021, the unemployment rate, population growth or the poverty rate. The Beehive State also leads the nation on multiple measures of community and family life, along with social mobility. The Utah economy has been roaring, … Continued

Utah Foundation Wins Top Awards for Policy Research

Written by: Shawn Teigen

Last week, the Utah Foundation was honored with several awards from the Governmental Research Association, a national association of governmental research professionals. The GRA presented the awards at its 109th annual conference and meeting, hosted by the Economy League of Greater Philadelphia. The Utah Foundation’s honors were as follows: Communications Category, Best Video: The Missing Middle of the Housing Market Most Distinguished Research Award, State Government Issue: Going for the Green: How Utah Can Thrive in the New … Continued