Blog

Significant Statistics | Women are powering labor force recovery

Written by: Christopher Collard

The pandemic caused a massive number of Americans to leave the workforce. As a result, the U.S. labor force participation rate was the lowest since the 1970s.1 Women played a critical role in the post-pandemic recovery of the U.S. labor force participation rate.2 Women power post-pandemic labor force participation recovery. Figure 1: U.S. Labor Force Participation Rate by Gender, indexed to April 2020 What about Utah? The data are more limited and consequently not as clear. … Continued

Significant Statistics | Successes and Shortcomings in Post-Secondary Education

Written by: Ella Sjoblom

Nearly 62% of Utahns between the ages of 25 and 64 possess a college degree or other quality post-secondary credential, surpassing Lumina Foundation’s nationwide attainment target of 60%.1 Utah does not currently have a statewide post-secondary educational attainment goal. However, in 2013, Governor Herbert adopted an ambitious 66% target by 2020.2 Between 2013 and 2020, Utah’s post-high school educational attainment increased by nearly five percentage points and three more by 2023.* This is a far … Continued

Utah Thrives Podcast | Top Research Findings of 2024

Written by: Christopher Collard

In this podcast, Utah Foundation staff members Christopher Collard, Ashley Marshall-Cantor, and Shawn Teigen talk about the top research findings of 2024. They cover the Utah Priorities Project, taxes, and housing. Listen below!  

Significant Statistics | Utah’s 8th-grade reading slips on the Nation’s Report Card

Written by: Shawn Teigen

Bad news: Utah was one of eight states where 8th-grade students’ reading scores were lower in 2024 than in 2022. Worse news: No states saw any improvement on the 4th-grade reading or 8th-grade reading or math scores. Better news: Utah’s 4th-grade reading and math scores and Utah’s 8th-grade math scores remained unchanged (in terms of statistically significant differences).  Good news: 15 states improved in 4th-grade math. And Utah remains better than the nation on all four tests (though … Continued

Op-ed: Legislators must consider cost of living and political dysfunction

Written by: Shawn Teigen

The Utah Legislature will likely spend much time over the next couple of months talking about K-12 and post-secondary education, energy, immigration, taxes and elections. But what should they consider if they want to be responsive to what matters most to Utahns? The answer: cost of living and political dysfunction. Cost of living: Housing With respect to the cost of living, voters were concerned about housing costs and all other household expenses following periods of … Continued

Significant Statistics | Ozone in the Unita Basin

Written by: Staff

Ground-level ozone is of concern to policymakers because of public health risks. Breathing ground-level ozone can cause respiratory problems, especially for vulnerable groups including children, older people, people who work outdoors, and those with preexisting respiratory conditions such as asthma.1 One source of ground-level ozone is from methane gas. The difference in methane emissions across Utah counties helps explain why Uintah and Duchesne counties have ground-level ozone concentrations of about 40% and 30% higher, respectively, … Continued

Significant Statistics | Board Votes for Top 2024 Findings

Written by: Shawn Teigen

  The Utah Foundation’s Board of Trustees not only determines each year’s research agenda – it also determines the most important findings for the year. Nearly two-thirds (64%) of the board voters picked the number one choice.   Note: The percents above show the board members who voted for each issue. Each board member had three votes to select the top items from a final list of 10.   Three findings are from the Utah … Continued

Kelly Mendenhall Leads the Utah Foundation Board of Trustees into 2025

Written by: Shawn Teigen

SALT LAKE CITY (Jan. 3, 2025) – The Utah Foundation today announces the 2025 leadership team for its board of trustees, with Kelly Mendenhall, Director of Regulatory and Pricing at Enbridge, appointed as Board Chair. Mendenhall has worked for Enbridge and its predecessor companies for over 25 years. A native of Utah, he has supported the Utah Foundation as a board member since 2017. He was previously the Utah Foundation’s Vice Chair. Utah Foundation President Shawn … Continued

Utah Thrives Podcast | Interview with Steve Waldrip

Written by: Christopher Collard

Utah’s Senior Advisor for Housing Strategy and Innovation and former member of the Utah State House of Representatives talks with Utah Foundation Trustee Thomas Young about the top issue of the 2024 Utah Priorities Project: housing affordability.

Op-ed: Why Utah might be well-positioned to counter hyperpartisanship

Written by: Shawn Teigen

I was initially an Olympics naysayer, routinely asking, “What is the point in spending so much on sports?” During the leadup and throughout the 2002 Games, I realized that maybe I’d sold short the Olympics’ upsides. To me, it became transformational, as the sense of community I’d felt was unlike any I’d seen since moving to the state. Now, I’m a Utah Hockey Club naysayer and cannot wait to be proven wrong again. In my … Continued