September 12, 2025(Daily Utah Chronicle) - …A 2024 report from the Utah Foundation, a nonpartisan research firm, reveals that political dysfunction is a top concern among Utah voters. According to the study, more than three in five Utah voters think the state is on the wrong track, which is the largest portion since 2004. Shireen Ghorbani, former member of the Salt Lake County Council, said she believes this political dysfunction stems from inaccurate representation of constituents in the legislature. “There is … Continued
September 01, 2025(KUER) - …Utahns do seem to care about water, though. In a 2024 Utah Foundation survey, Utahns listed water as their sixth priority and Great Salt Lake as their 16th. The survey results also showed that there was a willingness to remove half of a lawn or allow it to be brown during the summer months to reduce the cost of Utah’s water infrastructure investments by 30%. Shawn Teigen is the president of Utah Foundation, and over … Continued
August 28, 2025(Standard-Examiner) - Utah is the fifth-highest in the nation in the ranking of “focus on future generations,” a number largely driven by its high birth rates, which remain the highest in the nation. Also, by its strong effort to fund parks and recreation, according to a report from the Utah Foundation. Nationally, birth rates are shrinking. So are investments in schools, parks and youth organizations. However, the issue is deeper in Mountain states, where the effort to establish … Continued
August 27, 2025(Utah News Dispatch) - A Utah Foundation study found that birth rates and investments in public schools are large drivers in the state’s ranking Utah is the fifth-highest in the nation in the ranking of “focus on future generations,” a number largely driven by its high birth rates, which remain the highest in the nation. Also, by its strong effort to fund parks and recreation, according to a report from the Utah Foundation. Nationally, birth rates are shrinking. … Continued
August 27, 2025(KSL.com) - SALT LAKE CITY — When it comes to focusing on future generations and ensuring their prosperity, how is Utah doing? Is it lagging behind other states in the Mountain West? These are questions the Utah Foundation’s latest report dug into, and what it discovered is that most states in the Mountain West (Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Nevada, Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona) have seen a “rapid” decrease in their focus on future generations since 2013 — … Continued
August 18, 2025(The Rod & Greg Show) - Shawn Teigen, President of the Utah Foundation, joins Rod and Greg to discuss his recent op-ed piece in the Deseret News about why social capital, the way people utilize social connections to benefit themselves, matters to Utah.
August 14, 2025(Deseret News) - Utah is often ranked at the top among states, but is occasionally at the bottom. Due in part to the Beehive State’s demographics, we are sometimes number 1, but other times … not so much. For instance, we have the largest families, and in fact, are number 1 in the nation for family size. Relatedly, however, we spend less per student on K-12 education than any other state in the country. Another top-of-the-nation for Utah … Continued
August 14, 2025(Yahoo.com) - Utah is often ranked at the top among states, but is occasionally at the bottom. Due in part to the Beehive State’s demographics, we are sometimes number 1, but other times … not so much. For instance, we have the largest families, and in fact, are number 1 in the nation for family size. Relatedly, however, we spend less per student on K-12 education than any other state in the country. Another top-of-the-nation for Utah … Continued
July 16, 2025(Standard-Examiner) - …Utah lawmakers often campaign on conservative, free-market principles. They warn of government overreach and celebrate Utah’s economic dynamism. But when it comes to housing policy, their actions suggest a different playbook — one that funnels benefits to politically connected developers and other real-estate interests. At a time when Utah voters rank housing affordability as their No. 1 concern, according to a September 2024 Utah Foundation report, that disconnect deserves scrutiny…
July 15, 2025(City Cast) - Did you vote in the last election? When was the last city council meeting you went to? New research shows Utahns across the board are participating less in their communities, and that has consequences. Here’s what to know and some ways to flex that muscle. Utah Slips in Civic Engagement The Utah Foundation, a nonpartisan research group, recently released a report measuring the state’s social capital, defined as “the ways in which individuals can leverage … Continued
July 11, 2025(KSL) - Utah has lost ground compared to the rest of the nation when it comes to the level of civic engagement in recent years, according to a new report from the Utah Foundation. The report — part of the foundation’s series focusing on “social capital” in the Beehive State — tracked three metrics of civic engagement: voter turnout, public meeting attendance and donations to advocacy groups. Utah’s overall and relative public meeting attendance has decreased since … Continued
July 10, 2025(Cache Valley Daily) - Utah continues to demonstrate high levels of social capital—defined as the value of social networks and trust within communities—but recent trends suggest declines in civic engagement may threaten that strength, according to new research from the Utah Foundation. The two-part report, released in June and July, highlights how Utahns benefit from strong community ties, family networks, and social trust. These attributes contribute to better education, health outcomes, economic mobility, and disaster resilience. “Social capital is … Continued
June 26, 2025(KPCW) - …Utah women’s priorities in the 2024 elections were housing affordability, politicians listening to voters, inflation and government overreach, among others, according to the Utah Foundation. Women also tended to prioritize abortion and women’s rights while men ranked issues like crime and immigration higher up…
June 25, 2025(Utah News Dispatch) - …Utah women’s priorities in the 2024 elections were housing affordability, politicians listening to voters, inflation and government overreach, among others, according to the Utah Foundation. Women also tended to prioritize abortion and women’s rights while men ranked issues like crime and immigration higher up…
June 20, 2025(Utah Public Radio) - On this episode, we talk with Utah Foundation President Shawn Teigen about social capital, which they define as “…the bonds between people and among networks, which they can use to benefit themselves and the group as a whole.” The Utah Foundation released a report on social capital in Utah in 2021 and they are preparing to release an update. We’ll talk about social trust, social cohesion, civic engagement, community life, family health, and other factors.
June 18, 2025(Utah State Today) - …Three recent surveys studied Utahn’s priorities and found multiple differences by gender. 1. The 2024 Utah Foundation survey found that housing affordability and politicians listening to voters were the top priorities for both men and women, followed closely by government overreach and inflation. A notable difference was that men included immigration in their top 10 priorities, while women included homelessness…
May 28, 2025(Salt Lake Tribune) - …Saturday’s results will reveal if his message has resonated with delegates. According to a recent report by the Utah Foundation, delegates trend much older than other registered Democrats. Roughly 58% of Democratic delegates were born in the ’60s or earlier. By contrast, 61% of Utah’s larger Democratic electorate was born after 1980…
May 17, 2025(Deseret News) - …The Utah Foundation recently published a survey showing that while there are more women voters in our state than men, women make up only 37% of Republican delegates. Because one must attend their biannual caucus meeting in person on a Tuesday in March to become a delegate, voters with young children, disabilities or who work during evening hours are vastly underrepresented in the pool of delegates…
May 15, 2025(Axios) - A new report reveals ideological divides and priority gaps between Utah’s party delegates and the voters they aim to represent. State of play: Republican and Democratic delegates appeared more pessimistic than voters about the state’s trajectory, according to the report by the Utah Foundation, a nonpartisan policy research organization. By the numbers: 84% of Democratic and 55% of Republican delegates said the state is heading in the wrong direction, compared with Democratic (79%) and Republican … Continued
May 15, 2025(KSL.com) - …Candidates chosen by the delegates have historically underperformed in Republican primary elections — gubernatorial candidate Phil Lyman and Senate candidate Trent Staggs are recent examples who lost their primary after winning at convention — and a new survey released by the Utah Foundation Wednesday found that the median Republican delegate is more conservative than the median GOP voter. “In terms of issue priorities, Republican delegates place less importance on a few items like housing, roads … Continued
