Official Federal Data
Salt Lake County, Utah
Salt Lake City-Murray, UT · Population 1,196,523
10 Sources
Updated August 12, 2026
$97,494 up from the baseline named below
Median Income (nominal) vs 2019
$80,734 national
3.6% up from the baseline named below
Unemployment vs 2024
4.3% national
$153.8B up from the baseline named below
GDP real, vs 2023
39.4% up from the baseline named below
Bachelor's+ vs 2019
35.7% national
Demographics & Population
Census Bureau American Community Survey 2020-2024 · 5-Year Estimates
Household Income
Source: U.S. Census Bureau · American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Median Household (nominal)
$97,494 up from 2019 vs 2019
Per Capita
$45,106 up from 2019 vs 2019
Mean Household
$124,982 up from 2019 vs 2019
Median Household (cost-of-living adjusted)
$96,624 metro RPP 100.9
Poverty Rate
8.1% down from 2019 vs 2019
Median Income Comparison
Salt Lake County$97,494
Utah$95,166
National$80,734
Cost-of-living adjustment uses the BEA all-items regional price parity for Salt Lake City-Murray, UT, 100.9 against a national average of 100 (2024). BEA publishes regional price parity at state and metropolitan level only; there is no county figure, so the metro index stands in for Salt Lake County and the adjusted median is an approximation. Per capita and mean household income above are nominal and carry no adjustment.
Population Profile
Source: Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 · Table B01001, B02001, B03003
CohortsShare of total population
Under 18 · 25.3%
18-34 · 26.4%
35-54 · 26.7%
55-64 · 9.8%
65+ · 11.9%
Race & Ethnicity
Hispanic or Latino is an ethnic category and overlaps with the race categories above.
Educational Attainment
Source: Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 · Table B15003 · Population 25+
91.9%
High School+
National: 89.6%
up from national +2.3 pts vs national
39.4%
Bachelor's+
National: 35.7%
up from national +3.7 pts vs national
14.6%
Graduate+
National: 14.1%
up from national +0.5 pts vs national
Employment Overview
Source: U.S. Census Bureau · American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
1,196,523
Population
671,909
Labor Force
Employed
645,291
Unemployment Rate BLS LAUS 2025 annual
3.6% up from 2024 +0.3 pts vs 2024
Mean Commute 4 min below national avg
22.3 min
Work From Home vs 15.1% national
19.7%
Labor Force and Employed are ACS 5-Year survey estimates; the Unemployment Rate above comes from BLS LAUS, a separate monthly survey with its own methodology. The two won't reconcile by subtracting one from the other.
Key Takeaways
- Income premium: Households earn well above the national median, supporting strong retail and housing markets.
- Young population: Median age of 34 is materially below the U.S. norm, a workforce pipeline asset.
Economy & Industry
Bureau of Labor Statistics QCEW · Bureau of Economic Analysis
$153.8B up from 2023 +2.4% vs 2023
Gross Domestic Product · 2024
+2.4% real (inflation-adjusted)
·
+5% nominal
· 2023 to 2024
Source: Bureau of Economic Analysis · level and nominal change from CAGDP2 (current dollars); real change from CAGDP9 (chained 2017 dollars), both all-industry total. The two series agree in 2017, the chain reference year, and diverge by the amount of price change since.
100.9
Cost of Living · metro · Above Avg
Key Takeaways
- Largest private-sector industry: Health Care and Social Assistance employs 79,223 workers (13.5% of tracked sectors), at an average wage of $65,329. Every industry figure on this page is private sector; government employs a further 114,743 and is counted separately.
- Economic scale: Regional GDP of $153.8B (2024).
- Wage stratification: Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services averages $124,831 while Accommodation and Food Services averages $29,050, a 4.3x spread in the same local economy, with implications for workforce development and talent strategy.
Source: BLS QCEW + BEA Regional GDP.
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Industry Concentration
Location Quotient measures regional specialization vs. national average. LQ > 1.0 = concentrated.
Cluster Depth
Source: BLS QCEW · Sub-sectors with LQ ≥ 1.5 indicate genuine cluster concentration
Concentrated Sub-Sectors
14 sub-sectors at LQ ≥ 1.5
Largest grouping among them is Finance & Insurance Cluster at 26.3% of the employment across all of them, which signals supply-chain fit for site selectors
84,306
Employment in the sub-sectors listed
7.25x
Peak sub-sector LQ
Sub-Sector Detail, Highest 10 By LQ
Funds, Trusts, and Other Financial Vehicles
7.25x 1,274
Miscellaneous Manufacturing
3.60x 11,461
Air Transportation
2.66x 7,936
Mining (except Oil and Gas)
2.26x 2,208
Motion Picture and Sound Recording Industries
2.22x 4,175
Publishing Industries and Telecommunications
2.20x 10,272
Couriers and Messengers
2.05x 12,014
Computing Infrastructure Providers and Data Processing
1.93x 4,864
Credit Intermediation and Related Activities
1.93x 25,810
Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers
1.85x 4,292
+ 4 more sub-sectors at LQ ≥ 1.5, holding a further 18,553 jobs not counted in the total above. See the spider chart for the broader picture.
Attraction Opportunities
LQ < 0.5 with ≥ 50 employed, screened against local siting constraints. Source: BLS QCEW
0.09x
Crop Production
247 employed
0.15x
Animal Production and Aquaculture
206 employed
0.20x
Oil and Gas Extraction
120 employed
0.23x
Transit and Ground Passenger Transportation
688 employed
0.25x
Textile Mills
105 employed
0.43x
Social Assistance
11,142 employed
0.45x
Transportation Equipment Manufacturing
4,055 employed
Screened on industrial power cost, rail-truck intermodal access, land base.
Industrial electricity in Utah costs 8.43¢/kWh against 8.62¢/kWh nationally (2025).
Utah has 1 rail-truck intermodal terminal, the nearest 8 miles from the county.
Land area 753 sq mi, larger than 64% of US counties.
Sources: EIA, BTS NTAD, Census Gazetteer.
Key Takeaways
- Top specialization: Funds, Trusts, and Other Financial Vehicles concentrates at 7.25x the national norm, top-decile concentration, the kind of signature sector that defines a region's economic identity to site selectors.
- Cluster depth: 14 sub-sectors register LQ ≥ 1.5, and no single source of demand accounts for more than 26.3% of the employment across them, the largest being finance and insurance. Demand reaches this base from more than one market rather than from a single one.
- Attraction whitespace: 7 sub-sectors register LQ < 0.5 with at least 50 employed, candidates for diversification or recruitment depending on labor-market fit.
Source: BLS QCEW sub-sector Location Quotients.
Housing & Affordability
Census ACS · HUD Fair Market Rents FY2026
Housing Overview
Source: Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates · Tables B25001, B25077, B25064, B25004
$525,700 up from the baseline named below
Median Home Value vs 2019
$1,592 up from the baseline named below
Rent/Mo vs 2019
66.1% down from the baseline named below
Owner-Occ vs 2019
5.2% down from the baseline named below
Vacancy vs 2019
2.3% available
for rent or sale
for rent or sale
5.4x
Home Value to Income Ratio - Stretched
vs. ~4.1x national average
HUD Fair Market Rents
HUD publishes these by FMR area, which may cover more than one county · Source: HUD · Fair Market Rents FY2026 · Affordability threshold and renter cost burden from Census ACS B25119, B25070
Studio
$1,259/mo
1 Bedroom
$1,456/mo
2 Bedroom
$1,747/mo
3 Bedroom
$2,333/mo
4 Bedroom
$2,666/mo
30% of monthly median renter household income (~$1,574/mo, from a renter median of $62,945) · rents above this line are typically considered cost-burdened.
Measured: 46.8% of renter households already pay 30% or more of income on rent, and 21.5% pay 50% or more.
Key Takeaways
- Stretched market: Home value to income ratio of 5.4x is well above the ~4.1x national average; attainable workforce housing may be a recruitment friction.
- Affordable rent tiers: 2 of 5 HUD Fair Market Rent bedroom sizes sit below what a household on the median renter income of $62,945 can pay without cost burden (~$1,574/mo), and 46.8% of renter households are measured as cost-burdened.
Source: Census ACS housing tables + HUD Fair Market Rents.
Workforce Pipeline
Labor force readiness, commuting, and workforce composition
Labor Market Overview
Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Tables B01001, B23001, B23025, B08303, B08301
752,027 up from the baseline named below
Working Age (18-64) vs 2019
Mean Commute 4 min below national avg
22.3 min
Work From Home vs 15.1% national
19.7%
Prime-Age Employed (25-54)
84.6%
of prime-age population
Prime-age rate numerator is civilian employed (B23001); the denominator is total population aged 25-54 (B01001), which also includes armed forces.
of population age 16 and over (931,242)
unchanged from 2019 vs 2019
Education & Talent Pipeline
Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Table B15003 · College Scorecard
Bachelor's+
39.4% up from 2019 vs 2019
HS Diploma+
91.9% up from 2019 vs 2019
Institutions in Salt Lake County
Largest 6 of 21 by credentials awarded, in Salt Lake County
Credentials awarded in Salt Lake County
60,687/yr
43,908/yr
9,223/yr
5,181/yr
938/yr
803/yr
634/yr
Aging Workforce
Source: Census Bureau ACS · Derived from age & employment tables
15.6%
55-64 of working-age population (18-64)
Same cohort is 9.8% of total population, the basis used in the Demographics cohort chart.
Workforce by Occupation
Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Table C24010 · Civilian employed population 16+
Management / Professional
44.4%
Service
13.3%
Sales & Office
21.4%
Construction / Maint.
8.2%
Production / Transport
12.7%
Bars are drawn on a 0% to 60% axis, so bar length is proportional to actual share. Labels give each group's share of 645,291 employed workers.
Key Takeaways
- Healthy participation: 72.2% labor force participation reflects a steady, available local workforce.
- Talent pipeline: the 6 largest of 21 institutions in Salt Lake County award 60,687 credentials a year. Employers drawing from a wider labor shed should read this alongside institutions outside the county, which this page does not aggregate.
Source: ACS workforce data and College Scorecard.
AI Insights
Sample output. Pulse AI analysis draws on 10 federal data sources.
Sample AI Insight
Salt Lake County shows strong potential for funds, trusts, and other financial vehicles attraction, with a 7.25x concentration and 1,274 jobs in this sub-sector. It ranks in the top decile nationally.
The concentrated base spans funds, trusts, and other financial vehicles, miscellaneous manufacturing, and air transportation, and no single source of demand accounts for more than 26.3% of the employment across them, the largest being finance and insurance. Supply-chain recruitment has more than one demand base to work from.
Industry Shift Analysis
Manufacturing Automation Risk
High
Healthcare Growth Forecast
+4.2% CAGR
Remote Work Migration
67/100
Prospect Match Scores
Advanced Manufacturing
92/100
Life Sciences
84/100
Data Centers
71/100
Illustrative example
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Data Sources
Updated from official federal government data.
Census ACS 5-Year2024
BLS QCEW2025 annual
BLS LAUS (via FRED)2025 annual
BEA Regional GDP2024
BEA Regional Price Parity2024
Census CBP2023
HUD Fair Market RentsFY2026
FCC Broadband Map2024
USAspending.govFY2026
College ScorecardAY 2022-23
American Community Survey figures on this page are 2020-2024 five-year averages rather than single-year counts. A five-year estimate pools 60 months of survey responses, so each value describes the period as a whole.
Frequently Asked Questions
Key economic and demographic figures for Salt Lake County, Utah, from federal data sources.
What is the population of Salt Lake County, Utah?
1,196,523 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates).
What is the median household income in Salt Lake County, Utah?
$97,494 in nominal dollars (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates). Adjusted for local prices using the BEA all-items regional price parity for Salt Lake City-Murray, UT (100.9 against a national average of 100), that is $96,624 at national average prices. BEA publishes regional price parity at metro level; there is no county-level figure.
What is the unemployment rate in Salt Lake County, Utah?
3.6% (2025 annual average, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, LAUS).
What is the GDP of Salt Lake County, Utah?
$153.8B (U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, CAGDP2).
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