UNAFFORDABLE UTAH

Utah ranks 45th in the country for affordable housing

Feb 21, 2023, 9:15 PM

FILE: A for sale sign is pictured in Salt Lake City on Thursday, July 15, 2021. Home prices are hig...

FILE: A for sale sign is pictured in Salt Lake City on Thursday, July 15, 2021. Home prices are high, and so are mortgage rates. That might make you wonder, who's actually able to buy houses in Utah right now? (Kristin Murphy/Deseret News)

(Kristin Murphy/Deseret News)

SALT LAKE CITY — It’s no surprise that housing is expensive right now, but it’s that way everywhere, right? Wrong. According to Today’s Homeowner, Utah is 45th in the country when it comes to affordable housing.

This means only a handful of places are less affordable than The Beehive State.

Today’s Homeowner compared median monthly mortgage payments and median pretext monthly income to determine affordability.

On average, Utahns spend just over 41% of their monthly income on housing, according to Today’s Homeowner. That’s a lot more than the recommended 30%.

Many of the places ranking lower than Utah, in terms of affordable housing, are found on the west coast. This includes California, Hawaii, Washington and Oregon. The other two ranking lower than Utah are Montana and the District of Columbia.


Devin Oldroyd contributed to this story.

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Utah ranks 45th in the country for affordable housing