By McKenzie Romero | Editor
Fifteen years ago, the research nonprofit Utah Foundation started its quality of life survey “as a way to gauge when Utah’s livability has gotten a bit off track,” according to its current president.
The report’s latest findings put the state’s scores at the lowest ever recorded since the effort began, with Utahns saying they are especially struggling when it comes to affording a home and making ends meet.
In today’s Dispatch we break down where Utahns see their quality of life slipping, a voter-focused No Kings protest in Salt Lake City and how the data center industry became the nation’s largest investment.
“Utah is amazing, but we’ve seen a decade of decline in our quality of life. To turn that around, we’ll need to maintain the support we provide to our neighbors, improve Utahns’ ability to earn enough to pay for their needs and ensure that Utahns have opportunities for good jobs.” — Shawn Teigen, president of the Utah Foundation, in response to the nonprofit’s findings about quality of life in the state.
Traffic moves along I-15 near neighborhoods in the Rose Park neighborhood of Salt Lake City on Wednesday, Jan. 3, 2024. (Photo by Spenser Heaps for Utah News Dispatch)
By Katie McKellar
The Utah Foundation report found all but two quality of life factors have declined in Utah since 2013. Concerns about housing unaffordability and cost of living were the highest contributors to the decline, while opportunities for good jobs was the only factor that dipped significantly from 2022 to 2026.
At the same time, surveyed Utahns had higher ratings for other aspects in their communities, including religious activities, natural surroundings and parks and recreation. They also rated community support as the “most important factor in determining Utahns’ overall quality-of-life rating.”
Protesters display their ballots before casting them at the ballot drop box outside the Salt Lake City Public Library on Saturday, Oct 17, 2026. (Photo by Marco Lozzi for Utah News Dispatch)
By McKenzie Romero
Protesters in Salt Lake City’s No Kings demonstration marched with their votes in hand to deposit in a downtown drop box. The city’s fourth No Kings event called for voters to demonstrate their opposition to the Trump administration and some Utah Republican leaders through their ballots.
Some of the loudest reactions came as speakers at the rally pointed to environmental issues like data center construction and removal of protection for public lands, including President Donald Trump’s executive order shrinking Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments.
Work continues on the new QTS data center in Eagle Mountain, Utah, on April 17, 2026. (Photo by Spenser Heaps for Utah News Dispatch)
STATELINE
By Time Henderson
The sheer size of investment in data centers is drawing concern as it surpasses all other historical booms and crowds out other more job-creating ventures.
Railroads in the 19th century consumed about $173 billion in today’s dollars and created more than 2% of the nation’s annual economic output (GDP) over 20 years. Today’s data center buildout will dwarf that amount, with $10 trillion in investment, and now have almost twice the economic impact — nearly 4% of GDP.
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