Salt Lake County, UT
Housing, jobs, water, deposits and federal obligations for this county, each figure with the release it came from. Internal point 40.67, -111.92.
Assembled 2026-10-19. Read the brief.
- 95th pct · 133rd of 3,063 US counties · median $230,451
- 81st pct · 6th of 28 Utah counties · median $445,634
- counties in the Salt Lake City-Murray metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 2 counties in the Salt Lake City-Murray metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 31st pct · 2,093rd of 3,062 US counties · median +2.9%
- 18th pct · 23rd of 28 Utah counties · median +2.5%
- counties in the Salt Lake City-Murray metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 2 counties in the Salt Lake City-Murray metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 61st pct · 520th of 1,358 US counties · median $1,506
- 42nd pct · 9th of 15 Utah counties · median $1,741
- counties in the Salt Lake City-Murray metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 2 counties in the Salt Lake City-Murray metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 99th pct · 24th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 100th pct · 1st of 29 Utah counties · median 8,951
- counties in the Salt Lake City-Murray metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 2 counties in the Salt Lake City-Murray metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 95th pct · 135th of 3,221 US counties · median $1,039
- 100th pct · 1st of 29 Utah counties · median $1,042
- counties in the Salt Lake City-Murray metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 2 counties in the Salt Lake City-Murray metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 84th pct · 465th of 3,063 US counties · median 4.2
- 25th pct · 21st of 28 Utah counties · median 8.1
- counties in the Salt Lake City-Murray metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 2 counties in the Salt Lake City-Murray metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
Typical home value divided by the average annual wage of one covered job.
A percentile here is a min-max scaling of average rank: the smallest published value in the cohort is 0 and the largest is 100, and tied values share the average of the ranks they span. It is not the share of entities below the value, so 0 means smallest, not none below. Entities that did not publish the metric are outside the cohort entirely and are counted in neither the rank nor its denominator.
Home values #
Typical home $567,330 (Sep 2026), +1.2% over one year, +12.6% over five
- 95th pct · 133rd of 3,063 US counties · median $230,451
- 81st pct · 6th of 28 Utah counties · median $445,634
- counties in the Salt Lake City-Murray metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 2 counties in the Salt Lake City-Murray metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Salt Lake County, UT | $567,330 · +1.2% 1-yr |
Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI), typical value of homes in the 35th to 65th percentile, smoothed and seasonally adjusted; a model estimate of value, not a sale price. Data through Zillow Research.
Rents #
Typical rent $1,644/mo (Sep 2026), +0.8% over one year; price-to-rent 28.8
- 61st pct · 520th of 1,358 US counties · median $1,506
- 42nd pct · 9th of 15 Utah counties · median $1,741
- counties in the Salt Lake City-Murray metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 2 counties in the Salt Lake City-Murray metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Salt Lake County, UT | $1,644/mo · +0.8% 1-yr |
Zillow Observed Rent Index (ZORI), smoothed, all homes and multifamily; price-to-rent = typical home / (typical rent × 12).
What the typical home costs to carry #
Principal and interest of $3,142 a month on $567,330 at 7.40%, against an average weekly wage worth $7,219 a month: 43.5% of one job’s pay.
- payment = P·r / (1 − (1+r)^−n), P = $567,330 × 80% = $453,864, r = 7.40%/12 (Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED, 2026-10-15), n = 360 → $3,142/mo principal and interest
- wage share = payment / (avg weekly wage $1,666 × 52 / 12 = $7,219) = 44% of one average job's pay (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all covered jobs)
- years of wages = $567,330 / ($1,666 × 52) = 6.5
- price-to-rent = $567,330 / ($1,644 × 12) = 28.8
The wage is one covered job’s average, not a household’s income, so this is the share of a single paycheque and not a mortgage underwriting ratio.
Estimate. Principal and interest on the typical home with 20% down over 30 years at this week's Freddie Mac average rate; compared with the average weekly wage of all jobs covered by unemployment insurance in the area (BLS QCEW), which is pay per job, not household income.
Jobs & wages #
806,304 jobs at 67,367 employers (2026 Q1); +0.8% jobs and +3.9% average weekly wage over the year
- 99th pct · 24th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 100th pct · 1st of 29 Utah counties · median 8,951
- counties in the Salt Lake City-Murray metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 2 counties in the Salt Lake City-Murray metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Salt Lake County, UT | 806,304 jobs · $1,666/wk · +0.8% YoY |
| NAICS sector | Jobs | Avg weekly wage | Location quotient | Jobs over the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Health care and social assistance | 80,966 | $1,252 | 0.67 | +3.7% |
| Professional and technical services | 74,735 | $2,628 | 1.34 | -1.0% |
| Retail trade | 67,664 | $958 | 0.86 | -3.7% |
| Manufacturing | 63,091 | $1,775 | 0.97 | +2.9% |
| Accommodation and food services | 58,041 | $566 | 0.80 | +0.8% |
| Construction | 54,391 | $1,591 | 1.29 | -1.8% |
| Finance and insurance | 52,825 | $2,919 | 1.61 | +4.1% |
| Administrative and waste services | 48,396 | $1,429 | 1.06 | -2.7% |
| Transportation and warehousing | 40,546 | $1,565 | 1.19 | -5.0% |
| Wholesale trade | 38,306 | $2,325 | 1.24 | -3.0% |
| Information | 22,994 | $2,867 | 1.55 | +2.8% |
| Other services | 19,846 | $1,108 | 0.82 | +0.5% |
BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, all ownerships, total covered employment in the quarter's third month; over-the-year changes as published. Suppressed cells stay blank.
Drought #
D2 severe drought
Sites found: 5, searched within 0 km of this place’s internal point. That is a disc around a point, not the area itself: sites outside the boundary are included, and sites inside it further than 0 km away are not.
US Drought Monitor current week; the highest class of any polygon containing the point.
Reservoirs #
Surface water layer not loaded
Sites found: 0, searched within 150 km of this place’s internal point. That is a disc around a point, not the area itself: sites outside the boundary are included, and sites inside it further than 150 km away are not.
Σ(capacity × percent full) / Σ capacity over TWDB reservoirs within 150 km. Texas only; elsewhere USGS reservoir elevation/storage is listed without a capacity to normalise by.
Stream gauges #
Surface water layer not loaded
Sites found: 0, searched within 75 km of this place’s internal point. That is a disc around a point, not the area itself: sites outside the boundary are included, and sites inside it further than 75 km away are not.
USGS latest readings screened against EPA freshwater criteria (DO ≥ 5 mg/L, pH 6.5–9, conductance, turbidity, temperature); NWS flood categories where a NWPS gauge is co-located.
Groundwater #
No USGS monitoring wells within 75 km (or above 1,500 km)
Sites found: 0, searched within 75 km of this place’s internal point. That is a disc around a point, not the area itself: sites outside the boundary are included, and sites inside it further than 75 km away are not.
USGS latest daily water levels. A single latest reading says where the table is, not which way it is moving; select a well for its 365-day trace.
Water stress #
high (0.50)
Σ wᵢ·termᵢ / Σ wᵢ = 0.35×0.50 / 0.35
Banks & federal dollars #
$1.18 tn in deposits at 205 offices of 57 banks (SOD June 2026); HHI 1,355, moderately concentrated. $8.9 bn federal obligations in FY2026 (direct payments $6.3 bn, contracts $1.7 bn), $11,025 per covered job
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Morgan Stanley Bank, National Association | $268.8 bn · 22.9% share · 1 office | |
| Goldman Sachs Bank USA | $194.1 bn · 16.5% share · 2 offices | |
| American Express National Bank | $171.6 bn · 14.6% share · 1 office | |
| Salt Lake, UT | $8.9 bn FY2026 · $11,025/job | |
| MULTIPLE RECIPIENTS | $5.6 bn · top recipient FY2026 |
| Institution | Deposits | Share | Offices |
|---|---|---|---|
| Morgan Stanley Bank, National Association | $268,755,000,000 | 22.9% | 1 |
| Goldman Sachs Bank USA | $194,087,000,000 | 16.5% | 2 |
| American Express National Bank | $171,554,868,000 | 14.6% | 1 |
| Ally Bank | $156,614,000,000 | 13.3% | 1 |
| UBS Bank USA, National Association | $109,326,784,000 | 9.3% | 1 |
| Synchrony Bank | $85,967,143,000 | 7.3% | 1 |
| SoFi Bank, National Association | $46,610,554,000 | 4.0% | 1 |
| JPMorgan Chase Bank, National Association | $23,688,229,000 | 2.0% | 21 |
| Sallie Mae Bank | $20,327,301,000 | 1.7% | 1 |
| Optum Bank, Inc. | $16,518,000,000 | 1.4% | 1 |
Deposit concentration is 1,355 across 55 banks, which the 1995 Department of Justice bank merger screen calls moderately concentrated.
HHI = Σ (share %)² over 55 banks with deposits in the county = 22.9² + 16.5² + 14.6² + … (52 more) = 1,355
FDIC Summary of Deposits: deposits at every insured office as of June 30, annual; HHI is the sum of squared county deposit shares (DOJ 1995 bank merger screen: 1000 / 1800). USAspending: obligations by place of performance for the latest complete federal fiscal year (Oct 1 to Sep 30), what agencies committed, not what they paid out; recipients are legal entities. Per-job divides obligations by BLS QCEW covered employment.
Federal obligations #
USAspending place-of-performance obligations for FY2026, by awarding agency.
| Awarding agency | Obligations |
|---|---|
| Social Security Administration | $3,887,059,788 |
| Department of Health and Human Services | $1,679,622,529 |
| Department of Education | $974,470,643 |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | $712,884,109 |
| Department of the Treasury | $630,587,063 |
| Department of Defense | $473,569,232 |
| Department of Transportation | $223,914,591 |
| Department of Housing and Urban Development | $120,424,870 |
| General Services Administration | $42,077,030 |
| Department of Homeland Security | $33,687,581 |
| Railroad Retirement Board | $31,409,267 |
| National Science Foundation | $28,035,658 |
That is $11,025 per covered job, against 806,304 jobs in the 2026 Q1 QCEW quarter.
per job = FY2026 obligations $8.9 bn / 806,304 covered jobs (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all ownerships) = $11,025
USAspending obligations are recorded where the work is performed, so a prime award performed here is counted here even when the recipient is headquartered elsewhere. Recipients are legal entities, never people.
National context, not this county #
These are United States, single-gauge, single-state and port series. None of them is keyed to this county.
| Series | Latest | As of | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mississippi River at Memphis, stage · ft | not published | not published | |
| Mississippi River at St. Louis, stage · ft | not published | not published | |
| Ohio River at Louisville, stage · ft | 17.95 | 2026-10-18 | -2.6% |
| Missouri River at St. Joseph, stage · ft | not published | not published | |
| Colorado River below Hoover Dam, flow (Hoover releases) · ft³/s | 5,170.00 | 2026-02-05 | -25.3% |
| Texas reservoirs, statewide percent full · % | 72.20 | 2026-10-19 | +0.0% |
| Laredo truck crossings, monthly · trucks | 258,700.00 | 2026-08-01 | -0.4% |
| Los Angeles + Long Beach container volume, annual · TEU | 10,513,167.00 | 2023-01-01 | -13.5% |
| Containerships waiting for a berth, all US ports · ships | 7.00 | 2026-10-13 | +133.3% |
| Shanghai to Los Angeles container rate · $ per 40 ft box | 7,848.00 | 2026-09-01 | +14.9% |
| US diesel retail price · $ per gallon | unavailable | not published | |
| WTI crude oil, spot · $ per barrel | 101.91 | 2026-10-14 | +1.0% |
| 30-year fixed mortgage rate · % | 7.40 | 2026-10-15 | +0.0% |
| Housing starts, annual rate · thousands of units | 1,275.00 | 2026-08-01 | -2.6% |
| Building permits, annual rate · thousands of units | 1,403.00 | 2026-08-01 | -2.1% |
| Case-Shiller US home price index · index, Jan 2000 = 100 | 337.31 | 2026-07-01 | +0.1% |
| Unemployment rate · % | 4.20 | 2026-09-01 | +2.4% |
| US goods and services trade balance, monthly · $ millions | -105,572.00 | 2026-08-01 | -13.7% |
| Retail sales excluding food services, monthly · $ millions | 652,115.00 | 2026-09-01 | +0.7% |
The indicator registry has no county-keyed series and no geographic selection: every entry is national, a named gauge, a single state or a port. They are here as the backdrop the county's own numbers move against, and they are never this county's readings.
What changed #
Salt Lake County, UT: 13 findings, 3 at a watch level and 10 noted
watchSalt Lake County, UT's price-to-rent ratio of 28.8 ranks 29th of 1,358 US counties, a watch level here: price-to-rent in the top tenth of US counties (position among the counties that published both ZHVI and ZORI this month; not an official level). The previous published period is not in this table, so this is a standing level rather than a change.
Period 2026-09.Show the arithmetic
- test: priceToRent percentile = 97.93662490788503 >= 90
- typical home value / (typical rent × 12); Zillow ZHVI over ZORI, same month
position among the counties that published both ZHVI and ZORI this month; not an official level
watchSalt Lake County, UT's price-to-rent ratio is 28.8, a watch level here: typical home value worth 25 or more years of typical rent (typical home value / (typical rent × 12), Zillow ZHVI over ZORI, same month; convention chosen for this dashboard, not an official level). The previous published period is not in this table, so this is a standing level rather than a change.
Period 2026-09.Show the arithmetic
- test: priceToRent = 28.756727063425092 >= 25
- typical home value / (typical rent × 12); Zillow ZHVI over ZORI, same month
typical home value / (typical rent × 12), Zillow ZHVI over ZORI, same month; convention chosen for this dashboard, not an official level
watchSalt Lake County, UT's years of wages of 6.5 scores 85 on the 0-to-100 scale across US counties but 26 across Utah counties, a gap of 59 points.
Period 2026-09.Show the arithmetic
- 59 = |85 across US counties - 26 across Utah counties|
- typical home value / (average weekly wage × 52); one average covered job, not a household
position among the entities that published this metric this period; not an official level
noteSalt Lake County, UT's average weekly wage was 3.9% higher than the same quarter a year earlier in 2026 Q1, on BLS QCEW's published over-the-year change.
Period 2026 Q1.Show the arithmetic
- +3.9 % = BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change for 2026 Q1, as published
- the newest QCEW file carries no year-earlier level, so no move from one level to another is printed
BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published
noteSalt Lake County, UT's covered employment was 0.8% higher than the same quarter a year earlier in 2026 Q1, on BLS QCEW's published over-the-year change.
Period 2026 Q1.Show the arithmetic
- +0.8 % = BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change for 2026 Q1, as published
- the newest QCEW file carries no year-earlier level, so no move from one level to another is printed
BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published
Read all 12 findings in the full brief
Every finding is produced by a fixed rule table and a fixed sentence for each rule. Nothing here is generated prose.