On July 10, the Gardner Institute hosted its monthly Newsmaker Breakfast, which focused on the estimated economic impacts of the 2034 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games in Utah. We are joined today by Salt Lake City-Utah Committee and Utah Oly...

On June 26, the Gardner Institute hosted its quarterly “Storytelling through Data” event, co-sponsored by the Salt Lake Tribune. These events feature conversations focused on data-grounded, solutions-oriented dialogue critical to life quality i...

On June 12, the Gardner Institute hosted its monthly Newsmaker Breakfast, which focused on homelessness in Utah. We were joined by state leaders to discuss the state's next steps for homeless services. The discussion included potential new poli...

Utah’s resilient economy continues to outperform the nation. Record-low unemployment, top-ranked labor force participation, and competitive living costs mark our elite standing among states. This success took intention and understanding from po...

On February 26, the Institute hosted its quarterly “Storytelling through Data” event, co-sponsored by the Salt Lake Tribune. The topic was Utah’s health care coverage landscape. We were joined by MIT professor and MacArthur Genius Grant winner ...

Under the direction of the Utah Hospital Association and the Utah Department of Health and Human Services, the Utah Behavioral Health Coalition convened to develop a comprehensive and coordinated approach to improving people’s behavioral health...

Economic data make abundantly clear that post-secondary education improves lives and supports civil society. Higher educational attainment correlates strongly with increased employment, earnings, and upward mobility, all while supporting civil ...

Utah ended the 2023 water year in September with higher-than-average accumulated precipitation. As a result, Great Salt Lake rose five and a half feet at the south arm of the lake after hitting a record low in Fall 2022. Critical issues remain,...

Downtown Salt Lake City is the foremost center for sports, entertainment, culture, and education in the Mountain West. Demographic and economic data show the city’s population is growing, with new construction taking the urban center’s skyline ...

The Gardner Institute employs a senior education analyst and a team of demographers and economists knowledgeable about Utah’s education policies and economy. We also benefit from a newly formed Education Advisory Council that guides our researc...

In the United States, more women are deciding to have children and remain single today than ever before. Almost half of all babies born in the U.S. were born to unmarried women in 2019, a dramatic increase since 1960, when only 5% of births wer...

Over the past decade, Utah was the fastest-growing state in the nation, and that growth continues – Utah is projected to reach five million people by 2050. Envision Utah’s recent Values Study highlighted that for the first time in 20 years, mor...

One of the major headlines from the 2020 Census is the significant aging of the population in the United States. This data reveals that the U.S. population 65 and older grew faster between 2010 and 2020 than in any decade since 1890. This same ...

The COVID-19 pandemic years created unmatched volatility in Utah's housing market. Building permits for residential units increased by 26% in 2021, only to fall by 26% in 2022. The pandemic joins the Great Recession as one of those unique momen...

On August 31, the Gardner Institute hosted a special Newsmaker Breakfast on the role and importance of a diverse democracy and civil society in American life. We were joined by newly named University of Utah Impact Scholar Dr. Eboo Patel, who j...

Utah’s tourism economy has experienced a strong recovery since the pandemic more than three years ago. Visitor spending, jobs, and tax revenue have all surpassed pre-pandemic levels. Utah’s ski industry reported another record year, while the s...

As Utah moves forward after the COVID-19 pandemic, students across the state have returned to the classroom after an extended period of school closures and remote learning. These disruptions have led to significant learning gaps across various ...

Each year, the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute recognizes individuals and entities that work, often behind the scenes and with little fanfare, to help our community prosper. We call them “Informed Decision Makers” and select them based on crite...

Utah's bonded indebtedness. which incurs debt solely for capital expenses, stands in sharp contrast to that of the United States. Federal government debt as a percent of the U.S. economy, currently at over 120% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), ...

Each year, the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute recognizes individuals and entities that work, often behind the scenes and with little fanfare, to help our community prosper. We call them “Informed Decision Makers” and select them based on crite...

Each year, the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute recognizes individuals and entities that work, often behind the scenes and with little fanfare, to help our community prosper. We call them “Informed Decision Makers” and select them based on crite...

Each year, the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute recognizes individuals and entities that work, often behind the scenes and with little fanfare, to help our community prosper. We call them “Informed Decision Makers” and select them based on crite...

Each year, the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute recognizes individuals and entities that work, often behind the scenes and with little fanfare, to help our community prosper. We call them “Informed Decision Makers” and select them based on crite...

The federal government took emergency steps over the weekend of March 10th to prevent a broader run on the banks after the sudden collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, the second largest bank failure in U.S. history, followed by the collapse of New ...

Utah’s travel and tourism industry saw record visitation and spending in 2021, according to the latest annual industry report released this month by the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute. The report notes that 2021 visitor spending was up 49.5% f...