2024 Priorities Project

 

Every four years, the Utah Foundation conducts a series of surveys to discover which topics are most important to Utah voters. Our survey in 2024 shows Utah voters putting the pandemic in the rearview mirror. Utahns’ priorities refocus on two issues that had been emerging pre-pandemic: the cost of living and political dysfunction.

Below are reports detailing Utahns’ priorities. The middle column features briefs on the most important priorities, covering current trends, and answering more detailed questions. The right column features other resources related to the Utah Priorities Project.

Sponsors



 

Reports

 

Priced Out and Fed Up: Cost of Living and Political Dysfunction are Voters’ Top Issues

The first release in the 2024 Utah Priorities Project series outlines voters’ top concerns. The project uses surveys to inform candidates for elected office, elected officials, civic leaders, and others on voters’ priorities.

For the first time, an issue related to Utahns’ cost of living, housing affordability, takes first place, while earning enough to pay for non-housing needs takes third. Politicians listening to voters, government overreach, and partisan politics take second, fourth, and fifth places, respectively. These three issues point to a concern about political dysfunction. Utahns also prioritized environmental and educational concerns.

 

Bridging Gaps: The Issues that Unite (and Divide) Utah Voters

The Utah Foundation’s second major report of the Utah Priorities Project finds that Utahns are polarized – but unite on numerous issues that matter most. These include:

  • The Importance of K-12 education.
  • Wise water stewardship.
  • Curbing government overreach.
  • Access to affordable housing.

Research Briefs

 

  1. Utah Priority No. 1: Housing Affordability
  2. Utah Priority No. 2: Politicians Listening to Voters
  3. Utah Priority No. 3: Earning Enough to Pay for Non-Housing Needs
  4. Utah Priority No. 4: Government Overreach
  5. Utah Priority No. 5: Partisan Politics
  6. Utah Priority No. 6: Having Enough Water
  7. Utah Priority No. 7: Kindergarten-12th Grade Education
  8. Utah Priority No. 8: Air Quality
  9. Utah Priority No. 9: State and Local Taxes
  10. Utah Priority No. 10: Immigration
  11. Utah Priority No. 11: Homelessness
  12. Utah Priority No. 12: Roads and Transportation
  13. Utah Priority No. 13: Crime
  14. Utah Priority No. 14: Abortion and Women’s Rights
  15. Utah Priority No. 15: Crowded Neighborhoods
  16. Utah Priority No. 16: The Great Salt Lake
  17. Utah Priority No. 17: Transgender Rights and Access

Other Resources

 

Project Summary

 

Student and Community Pulse

 

Podcasts

 

Op-Eds

 

Blog posts

 

Past Utah Priorities Projects