Housing Facts

Fact 1: Utah's greatest housing boom...ever.

271,000 building permits for housing were issued in Utah between 2015-2025. It was the "highest absolute number of permits ever issued" in the state's history. (Source: US Census Bureau Permits Survey via FRED -- Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis)

Fact 2: Biggest apartment and multifamily housing boom in SLC's history.

Between 2014 and 2024 - Salt Lake City experienced the largest sustained wave of apartment and multifamily construction in its history -- 30,000-35,000 units.

Fact 3: Salt Lake City is now 55% renter-centric. What are the contributing factors?

The average size of apartments and multifamily units built in SLC over the past 12 years was 850 sq. ft.
Studios and 1-bedroom apartments were the primary housing type built in SLC in the last decade.
The primary demographic of SLC's 36,000 new residents --University students, young professionals, empty nesters and couples without children.
There are 10,000 fewer children in Salt Lake City since 2000.
3.3 people. This is the average family size household in Salt Lake County. In Utah’s top 10 counties family size averages range from 4.2-3.3. SLC is not building affordable housing for these family sizes.
- Contrast this with Salt Lake City’s average family size household --2.1-2.2 -- primarily due to the flood of newcomers who settled in SLC between 2014-2024. Few were growing families with children.
The last significant single family housing project in Salt Lake City occurred nearly 30 years ago.

Fact 4: Statistics show young and growing families in the Salt Lake/Wasatch Front area are looking for these types of homes:

A family with 1-2 kids prefers a 1,800-2,400 sq. ft. home with 3-4 bedrooms, play, and a work space.
A family with 3+ kids prefers a 2,200-3,000 sq. ft. home with 4 or more bedrooms, storage, and flexible space.
A multigenerational household prefers a 2,800+ sq. ft. home with 4-5 bedrooms and separate living areas.
These properties would also have practical features like storage, yard space, parking, and a flexible room for an office/playroom.

Fact 5: The Salt Lake City apartment boom added a lot of housing, but financially it was overwhelmingly a market-rate real estate cycle. Nine out of every 10 new multifamily/apartment units were market-rate.

Typical SLC rents in apartments built during the last decade's development boom

Studio: $1,300-$1,600
One bedroom: $1,500-$1,900
Two bedroom: $2,000-$2,700
Three bedroom: $2,700-$3,500+

Best estimates are that during the last decade about 1,000-2,000 deeply affordable units were built in Salt Lake, while about the same number of moderately affordable units (31-50% AMI) were built.