Nine out of 10 Utah renters cannot afford to buy a home in the state, according to a new study from the University of Utah's Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute.

The "State of the State's Housing Market" report, released Wednesday, Sept. 9, found that the median sales price for all housing types in Utah reached $520,000, up from $500,000 in 2025. That puts the estimated monthly mortgage payment at $3,669, a figure out of reach for roughly 91% of the state's renters.

The gap is even wider in Cottonwood Heights. The city's median home value topped $800,000 at the June 4, 2025, Planning Commission meeting, according to city records.

The city's median household income sits at $116,583. Community and Economic Development Director Michael Johnson told the commission that 29.3% of local households are "constrained," unable to afford a home in the city at present conditions.

Statewide, the income needed to afford a median-priced home with a 10% down payment dipped slightly, from $149,000 in 2025 to $147,000 in 2026. That income level still exceeds what most Utah renters earn.

Eskic, a senior research fellow at the Gardner Institute, wrote in the report that the state's market has stabilized but warned that "… stability should not be mistaken for affordability."

Utah now ranks as the 10th most expensive single-family housing market in the country, according to Fox 13. A decade ago, the median single-family home in Utah cost $249,000. That figure has climbed to $559,000 in 2026.

The report, authored by Eskic and Gardner Institute analyst Moira Dillow, found homeownership in Utah has dropped to 68.3%, near historic lows. The decline is sharpest among households under age 35. The rate still exceeds the national average but has narrowed over the past decade.

Cottonwood Heights mirrors that ownership split. About 71% of the city's roughly 13,000 housing units are owner-occupied, with 29% renter-occupied, according to city staff reports from April 2025.

Renters looking at apartments saw lower asking prices. Apartment asking rents in Utah's most populous counties fell 2.3% over the past two years and remain almost 9% below their June 2022 peak, according to KSL. Single-family asking rents in those same counties rose 8.5% from March 2024 to March 2026.

A separate Salt Lake Board of Realtors report released Aug. 27 found that homebuyers in Salt Lake County need at least $186,827 a year to afford a median-priced house, according to ABC4. Every municipality in the county now requires a six-figure household income to buy.

The Gardner Institute projects Utah's population will exceed 4 million by 2035, creating demand for 280,000 additional housing units. The report's authors said increasing the supply of homes priced below the state's $450,000 first-time homebuyer benchmark is key to preserving ownership access.