Summit County renters need to earn $427,000 a year to buy a median-priced home, more than triple the county's median household income of $138,114.

A University of Utah Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute report released Wednesday, Sept. 9, found 97% of the county's renters are priced out of homeownership, based on first-quarter 2026 data. KPCW first reported on the study's Wasatch Back findings.

The median home sale price in Summit County hit $2.2 million in the first quarter, the highest in Utah. That is more than four times the statewide median of $520,000 for all housing types, according to KSL's reporting on the same study.

Statewide, 91% of Utah renters cannot afford the median home. The income threshold for a median-priced Utah home, assuming a 10% down payment, is $147,000 a year.

Neighboring Wasatch County fares even worse: 99% of renters there are priced out. Wasatch County's median income of $117,608 falls far short of the $305,000 needed to buy a median home priced at $1.2 million.

Dejan Eskic, senior research fellow at the Gardner Institute and co-author of the report with analyst Moira Dillow, said price stability should not be confused with affordability, as reported by ABC4. The report found deeply affordable housing remains in short supply even as moderate-income rental conditions improve.

The numbers land as Summit County officials grapple with a housing shortage they acknowledge is far larger than current plans address. The county council approved a Housing Authority Strategic Plan by a 4-1 vote on Aug. 5, targeting 1,500 deed-restricted affordable units over roughly the next decade, according to TownLift. County staff estimates the existing deficit alone is 1,621 deed-restricted units, and the county will need 3,745 new housing units by the end of 2036.

About 63% of Summit County's workforce already commutes from outside the county. Summit County Housing Authority Vice Chair Rich Sonntag, writing in a personal capacity in a July 29 Park Record column, said high property and construction costs have made it all but impossible for the free market to produce workforce housing.

Council member Chris Robinson said at the Aug. 5 meeting that the county sets aspirational housing goals but resists following through. "Well, geez, we don't want any of that," Robinson said, characterizing how the council responds when specific projects come forward, as reported by KPCW.

One project is moving forward. The county council unanimously approved the Junction Commons mixed-use redevelopment on Tuesday, Sept. 8, clearing a rezone for the former Outlets Park City site in Kimball Junction, TownLift reported. The 19-building project includes 370 homes, with 220 planned as deed-restricted affordable units.

No public hearing tied to the Gardner Institute findings has been scheduled. The council's next housing strategy discussion was suggested for mid-October, though no date has been confirmed.