Utah’s political leadership loves to brag about our economy. And by some measures, they’re right to: CNBC’s 2026 America’s Top States for Business study ranked Utah 16th nationally, citing our low unemployment, business-friendly tax structure, and strong workforce.
But buried in that same study is a number our elected officials talk about far less: Utah ranked 45th out of 50 states for quality of life — the sixth-worst in the entire country. We beat only Missouri, Alabama, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Tennessee.
Look at what’s actually driving that number. Utah ranked 47th in the nation for access to primary care, and second to last, ahead of only Idaho, on a per capita basis. We ranked 48th for pollution and dead last for industrial toxin exposure. Childcare access ranked 45th, with the lowest ratio of available child care slots to children of any state in the country. And Utah’s minimum wage — still stuck at the federal floor of $7.25 an hour — covers just 16.5% of what a family of four actually needs to live here.
These aren’t abstract statistics. They are the lived reality of families across this state: parents driving an hour to find a pediatrician, working two jobs and still not finding a child care slot, breathing some of the dirtiest industrial air in America, and doing it all on wages that haven’t moved in a generation.
Meanwhile, the same legislative supermajority that has governed this state for decades has spent its energy chasing corporate relocations, tax incentives and business-friendly headlines. That strategy has clearly worked — for businesses. It has not worked nearly as well for the people who live here and have to breathe our air, find a doctor, and pay rent.
You cannot claim to represent Utah families while consistently prioritizing the metrics that flatter corporate site-selection consultants over the metrics that measure whether people can actually thrive here. A 16th-place finish for business friendliness paired with a 45th-place finish for quality of life isn’t an accident of geography — it’s the predictable result of choices our elected leaders have made, year after year, about whose interests come first.
Utah families deserve leadership that measures success by more than a business magazine’s scorecard. It’s time our elected officials started acting like our health, our air, our wages and our ability to raise a family here matter just as much as our tax rate.
David Ostler
Midway