Salt Lake City metro economy by the numbers

The Salt Lake City-Murray, UT metropolitan area is shown here through Salt Lake County and Tooele County: Salt Lake City, Murray, West Valley City, West Jordan, Sandy, Tooele and South Jordan. These are the official monthly and quarterly numbers for the metro's jobs, housing, wages and prices, each one dated and linked to its source, updated the day the agency publishes.

Unemployment rate

3.2%

Sep 2026 · -0.4 pp from a year earlier

Next metro jobs releaseDec 2, 202610:00 ETFull calendar →

Unemployment

3.2%

Sep 2026 · -0.4 pp y/y

Payrolls y/y

2.8%

Sep 2026 · +1.7 pp y/y

House prices y/y

2.4%

Q2 2026 · -1.0 pp y/y

Listing price

$564,950

Sep 2026 · -3.6% y/y

Weekly wages

$1,570

Q1 2026 · +3.6% y/y

CPI y/y

3.8%

Sep 2026 · +0.5 pp y/y

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Jobs

Unemployment rate

3.2%

-0.5 pp vs Aug

-0.4 pp vs Sep 2025

Sep 2026 · not seasonally adjusted · BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics (metro)

Unemployment rateSep 1, 2021 to Sep 1, 2026
1.8%2.4%3.0%3.6%4.2%Sep 1, 2021Apr 1, 2023Dec 1, 2024Sep 1, 2026
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Civilian labor force

750,933

+0.1% vs Aug

+1.2% vs Sep 2025

Sep 2026 · not seasonally adjusted · BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics (metro)

Civilian labor forceSep 1, 2021 to Sep 1, 2026
681,953700,821719,690738,558757,426Sep 1, 2021Apr 1, 2023Dec 1, 2024Sep 1, 2026
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Nonfarm payroll employment

863.4K

+0.4% vs Aug

+2.8% vs Sep 2025

Sep 2026 · seasonally adjusted · BLS Current Employment Statistics (metro)

Nonfarm payroll employmentSep 1, 2021 to Sep 1, 2026
766791817843869Sep 1, 2021May 1, 2023Jan 1, 2025Sep 1, 2026
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Payroll employment, year over year

2.8%

+0.4 pp vs Aug

+1.7 pp vs Sep 2025

Sep 2026 · seasonally adjusted · BLS Current Employment Statistics (metro)

Payroll employment, year over yearSep 1, 2021 to Sep 1, 2026
0.2%1.4%2.6%3.8%5.0%Sep 1, 2021May 1, 2023Jan 1, 2025Sep 1, 2026
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Housing

Housing units authorized by building permits

501

-33.6% vs Aug

-14.5% vs Sep 2025

Sep 2026 · not seasonally adjusted · Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (metro)

Housing units authorized by building permitsSep 1, 2021 to Sep 1, 2026
1694737771,0811,385Sep 1, 2021May 1, 2023Jan 1, 2025Sep 1, 2026
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FHFA house price index (all transactions)

497.5

+0.8% vs Q1

+2.4% vs Q2 2025

Q2 2026 · not seasonally adjusted · FHFA All-Transactions House Price Index (metro)

FHFA house price index (all transactions)Apr 1, 2021 to Apr 1, 2026
366400435470505Apr 1, 2021Oct 1, 2022Jul 1, 2024Apr 1, 2026
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House prices, year over year

2.4%

-0.4 pp vs Q1

-1.0 pp vs Q2 2025

Q2 2026 · not seasonally adjusted · FHFA All-Transactions House Price Index (metro)

House prices, year over yearApr 1, 2021 to Apr 1, 2026
-4.7%3.6%12.0%20.3%28.7%Apr 1, 2021Oct 1, 2022Jul 1, 2024Apr 1, 2026
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Median listing price

$564,950

-0.4% vs Aug

-3.6% vs Sep 2025

Sep 2026 · not seasonally adjusted · Realtor.com Housing Inventory (metro)

Median listing priceSep 1, 2021 to Sep 1, 2026
$534,044$561,372$588,700$616,028$643,356Sep 1, 2021May 1, 2023Jan 1, 2025Sep 1, 2026
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Active listings

3,923

+4.5% vs Aug

+14.1% vs Sep 2025

Sep 2026 · not seasonally adjusted · Realtor.com Housing Inventory (metro)

Active listingsSep 1, 2021 to Sep 1, 2026
2651,2312,1983,1644,130Sep 1, 2021May 1, 2023Jan 1, 2025Sep 1, 2026
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Median days on market

58

+1.8% vs Aug

unchanged vs Sep 2025

Sep 2026 · not seasonally adjusted · Realtor.com Housing Inventory (metro)

Median days on marketSep 1, 2021 to Sep 1, 2026
1631476378Sep 1, 2021May 1, 2023Jan 1, 2025Sep 1, 2026
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Wages

Average weekly wages, all covered employment

$1,570

+1.1% vs Q4

+3.6% vs Q1 2025

Q1 2026 · seasonally adjusted · BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (metro)

Average weekly wages, all covered employmentJan 1, 2021 to Jan 1, 2026
$1,159$1,268$1,376$1,485$1,593Jan 1, 2021Jul 1, 2022Apr 1, 2024Jan 1, 2026
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Prices

Consumer prices, West region, year over year

3.8%

+0.3 pp vs Aug

+0.5 pp vs Sep 2025

Sep 2026 · not seasonally adjusted · BLS Consumer Price Index, West region, all items

Consumer prices, West region, year over yearSep 1, 2021 to Sep 1, 2026
1.7%3.5%5.4%7.3%9.2%Sep 1, 2021Apr 1, 2023Dec 1, 2024Sep 1, 2026
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Unemployment by county

CountyRateYear agoChange
Salt Lake County3.2%3.6%-0.4 pp
Tooele County3.3%3.8%-0.5 pp

Sep 2026, not seasonally adjusted. Source: BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics.

Why Salt Lake City

Salt Lake City runs one of the lowest unemployment rates and fastest wage gains among mid-sized metros, with technology, finance and logistics employers along the Wasatch Front. The West region CPI stands in for prices.

Questions readers ask

What is the unemployment rate in Salt Lake City?
The Salt Lake City metro unemployment rate is the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Local Area Unemployment Statistics figure for the Salt Lake City-Murray, UT metropolitan statistical area, not seasonally adjusted, published about six weeks after the month ends. The headline at the top of this page is the latest print; the county table shows how Salt Lake County and Tooele County compare.
How many jobs does the Salt Lake City metro have?
Nonfarm payroll employment counts jobs on employer payrolls in the metro, in thousands, seasonally adjusted, from the BLS Current Employment Statistics survey. The year-over-year line shows whether hiring is accelerating or slowing; it is the cleanest single read on the local labor market.
Are Salt Lake City home prices going up or down?
Two measures are shown. The FHFA house price index tracks repeat sales of the same homes each quarter, so it measures price change rather than the mix of what sold. The Realtor.com median listing price is the monthly asking price of homes on the market; with active listings and days on market it shows how the market feels to a buyer today.
Where do these numbers come from?
Every series is a public federal statistic (BLS, Census Bureau, FHFA) or Realtor.com's monthly housing inventory, retrieved from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis FRED database. Each figure links to its source series. MarketIntelLabs computes the year-over-year changes and writes the fact sheet; nothing on this page is estimated or modelled.

Fact sheet

Every figure above, as one dated sentence each. This is the text our desk writes from; a local newsroom may quote it with attribution to the source named in each line.

  • Salt Lake City metro unemployment rate: 3.2% in September 2026, down 0.4 percentage points from 3.6% in September 2025; prior reading 3.7% (August 2026). Source: BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics (metro), via FRED; not seasonally adjusted.
  • Salt Lake City metro civilian labor force: 750,933 in September 2026, up 1.2% from 742,358 in September 2025; prior reading 750,049 (August 2026). Source: BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics (metro), via FRED; not seasonally adjusted.
  • Salt Lake City metro nonfarm payroll employment: 863.4 thousand in September 2026, up 2.8% from 839.7 thousand in September 2025; prior reading 860.0 thousand (August 2026). Source: BLS Current Employment Statistics (metro), via FRED; seasonally adjusted.
  • Salt Lake City metro payroll employment, year over year: 2.8% in September 2026, up 1.7 percentage points from 1.1% in September 2025; prior reading 2.4% (August 2026). Source: BLS Current Employment Statistics (metro), via FRED; year-over-year change computed by MarketIntelLabs; seasonally adjusted.
  • Salt Lake City metro housing units authorized by building permits: 501 in September 2026, down 14.5% from 586 in September 2025; prior reading 755 (August 2026). Source: Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (metro), via FRED; not seasonally adjusted.
  • Salt Lake City metro FHFA house price index (all transactions): 497.5 in Q2 2026, up 2.4% from 485.8 in Q2 2025; prior reading 493.4 (Q1 2026). Source: FHFA All-Transactions House Price Index (metro), via FRED; not seasonally adjusted.
  • Salt Lake City metro house prices, year over year: 2.4% in Q2 2026, down 1.0 percentage point from 3.4% in Q2 2025; prior reading 2.8% (Q1 2026). Source: FHFA All-Transactions House Price Index (metro), via FRED; year-over-year change computed by MarketIntelLabs; not seasonally adjusted.
  • Salt Lake City metro median listing price: $564,950 in September 2026, down 3.6% from $586,225 in September 2025; prior reading $567,000 (August 2026). Source: Realtor.com Housing Inventory (metro), via FRED; not seasonally adjusted.
  • Salt Lake City metro active listings: 3,923 in September 2026, up 14.1% from 3,437 in September 2025; prior reading 3,756 (August 2026). Source: Realtor.com Housing Inventory (metro), via FRED; not seasonally adjusted.
  • Salt Lake City metro median days on market: 58 in September 2026, unchanged from 58 in September 2025; prior reading 57 (August 2026). Source: Realtor.com Housing Inventory (metro), via FRED; not seasonally adjusted.
  • Salt Lake City metro average weekly wages, all covered employment: $1,570 in Q1 2026, up 3.6% from $1,515 in Q1 2025; prior reading $1,552 (Q4 2025). Source: BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (metro), via FRED; seasonally adjusted.
  • Salt Lake City metro consumer prices, West region, year over year: 3.8% in September 2026, up 0.5 percentage points from 3.3% in September 2025; prior reading 3.5% (August 2026). Source: BLS Consumer Price Index, West region, all items, via FRED; year-over-year change computed by MarketIntelLabs; not seasonally adjusted.
  • Salt Lake County unemployment rate: 3.2% in September 2026, down 0.4 percentage points from a year earlier. Source: BLS LAUS (county), not seasonally adjusted.
  • Tooele County unemployment rate: 3.3% in September 2026, down 0.5 percentage points from a year earlier. Source: BLS LAUS (county), not seasonally adjusted.

Fact sheet id 793b86f1f0a7 · data through Sep 2026

Sources: BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics (metro); BLS Current Employment Statistics (metro); Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (metro); FHFA All-Transactions House Price Index (metro); Realtor.com Housing Inventory (metro); BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (metro); BLS Consumer Price Index, West region, all items. Official statistics retrieved from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis FRED database; MarketIntelLabs computes the changes shown. Nothing on this page is estimated.

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Salt Lake City economy: unemployment 3.2% (Sep 2026), jobs, home prices, wages | MarketIntelLabs