Housing occupancy and seasonal use
Why Park City Costs What It Does
Research question
Why is Park City real estate so expensive compared with the rest of Utah?
Because most of its homes are not lived in year-round. 48.6% of Park City’s housing units are held for seasonal, recreational or occasional use, against 3.7% across Utah. The city’s typical home is valued at $1,757,800 against $489,400 statewide.
Research by Kamee Shrope
Geography: PLACE: Park City city, Utah; COUNTY: Summit County; compared with Utah
Period: American Community Survey 2024 5-year estimates, covering 2020 through 2024
48.6%
Park City homes held for seasonal use
Utah overall: 3.7%
58.7%
Units with no year-round occupant
Utah overall: 8.1%
$1.76M
Median home value, Park City
Utah median: $489,400
Nearly half the housing stock is a second home
Park City has 8,701 housing units. 5,105 of them — 58.7% — have no year-round occupant, and 4,232 are specifically classified as held for seasonal, recreational or occasional use. That is 48.6% of every housing unit in the city.
Across Utah the same seasonal figure is 3.7%. Summit County as a whole sits at 34.7%. Park City is not an expensive version of a Utah housing market; it is a different kind of market, in which the buyer pool is national second-home demand rather than local household formation.
This is the mechanism behind the price. Local incomes do not have to support the price of a home that is competing for a buyer whose income is earned somewhere else — and the supply available to a year-round resident is roughly half the apparent stock.
Housing occupancy and value, ACS 2024 5-year estimates
| Measure | Park City | Summit County | Utah |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total housing units | 8,701 | 26,549 | 1,223,468 |
| Units with no year-round occupant | 5,105 (58.7%) | 10,819 (40.8%) | 98,646 (8.1%) |
| Held for seasonal or occasional use | 4,232 (48.6%) | 9,225 (34.7%) | 44,998 (3.7%) |
| Seasonal share of all vacant units | 82.9% | 85.3% | 45.6% |
| Median home value | $1,757,800 | $1,067,700 | $489,400 |
| Median household income | $133,558 | $138,114 | $95,166 |
- Measure
- Total housing units
- Park City
- 8,701
- Summit County
- 26,549
- Utah
- 1,223,468
- Measure
- Units with no year-round occupant
- Park City
- 5,105 (58.7%)
- Summit County
- 10,819 (40.8%)
- Utah
- 98,646 (8.1%)
- Measure
- Held for seasonal or occasional use
- Park City
- 4,232 (48.6%)
- Summit County
- 9,225 (34.7%)
- Utah
- 44,998 (3.7%)
- Measure
- Seasonal share of all vacant units
- Park City
- 82.9%
- Summit County
- 85.3%
- Utah
- 45.6%
- Measure
- Median home value
- Park City
- $1,757,800
- Summit County
- $1,067,700
- Utah
- $489,400
- Measure
- Median household income
- Park City
- $133,558
- Summit County
- $138,114
- Utah
- $95,166
What that means for a buyer, and for a seller
For a buyer, it explains why Park City listings can sit for weeks and still not discount. A seller whose home is a second property has no school year, job transfer or lease expiry forcing a decision. Patience is cheaper for them than it is in a primary-residence market.
For a seller, it explains why presentation and timing carry more weight here than in the valley. Second-home buyers often view a small number of properties on a short trip, and a home that is not ready during the weeks they visit may simply never be seen.
It also sets a realistic frame for the appreciation question. Demand tied to discretionary wealth and travel behaves differently in a downturn than demand tied to local employment — in both directions.
Methodology
- 1.Read American Community Survey 2024 5-year estimates through Census Reporter on October 4, 2026, for Park City city (place 4958070), Summit County (05000US49043) and Utah.
- 2.Took total and vacant housing units from B25002 and the seasonal, recreational or occasional-use category from B25004.
- 3.Expressed the seasonal count both as a share of all housing units and as a share of vacant units, because the two answer different questions.
- 4.Took median home value from B25077 and median household income from B19013 on the same release.
Limits
- Five-year estimates average 2020 through 2024 and carry margins of error; they are not a 2026 snapshot.
- The Census Bureau counts a unit as vacant when it has no year-round resident, which includes homes occupied for several months a year by their owners.
- "Seasonal, recreational or occasional use" does not separate short-term rentals from private second homes.
- City boundaries exclude much of the surrounding Snyderville Basin that shares the Park City name and market.
Sources and provenance
Retrieved: October 4, 2026; release acs2024_5yr covering 2020 through 2024
Tables B01002, B01003, B08303, B15003, B19013, B19301, B25003, B25064 and B25077 for Holladay city (place 4936070), Salt Lake City city (place 4967000), Utah and the United States. Five-year estimates are averages across 2020–2024, not a single-year snapshot, and each carries a margin of error.
Companion article