Air quality and housing cost
The Trade-offs of Living in Salt Lake City, Counted
Research question
What are the real downsides of living in Salt Lake City, measured rather than described?
Two show up in the public data. Salt Lake County recorded 121 good air-quality days out of 365 in 2025, with 228 moderate and 16 worse than moderate. And a typical Salt Lake City home costs 7.2 times the city’s median household income, against 4.1 times nationally.
Research by Kamee Shrope
Geography: COUNTY: Salt Lake County, Utah (air quality); PLACE: Salt Lake City city, Utah (housing and income)
Period: Calendar years 2024 and 2025 for air quality; ACS 2024 5-year estimates for housing and income
121 of 365
Good air-quality days, 2025
150 of 366 in 2024
7.2×
Home value to median income
United States: 4.1×
45.8%
Owner-occupied homes
United States: 65.2%
Air quality: better at the top end, fewer clean days overall
Salt Lake County’s air improved where it matters most between 2024 and 2025. Days unhealthy for sensitive groups fell from 38 to 15, unhealthy days from 4 to 1, and the single worst reading of the year dropped from an AQI of 230 to 175.
The middle of the distribution went the other way. Good days fell from 150 to 121 while moderate days rose from 173 to 228, and the median AQI edged up from 54 to 57. Fewer severe episodes, fewer pristine days.
The cause is seasonal and splits between two pollutants. Ozone set the daily index on 230 days in 2025, a summer problem; fine particulate did so on 110 days, which is the winter inversion people picture when they think of valley air.
EPA Air Quality Index day counts, Salt Lake County
| Measure | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Days with an AQI reading | 366 | 365 |
| Good days | 150 | 121 |
| Moderate days | 173 | 228 |
| Unhealthy for sensitive groups | 38 | 15 |
| Unhealthy days | 4 | 1 |
| Very unhealthy days | 1 | 0 |
| Median AQI | 54 | 57 |
| Highest AQI of the year | 230 | 175 |
| Days set by ozone | 244 | 230 |
| Days set by fine particulate (PM2.5) | 105 | 110 |
- Measure
- Days with an AQI reading
- 2024
- 366
- 2025
- 365
- Measure
- Good days
- 2024
- 150
- 2025
- 121
- Measure
- Moderate days
- 2024
- 173
- 2025
- 228
- Measure
- Unhealthy for sensitive groups
- 2024
- 38
- 2025
- 15
- Measure
- Unhealthy days
- 2024
- 4
- 2025
- 1
- Measure
- Very unhealthy days
- 2024
- 1
- 2025
- 0
- Measure
- Median AQI
- 2024
- 54
- 2025
- 57
- Measure
- Highest AQI of the year
- 2024
- 230
- 2025
- 175
- Measure
- Days set by ozone
- 2024
- 244
- 2025
- 230
- Measure
- Days set by fine particulate (PM2.5)
- 2024
- 105
- 2025
- 110
Housing costs more here relative to what people earn
Salt Lake City’s median household income of $75,090 is below both the Utah median of $95,166 and the national median of $80,734, while its typical home value of $539,500 is well above both. That puts the ratio of home value to household income at 7.2 in the city, against 5.1 across Utah and 4.1 nationally.
The ownership rate follows from it: 45.8% of occupied homes in Salt Lake City are owner-occupied, against 65.2% nationally. The city rents at a far higher rate than the country does, and the surrounding suburbs do not — Holladay, eight miles southeast, is at 78.7%.
Housing cost against income, ACS 2024 5-year estimates
| Measure | Salt Lake City | Holladay | Utah | United States |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $75,090 | $117,043 | $95,166 | $80,734 |
| Median home value | $539,500 | $763,400 | $489,400 | $332,700 |
| Value as a multiple of income | 7.2× | 6.5× | 5.1× | 4.1× |
| Median gross rent | $1,414 | $1,704 | $1,496 | $1,413 |
| Owner-occupied homes | 45.8% | 78.7% | 70.2% | 65.2% |
- Measure
- Median household income
- Salt Lake City
- $75,090
- Holladay
- $117,043
- Utah
- $95,166
- United States
- $80,734
- Measure
- Median home value
- Salt Lake City
- $539,500
- Holladay
- $763,400
- Utah
- $489,400
- United States
- $332,700
- Measure
- Value as a multiple of income
- Salt Lake City
- 7.2×
- Holladay
- 6.5×
- Utah
- 5.1×
- United States
- 4.1×
- Measure
- Median gross rent
- Salt Lake City
- $1,414
- Holladay
- $1,704
- Utah
- $1,496
- United States
- $1,413
- Measure
- Owner-occupied homes
- Salt Lake City
- 45.8%
- Holladay
- 78.7%
- Utah
- 70.2%
- United States
- 65.2%
What a county figure cannot tell you about an address
Air-quality readings come from a handful of county monitors, and the Salt Lake Valley is not uniform. Winter inversions pool on the valley floor and the benches often sit above them, which is why elevation is a real consideration here rather than a view preference.
The housing ratios compare a city-wide median value with a city-wide median income, and the households buying homes are not the same set as all households. Read these as the shape of the trade-off, then test any specific neighborhood and price point against it.
Methodology
- 1.Downloaded the EPA AirData annual AQI by county files for 2024 and 2025 on October 4, 2026, and read the Salt Lake County rows unmodified.
- 2.Reported EPA day counts as published, including the split showing which pollutant set the index on each day.
- 3.Read ACS 2024 5-year estimates through Census Reporter on the same date for Salt Lake City, Holladay, Utah and the United States.
- 4.Calculated the value-to-income multiple as median home value ÷ median household income on the same release, and rounded to one decimal place.
Limits
- Air-quality counts are county-wide and reflect monitor locations. They do not describe any individual address or neighborhood, and valley-floor and bench conditions differ.
- Two calendar years is a comparison, not a trend. Weather varies year to year and a wildfire season can move these counts on its own.
- The value-to-income multiple compares two medians drawn from different populations; it is an affordability indicator, not a mortgage calculation.
- ACS five-year estimates average 2020 through 2024 and carry margins of error.
Sources and provenance
Retrieved: October 4, 2026; annual_aqi_by_county_2024 and annual_aqi_by_county_2025 files
Counts of days in each Air Quality Index category at the county monitor level. A county-wide figure does not describe any single address, and the Salt Lake Valley varies sharply between the valley floor and the benches.
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