Utah, which has seen a 115 percent increase in foreclosure-related filings over the past year, has the fifth-highest rate among all states, according to a report released Wednesday.

One in every 316 housing units received a foreclosure filing last month, according to a report by RealtyTrac. The state also is among a half dozen states showing a year-over-year increase of more than 100 percent.

Part of the reason Utah's ranking and percentage increase is so high is because the state's real estate and economic downturn began later than much of the rest of the country. Many other states already have seen their worst foreclosure years.

Other factors may be in play, as well. Utah's economy is mired in one of its worst downturns in the state's history. And economists such as Jeff Thredgold, a consultant to Zions Bank, say Utah families have distinctive characteristics -- chiefly a large share of one-income households and larger families than those found elsewhere -- that make the state and its residents especially vulnerable to financial distress in bad times.

The foreclosure report shows that the number of U.S. households faced with losing their homes to foreclosure increased nearly 18 percent in May, compared with the same month last year.

Although that's the smallest annual increase in nearly three years, the levels of foreclosures across the nation remain dauntingly high. Nationally, 321,480 households received at least one foreclosure-related notice in May, RealtyTrac Inc. said. That means one in every 398 U.S. housing units received a foreclosure filing last month.

"May foreclosure activity was the third-highest month on record, and marked the third straight month where the total number of properties with foreclosure filings exceeded 300,000 -- a first in the history of our report," RealtyTrac CEO James Saccacio noted in the report.

RealtyTrac began monitoring filings in January 2005.

In Utah, 2,927 households received a foreclosure-related filing, The filings include a range of actions, from default notices in which home owners are simply behind on their payments but not in danger of losing their properties, to notices that a bank is taking possession of their homes.

Nevada continued to have the nation's highest rate of filings, with one in every 64 housing units receiving a notice last month. California was No. 2, with one in every 144 housing units. Florida (one in every 148) was No. 3, followed by Arizona, No. 4 (one in every 158)

Rounding out the top 10 were Michigan, Georgia, Colorado, Idaho and Ohio.

The Obama administration announced a plan in March to provide $50 billion from the financial industry rescue fund as an incentive for the mortgage industry to modify loans at lower monthly payments.

But the effectiveness of the relief plan remains unclear, with questions lingering about how much the lending industry will cooperate. Many housing counselors say it hasn't made much of a difference so far.

Another problem is that many economists expect unemployment, at 9.4 percent nationwide, to rise as high as 10 percent, and some project it will exceed the post-World War II record of 10.8 percent.

Foreclosures are likely to remain elevated this year and into 2010 as layoffs become the main reason that borrowers default on their home loans.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.