Years of economic prosperity have certainly pushed wages higher. But just how well Utah's wages stack up is not entirely clear because of the different ways of measuring income.

One thing is certain. Utah's much-ballyhooed low cost of living isn't so low anymore, comparatively, with the cost of getting by far outpacing wage growth in recent years, mostly because of escalating real estate values.

So, just how well are we doing?

Some families - especially those who bought their homes years ago and have watched their incomes climb alongside home values - are faring just fine.

Others, however, are struggling with diminished purchasing power.

In fact, the gap between housing prices and incomes is becoming an issue for people considering moving to Utah, said Susan Smith of Manpower, a staffing company in Salt Lake City. There now are a number of cities in other states with similar wages but where it is cheaper to buy or rent a dwelling.

Years ago, if a worker were weighing employment offers, Utah often was a clear standout in terms of low cost of living, Smith said. "Now it's not as clear-cut anymore."

Peter Paterno knows the feeling.

A cement finisher who late last year moved from Nevada to get away from the gambling, Paterno said he took a big cut in pay to live in Utah. "The prevailing wage in Nevada for cement finishers was $36.70 an hour. Here, I'm now making $22 an hour," he says, ruefully.

Paterno wonders how most people in Utah get by.

"I can't see how they do it. There are a lot of general laborers around here making $8 to $10 an hour, and it has to be tough. And even if you're making a lot more than that and want to get a nice place to live, you're definitely going to need a roommate."

Debbi Andrus of Salt Lake City is a Utahn who earns $10 an hour. And she says it isn't easy to make ends meet.

Andrus, who works at a coffee shop, lives with her mother. She said she could not afford an apartment without one or more roommates.

"Not if I wanted to eat and drive my car," she said. "A lot of my friends work two jobs to live on their own."

The most recent ranking of per-capita income by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis placed Utah 47th among the states last year, at $29,108.

That may sound bad, but most experts think it makes things sound worse that they actually are. David G. Lenze, an economist with bureau, said Utah's comparatively youthful population - nearly one-third of Utah's population is under the age 18, compared with only one-quarter nationally - contributes to the state's low ranking by putting a lot of teenagers and young adults into the mix. "Young people earn less than older people," he said.

Economist Mark Knold of the Utah Department of Workforce Services said in addition to a high share of young people, many of whom who aren't yet in the work force, Utah has a high share of people working part time. An estimated 25 percent of Utah workers are part time, compared with 17 percent nationally, he said. Utah's percentage is the highest nationally - Minnesota is No. 2 at 23 percent.

All of these factors push Utah, on a per-capita basis, to near the bottom of states in income ranking.

A better gauge of Utah's wage situation, Knold said, is median household income as figured by the U.S. Census Bureau. The latest ranking puts Utah at No. 18 - close to the middle. That ranking is up from No. 21 in 1999.

Knold acknowledged the substantial rise in housing prices over the past several years, which have driven up living costs for many people.

From the first quarter of 2005 to the same quarter in 2006 alone, the median selling price for a house in Salt Lake County jumped 20 percent, to $241,000. Davis County was up 25 percent during the same time period. Tooele County shot up 31 percent.

Although those increases are substantial, Knold said it's important to remember that housing costs have increased dramatically in other parts of the country, too - in some cases by larger margins than in Utah.

Plus, he said, the tight labor market - high rates of job growth coupled with low rates of unemployment - is pushing Utah wages higher. Per-capita income growth in Utah in 2006, for example, was up 6.5 percent over the previous year, the fourth-highest increase in the country.

Many Utah families are better off financially because of those increases - especially those sitting on a tidy sum in home equity.

But many who were not in the real estate market in recent years have been frustrated, as home values rose by a much greater margin than their wages.

Aaron Olsen and his wife may make twice the money they did three years ago, but they still are struggling to be able to afford a home in Utah County. "Our incomes just haven't kept up with housing prices," he said.

Utah County's median selling price for a house in the first quarter was up 24 percent, to $233,000. "I don't know who is getting raises like that, it's certainly not me," he said.

Many areas in Utah County are well out of reach of first-time home buyers such as the Olsens. Alpine's median is $546,500, followed by Mapleton ($382,541) and American Fork ($306,000).

Knold maintains that Utah's cost of living remains low, compared with many other areas of the country.

"The cities with the best wages most often have the highest cost of living," he said. "When you take into account the cost of living, our purchasing power is better than most other places."

For example, he said a family may come out ahead taking a lesser salary and living in Utah than taking a higher salary and living in Los Angeles or New York, where the cost of living is so much more.

Still, there are plenty of Utahns who feel as if their purchasing power isn't all that great.

To make ends meet, Will Solan of Salt Lake City said he holds two jobs - one working full-time at a catering company and the other a part-time position at a warehouse.

"Every time I turn around gasoline prices keep going up, food prices keep going up, everything keeps going up. The only thing that that doesn't seem to be going up as fast is what I make."

lesley@sltrib.com

steve@sltrib.com