Utahns remain more optimistic about their financial future than most Americans, but have lost the confidence they gained after President Donald Trump’s election to a second term.
That’s the consensus from monthly surveys by the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute, even though a recent poll shows more than half of Utahns at least somewhat approve of Trump’s performance so far.
Consumer sentiment — a measure of the attitudes, feelings, values, motivations and behaviors of people within a particular market — has been higher in Utah than nationally, with very few exceptions, since the end of 2020.
It has varied greatly in the last year or so, with rises and dips largely correlating with national political news.
Utahns’ outlook rose, and then fell
Utahns’ outlook clocked in at 80.7 in October, which was higher than the national consumer sentiment, as measured by the University of Michigan, but lower than when the Gardner Institute started surveying Utahns nearly four years ago.
Attitudes about the future of the economy among Beehive State residents jumped to 88.05 last November – a 9.1% increase from the month prior.
The “large monthly change” appeared to correlate with Trump’s election, said Phil Dean, chief economist at the Gardner Institute.
Sentiment then increased again in December to 91.3, its highest level since June 2021. And it stayed there in January, remaining much higher than the national outlook.
In January, there was a 20-point gap between Utah and national sentiment, which Dean partially attributed to the state’s “strong economic performance at the end of 2024 and optimism among many Utahns about the incoming administration.”
But then it started falling.
After Trump announced his intention to impose tariffs on Canada, Mexico and the European Union, consumer sentiment among Utahns dropped slightly to 88.14.
Dean said Utahn consumers adjusted sentiment after “expectations and uncertainty about family finances and business conditions.”
More Utahns – 19% of those surveyed in February, compared to 13% in January – said via telephone surveys that they expected to be worse off financially in a year.
The portion of Utahns with a negative business outlook also increased, from 35% in January to 44% in February for national business prospects and from 26% to 32% for Utah specifically.
Utah consumers’ sentiment then dropped back to pre-election levels amid more tariffs, increasing prices for food and other items, cuts to the federal workforce and fewer foreign tourists coming to the Southwest.
The Beehive State has more than 33,000 federal employees, according to Office of Personnel Management figures from December.
Sentiment fell to 81.1 in March, stayed about the same in April and May, then increased slightly in June before dropping to 78.4 in July.
That’s the lowest reading since last September, Dean said, and reflects more Utah households saying they’re worse off financially than a year ago and expect to be even worse off in the next year.
Dean highlighted that many Utah households – more than 40% – don’t think it’s a good time to buy major household items like appliances.
Utah Republicans still like Trump
Despite their outlook, Utahns generally approve of how Trump is handling the economy, according to a Deseret News/Hinckley Institute of Politics poll of 802 registered voters conducted by HarrisX in July.
Just more than half of Utahns surveyed somewhat or strongly approve of the administration’s approach to the economy.
But fewer at least somewhat approved of Trump’s performance related to inflation, at 49%, and tariffs and trade, at 47%.
Utahns were more likely to approve of the president’s actions around immigration and foreign affairs – 56% and 52%, respectively.
Trump is mostly popular among Republicans in Utah, with 76% saying they approve of the job he is doing six months into his second term.
Democrats, though, are strongly opposed, with 88% disapproving of Trump’s performance so far. Independent voters also are more likely to disapprove, with only 35% saying he’s done a good job.
Megan Banta is The Salt Lake Tribune’s data enterprise reporter, a philanthropically supported position. The Tribune retains control over all editorial decisions.