Cedar City, UT

Micro Area Profile

62,252 residents. Jobs, income, development, climate and physical risk across the Cedar City, UT micropolitan area.

59out of 100
Area Score
Top 42% of 834 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 9 sources
OpportunityTop 19% of 835 metro and micro areas measured68
GrowthTop 1% of 834 metro and micro areas measured90
Housing affordability766th of 835 metro and micro areas measured51
Climate666th of 835 metro and micro areas measured58
Physical resilience746th of 835 metro and micro areas measured21
AccessTop 27% of 835 metro and micro areas measured89
Economic stabilityTop 30% of 835 metro and micro areas measured68
The quick read

Cedar City ranks in the top 19% of metro and micro areas measured for employment opportunity, with unemployment at 3.4% and median household income of $66,247.

Development activity is both elevated and accelerating — 752 housing units permitted over the past twelve months, up 16% on the prior year.

Rent takes 32% of renter income here, at or above the threshold conventionally called cost-burdened, while buying strains owner incomes less — the median home is 4.6 times what its owners earn, against a historic benchmark near three.

These sentences are written by fixed rules from the measurements below — a statement appears because a number crossed a stated threshold, and the values behind it are stored with it. No figure anywhere on this site is invented, estimated or inferred to fill a gap. How this works.

At a glance

Population
62,252
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$66,247
Bottom 48% nationally
Density
19/sq mi
3,296.2 sq mi of land
Median age
30.2
2024 ACS 5-Year
Area type
Micropolitan area
Utah
Nearest major airport
CDC
18 mi · Cedar City Rgnl
Median home value
$379,000
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 3.4%, lower than in 80% of the 835 measured US metro and micro areas.

Employment fell 0.9% over the past year, to 31,178 employed residents.

32% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 72% of measured US metro and micro areas.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Median household income ±$4,0582024 ACS 5-Year$66,247Bottom 48%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$1,4332024 ACS 5-Year$30,186Bottom 18%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year10.5%Top 26%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±0.9 min2024 ACS 5-Year18.3 minTop 6%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year31.6%Top 28%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year72.8%24th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentJuly 202631,178Bottom 43%of 835July 2026
Employment change (3 years)July 2026+4.5%Top 8%of 835July 2026
Employment change (year over year)July 2026−0.9%Bottom 47%of 835July 2026
Labor forceJuly 202632,26943rd percentileof 835July 2026
Labor force participation ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year77.4%Top 42%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Public transit to work ±0.1%2024 ACS 5-Year0.1%13th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)July 20260.0%Bottom 38%of 835July 2026
Unemployment rateJuly 20263.4%Top 20%of 835July 2026
Worked from home ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year11.4%71st percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year

Unemployment rate

2021/072022/072023/072024/072025/072026/073.62.1
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 3.4% in July 2026. It has been falling, over a series running from 2020-01 to 2026-07. A break in the line is a month the Bureau of Labor Statistics did not publish for this area — it is left empty rather than estimated.

47% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 50% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 19.9 students for every full-time teacher across 18 public schools, more than in most measured places.

Public schools
20
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
19.9
across 18 of them
Math proficiency
46.8%
Reading proficiency
50.4%
The 12 largest of 20 public schools, by enrollment.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Southwest Educational AcademyIron District4,239302.8——
Cedar City HighIron District1,37220.538%59%
Cedar MiddleIron District1,13920.347%49%
Canyon View HighIron District1,02117.335%52%
Canyon View MiddleIron District94819.346%53%
Gateway Preparatory Academy · charterGateway Preparatory Academy73222.928%38%
Three Peaks SchoolIron District64620.858%48%
Iron Springs SchoolIron District63619.959%53%
Cedar East SchoolIron District59820.658%47%
Cedar North SchoolIron District57819.953%52%
Cedar South SchoolIron District54518.244%39%
Enoch SchoolIron District51617.244%44%

30.4% of students here are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That describes the circumstances families arrive with, not how the schools perform, so it is shown and not scored.

Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data, placed by ZIP code — which schools are in this place, not which one a particular address is zoned for. A dash in a proficiency column is a gap in the federal file, not a bad result. Proficiency is measured against Utah’s own standard, so it is ranked within state. How to read school figures.

Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $1,558 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.41% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,120, close to the $1,065 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,120 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $44,800 a year, about 68% of the median household income here of $66,247.

The typical renter household here spends 32% of its income on rent, above the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $1,065 a month.

A median home at $379,000 costs 4.6 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $82,323, above the historic benchmark of about 3 times income.

Rent as a share of income
31.7%
Above the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
4.6×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$1,120
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$1,065
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$379,000
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Cedar City’s median household income of $66,247, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Home price to income ±0.32024 ACS 5-Year4.6Bottom 8%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year68.3%41st percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±372024 ACS 5-Year23,55035th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$888Top 48%of 818FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,558Bottom 39%of 818FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$1,120Bottom 49%of 818FY2026
Median gross rent ±$752024 ACS 5-Year$1,065Bottom 36%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$10,7312024 ACS 5-Year$379,00086th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$672024 ACS 5-Year$1,55837th percentileof 9332024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$5,0652024 ACS 5-Year$82,323Top 48%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.02%2024 ACS 5-Year0.41%6th percentileof 9322024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year31.7%Bottom 18%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±2802024 ACS 5-Year2,00466th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year8.5%83rd percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year5.9%29th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±4272024 ACS 5-Year3,39338th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year

These measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with. They compare housing cost with local earnings only: transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not in them. How to read affordability, the two rent figures.

Development Momentum

90/ 100
Top 1% of 834 published metro profiles
The most recent move in permitting was upward, in a series running from 2024 to 2025.

An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.

Population has grown 14% since 2020, reaching 65,936 in 2024.

Population is still rising but the pace is easing: 65,936 residents in 2024, up 2.3% over the year, a smaller gain than the year before.

New construction is predominantly single-family: of 752 units permitted over the past twelve months, none were in buildings of five or more homes.

At 12.1 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US metro and micro areas.

Units permitted
752
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
12.1
Top 3% nationally
Year over year
+16%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
0.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202466k58k
Census Population Estimates Program, July 1 of each year. These annual estimates are designed for year-over-year comparison, unlike the ACS five-year figure shown as this profile's population. It has been rising for the last 4 years, over a series running from 2020 to 2024.

Weather & climate

5 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 91°F and January a low of 18°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 11.0 inches.

10°30°50°70°90°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station CEDAR CITY MUNI AP, 18.1 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND1.2"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals11.0"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals18°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals91°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals51991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals45°F1991-2020 Normals

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. How to read climate and air quality.

Physical risk

21 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are wildfire, inland flooding and earthquake, with wildfire alone responsible for 48% of it. Inland flooding is independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large that hazard is.

WildfireHigh
LandslideModerate
EarthquakeHigh
Volcanic activityModerate
DroughtModerate
AvalancheModerate
Heat waveModerate

Low or minimal exposure: winter weather, lightning, inland flooding, ice storm, strong wind, cold wave, tornado, hail, tsunami, hurricane, coastal flooding.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. This value is the population-weighted mean of all component counties; expected annual loss is their sum. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

What this profile does not cover

Each of these is absent for a reason, not by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them; the weighting is on the methodology page.

Reported crime
Offenses reported to police are published by department rather than by town, so AreaProfile shows a rate only on city profiles, and only where that city’s department submitted every month of a year. City profiles inside this area carry their own figure where their department reported a full year. A partial year is never scaled up to look complete, and arrest counts or news volume are never substituted for it.
Cost of living
Price parities are published for metropolitan areas, and this place lies outside one.
Death-certificate rates
The CDC publishes these rates by county, so a metropolitan area carries none of its own. The county profiles inside it do.
Air quality
The EPA publishes an air-quality index by county, and only where a monitor sits, so a metropolitan area carries none of its own. The county profiles inside it show it where one exists.
Taxes
Income and sales taxes are not published: no source covers them nationally with a method open enough to check. Property taxes are shown in the housing section but are not part of the score. Cost of living is published where the Bureau of Economic Analysis measures it, though not for this place. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Anything about a specific address
Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house.

Access

2 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Cedar City Rgnl at 18 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year91.5%Top 19%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle18 miTop 23%of 835NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle2Bottom 16%of 835NASR current cycle
No internet access ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year5.1%Top 12%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Cedar City RgnlCDC18 mi8,653 ft
St George RgnlSGU61 mi9,300 ft
Grand Canyon Ntl ParkGCN150 mi8,999 ft

Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.

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Area Score
59
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Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 Normals
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
SchoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year
HousingU.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research
Fair Market Rents
FY2026
Current conditionsNOAA National Weather Service
National Weather Service current conditions
Live observation, read when the page opens

Profile recalculated October 8, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology, or every source with how often each updates.

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