Provo-Orem-Lehi, UT

Metro Area Profile

717,986 residents. Jobs, income, development, climate and physical risk across the Provo-Orem-Lehi, UT metropolitan area.

68out of 100
Area Score
Top 33% of 379 published profiles

How we calculate this

How this area ranks
OpportunityTop 16% of 379 published metros75
GrowthTop 10% of 821 published metros76
Housing affordability681st of 822 published metros75
Climate732nd of 822 published metros55
Physical resilience473rd of 822 published metros50
AccessTop 46% of 822 published metros78
Economic stabilityTop 1% of 822 published metros97
The quick read

Provo-Orem-Lehi ranks in the top 16% of published metro profiles for employment opportunity, with unemployment at 3.8% and median household income of $100,704.

6,581 housing units were authorized over the past twelve months, within 6% of the prior year — steady rather than turning.

Buying strains local incomes far more than renting does — the median home is 5.3 times median household income, against a historic benchmark near three — while rent takes 18% of it.

At a glance

Population
717,986
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$100,704
Top 3% nationally
Density
133/sq mi
5396.3 sq mi of land
Median age
25.8
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Metro area
Provo-Orem-Lehi, UT
Nearest major airport
PVU
41 mi · Provo Muni
Median home value
$535,500
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 3.8% is lower than 71% of the 379 measured US metros.

Employment fell 0.6% over the past year, to 353,096 employed residents.

44% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 95% of measured US metros.

Household income is higher than at least 97% of measured US metros.

MetricValueCompared with peersSource period
Median household income ±$1,401$100,704Top 3%2024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$485$37,028Top 42%2024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate8.7%Bottom 7%2024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute24.5 minTop 46%2024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher43.9%Top 5%2024 ACS 5-Year
Employment353,096Top 20%June 2026
Employment change (3 years)1.0%Top 39%June 2026
Employment change (year over year)-0.6%Top 48%June 2026
Labor force367,182Top 21%June 2026
Labor force participation71.7%Top 1%2024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wage$64,230Top 32%2025 OEWS
Median annual wage$48,010Top 48%2025 OEWS
Metro employment304,660Top 21%2025 OEWS
Unemployment change (year over year)-0.1%Bottom 39%June 2026
Unemployment rate3.8%Bottom 29%June 2026
Unemployment rate
2021/062022/032022/122023/092024/062025/032025/102026/064.01.7
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 3.8% in June 2026. 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.
Largest occupations — Provo-Orem-Lehi, UT
OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Fast Food and Counter Workers12,060$28,710
Retail Salespersons8,710$33,120
General and Operations Managers7,910$95,790
Software Developers7,870$131,210
Customer Service Representatives7,780$39,560
Office Clerks, General6,540$43,080

Occupational employment and wages are published for metropolitan areas rather than for individual cities or ZIP areas, so these describe the wider labor market this location sits in. 2025 OEWS, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Housing & affordability

How it’s calculated →

Median rent of $1,534 takes 18% of median household income, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened.

A median home costs 5.3 times median household income here, well above the historic benchmark, at a level conventionally described as seriously unaffordable.

Rent as a share of income
18.3%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
5.3×
median home value ÷ median income
Median gross rent
$1,534
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$535,500
2024 ACS 5-Year
MetricValueCompared with peersSource period
Home price to income5.32Top 11%2024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate68.6%Bottom 43%2024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±133215,146Top 12%2024 ACS 5-Year
Median gross rent ±$23$1,534Top 8%2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$5,804$535,500Top 5%2024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income18.3%Top 49%2024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate3.8%Bottom 1%2024 ACS 5-Year

Both affordability measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with, so the comparison is like for like. They describe housing cost against local earnings and are not a cost-of-living index — transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not included, and a place can look affordable here and still be expensive to live in for reasons this does not capture.

Growth & development

How it’s calculated →
Development Momentum
76/ 100
Top 10% of 821 published city profiles
Permitting is increasing, measured 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 13% since 2020, reaching 760,531 in 2024.

At 9.2 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US metros.

Units permitted
6,581
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
9.2
Top 7% nationally
Year over year
−6%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
23.1%
units in 5+ unit buildings
Population, annual estimates
20202021202220232024761k675k
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.

Weather & climate

5 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 93°F and January a low of 16°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 12.3 inches.

0°20°40°60°80°100°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station LITTLE SAHARA REC AREA, 10.4 miles from this location.
Precipitation
JFMAMJJASOND1.5"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation12.3"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low16°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high93°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months51991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing49°F1991-2020 Normals

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. They describe what a typical year looks like rather than what the weather is doing today.

Physical risk

50 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are earthquake, wildfire and heat wave.

WildfireHigh
EarthquakeModerate
Heat waveModerate
AvalancheModerate
LandslideModerate

Low or minimal exposure: lightning, winter weather, inland flooding, strong wind, volcanic activity, drought, tornado, ice storm, cold wave, hail.

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

Three things people look for are missing from every AreaProfile page, and each is missing for a reason rather than by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them and the weighting is documented on the methodology page.

Reported crime
The FBI’s Crime Data Explorer is the only source for reported offences with national coverage and a published method, and it requires an API key AreaProfile does not hold. Arrest counts, news volume and commercial “safety scores” are not substituted in the meantime. What is published above under Safety is a different measurement — deaths rather than offences, from death certificates rather than police returns — and it covers no property crime at all.
Taxes
No tax dataset has met the source admission test for coverage, transparent methodology and update cadence. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Full cost of living
No public source publishes one with national coverage and a documented method. Housing affordability above is computed from published rent, price and income, and excludes transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes — commuting cost in particular tends to offset suburban housing savings.

Access

4 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest 41 miles away.

AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Provo MuniPVU41 mi8,603 ft
Salt Lake City IntlSLC66 mi12,002 ft
Carbon County Rgnl/Buck Davis FldPUC87 mi8,316 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
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Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource periodUpdated
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle28-day NASR cycle
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)Periodic dataset versions (v1.20.0 current)
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 NormalsEvery ten years (next release follows the 2001–2030 period)
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
June 2026Monthly
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWSAnnual (spring release)
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimateAnnual (vintage released each spring)
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026Monthly, roughly three weeks after the reference month
Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-YearAnnual (5-year estimates released each December)

Profile recalculated August 30, 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 browse every source.