St. George, UT

Metro Area Profile

196,431 residents. Jobs, income, development, climate and physical risk across the St. George, UT metropolitan area.

64out of 100
Area Score
Top 47% of 379 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks
OpportunityTop 9% of 379 metros measured81
GrowthTop 1% of 821 metros measured92
Housing affordability784th of 822 metros measured58
ClimateTop 47% of 822 metros measured68
Physical resilience748th of 822 metros measured20
AccessTop 22% of 822 metros measured91
Economic stabilityTop 48% of 822 metros measured52
The quick read

St. George ranks in the top 9% of published metro profiles for employment opportunity, with unemployment at 3.8% and median household income of $80,632.

Development activity is both elevated and accelerating — 3,094 housing units permitted over the past twelve months, up 19% on the prior year.

Physical-risk exposure is above the national median, driven mainly by wildfire, inland flooding and earthquake.

At a glance

Population
196,431
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$80,632
Top 17% nationally
Density
81/sq mi
2427.6 sq mi of land
Median age
39.1
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Metro area
St. George, UT
Nearest major airport
SGU
16 mi · St George Rgnl
Median home value
$510,700
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

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

Employment grew 0.5% over the past year, to 91,382 employed residents.

35% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 80% of measured US metros.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Median household income ±$3,644$80,632Top 17%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$1,373$39,171Top 31%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate9.8%Bottom 15%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute20.2 minBottom 14%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher35.2%Top 20%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Employment91,382Bottom 40%of 379June 2026
Employment change (3 years)5.7%Top 2%of 379June 2026
Employment change (year over year)0.5%Top 20%of 379June 2026
Labor force94,964Bottom 40%of 379June 2026
Labor force participation57.5%Bottom 33%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wage$55,920Bottom 22%of 3812025 OEWS
Median annual wage$45,140Bottom 22%of 3812025 OEWS
Metro employment90,500Bottom 44%of 3812025 OEWS
Unemployment change (year over year)0.0%Bottom 46%of 379June 2026
Unemployment rate3.8%Bottom 29%of 379June 2026
Unemployment rate
2021/062022/032022/122023/092024/062025/032025/102026/063.92.2
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 — St. George, UT
OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Fast Food and Counter Workers3,460$28,270
Retail Salespersons3,050$33,150
Office Clerks, General2,560$44,880
General and Operations Managers2,050$82,850
Stockers and Order Fillers1,950$36,940
Registered Nurses1,910$86,380

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 $1,566 takes 23% of median household income, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened.

A median home costs 6.3 times median household income here, well above the historic benchmark, at a level conventionally described as seriously unaffordable.

Rent as a share of income
23.3%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
6.3×
median home value ÷ median income
Median gross rent
$1,566
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$510,700
2024 ACS 5-Year
MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Home price to income6.33Top 5%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate71.6%Top 39%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±7082,189Top 27%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Median gross rent ±$56$1,566Top 7%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$14,780$510,700Top 6%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income23.3%Top 7%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate15.1%Top 27%of 9352024 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
92/ 100
Top 1% of 821 published city profiles
Permitting is decreasing, 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 14% since 2020, reaching 207,943 in 2024.

New construction is predominantly single-family: only 18% of permitted units are in buildings of five or more homes.

At 15.8 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US metros.

Units permitted
3,094
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
15.8
Top 1% nationally
Year over year
+19%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
18.1%
units in 5+ unit buildings
Population, annual estimates
20202021202220232024208k182k
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

6 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 92°F and January a low of 28°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 14.2 inches, including 10.8 inches of snow.

20°40°60°80°100°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station VEYO POWERHOUSE, 11.6 miles from this location.
Precipitation
JFMAMJJASOND2.1"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation14.2"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall10.8"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low28°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high92°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months61991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing41°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

20 / 100
Physical resilience

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

WildfireHigh
Inland floodingModerate
EarthquakeModerate

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

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
Offences reported to police are published by department rather than by town, and only where a department reported every month of the year. No municipal department reports for this place — many smaller communities are policed by the county — so there is no figure to show. A partial year is never scaled up to look complete, and arrest counts or news volume are never substituted for it.
Taxes and full cost of living
No public source publishes either with national coverage and a method open enough to check. 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. Nothing here is individualised tax advice.
Anything about a specific address
Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house. School attendance zones, insurance pricing and the character of a neighbourhood all vary within the places measured here.

Access

2 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest 16 miles away.

AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
St George RgnlSGU16 mi9,300 ft
Cedar City RgnlCDC37 mi8,653 ft
Grand Canyon Ntl ParkGCN117 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
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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.