Vernal, UT

Micro Area Profile

37,056 residents. Jobs, income, development, climate and physical risk across the Vernal, UT micropolitan area.

63out of 100
Area Score
Top 30% of 834 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 9 sources
Opportunity530th of 835 metro and micro areas measured44
GrowthTop 7% of 834 metro and micro areas measured78
Housing affordabilityTop 5% of 835 metro and micro areas measured86
Climate787th of 835 metro and micro areas measured53
Physical resilienceTop 23% of 835 metro and micro areas measured74
Access712th of 835 metro and micro areas measured54
Economic stability537th of 835 metro and micro areas measured37
The quick read

Unemployment is 3.8% and median household income $73,746, putting employment conditions in the middle range of metro and micro areas measured.

Development activity is both elevated and accelerating — 158 housing units permitted over the past twelve months, up 52% on the prior year.

Housing is more affordable relative to local incomes than in most metro and micro areas measured: rent takes 22% of renter income and the median home is 3.5 times what its owners earn.

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
37,056
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$73,746
Top 30% nationally
Density
8/sq mi
4,482.9 sq mi of land
Median age
33.2
2024 ACS 5-Year
Area type
Micropolitan area
Utah
Nearest major airport
PUC
74 mi · Carbon County Rgnl/Buck Davis Fld
Median home value
$298,600
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 3.8%, lower than in 64% of the 835 measured US metro and micro areas.

Employment fell 6.4% over the past year, to 16,449 employed residents.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Median household income ±$3,9022024 ACS 5-Year$73,746Top 30%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$2,2442024 ACS 5-Year$31,623Bottom 25%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year11.9%Top 41%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±1.3 min2024 ACS 5-Year21.6 minTop 25%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year16.8%Bottom 9%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year72.8%23rd percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentJuly 202616,449Bottom 16%of 835July 2026
Employment change (3 years)July 2026+0.6%Top 39%of 835July 2026
Employment change (year over year)July 2026−6.4%Bottom 2%of 835July 2026
Labor forceJuly 202617,09716th percentileof 835July 2026
Labor force participation ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year69.9%Bottom 15%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Public transit to work ±0.4%2024 ACS 5-Year0.5%59th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)July 2026−0.1%Bottom 43%of 835July 2026
Unemployment rateJuly 20263.8%Top 36%of 835July 2026
Worked from home ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year8.0%43rd percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year

Unemployment rate

2021/072022/072023/072024/072025/072026/075.42.7
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 3.8% 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.

36% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 40% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 21.5 students for every full-time teacher across 12 public schools, more than in most measured places.

Public schools
14
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
21.5
across 12 of them
Math proficiency
35.7%
2018-19 school year
Reading proficiency
40.0%
2018-19 school year
The 12 largest of 14 public schools, by enrollment.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Uintah HighUintah District1,84324.331%45%
Vernal MiddleUintah District84222.833%37%
Discovery SchoolUintah District65623.453%51%
Terra Academy · charterTerra Academy59519.821%40%
Uintah Middle SchoolUintah District57920.743%40%
Maeser SchoolUintah District47322.552%45%
Naples SchoolUintah District45621.737%34%
Davis SchoolUintah District44223.340%35%
Ashley SchoolUintah District44217.736%30%
Ashley Valley Educ. Ctr.Uintah District287287.0——
Eagle View SchoolUintah District27817.415%14%
Uintah Specialized PreschoolUintah District20568.3——

36.1% 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 $1,523 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.51% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,032, some 10% above the $941 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,032 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $41,300 a year, about 56% of the median household income here of $73,746.

The typical renter household here spends 22% of its income on rent, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $941 a month.

A median home at $298,600 costs 3.5 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $85,112, above the historic benchmark of about 3 times income.

Rent as a share of income
21.7%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
3.5×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$1,032
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$941
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$298,600
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Vernal’s median household income of $73,746, 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 ±0.22024 ACS 5-Year3.5Bottom 22%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year73.5%72nd percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±382024 ACS 5-Year13,83811th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$846Top 40%of 818FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,406Top 46%of 818FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$1,032Top 36%of 818FY2026
Median gross rent ±$322024 ACS 5-Year$941Top 45%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$14,4592024 ACS 5-Year$298,60075th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$762024 ACS 5-Year$1,52336th percentileof 9332024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$4,4462024 ACS 5-Year$85,112Top 42%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.04%2024 ACS 5-Year0.51%15th percentileof 9322024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year21.7%Top 1%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±1552024 ACS 5-Year37928th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year2.7%61st percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year9.5%68th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±2972024 ACS 5-Year1,69314th 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

78/ 100
Top 7% 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 7% since 2020, reaching 38,307 in 2024.

Population is still rising but the pace is easing: 38,307 residents in 2024, up 1.1% over the year, a smaller gain than the year before.

At 4.3 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US metro and micro areas.

Units permitted
158
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
4.3
Top 30% nationally
Year over year
+52%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
43.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202438k36k
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 10°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 8.6 inches.

0°20°40°60°80°100°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station VERNAL MUNICIPAL AP, 21.9 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND1.2"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals8.6"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals10°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals91°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals51991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals54°F1991-2020 Normals

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

Physical risk

74 / 100
Physical resilience

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

Overall hazard risk is lower than 77% of measured US metro and micro areas.

WildfireElevated
EarthquakeHigh
DroughtModerate
Heat waveModerate

Low or minimal exposure: landslide, lightning, avalanche, winter weather, cold wave, inland flooding, ice storm, tornado, hail, strong wind, volcanic activity, 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 Carbon County Rgnl/Buck Davis Fld at 74 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year91.1%Top 23%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle74 miBottom 15%of 835NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle2Bottom 16%of 835NASR current cycle
No internet access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year6.4%Top 26%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Carbon County Rgnl/Buck Davis FldPUC74 mi8,316 ft
Grand Junction RgnlGJT87 mi9,339 ft
Southwest Wyoming RgnlRKS104 mi10,002 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
63
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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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