Utah consumer sentiment falls in July, lowest since September

Utah’s consumer sentiment, as measured by the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute’s Survey of Utah Consumer Sentiment, dropped almost 5 percent in July. 

Although Gardner study authors say the decline — from 82.3 in June to 78.4 in July — is within the survey’s margin of error, it seems to indicate that Utahns are not quite as confident in their financial status as a month earlier. 

“The July result is the lowest reading of Utah consumer sentiment since September 2024,” said Phil Dean, chief economist at the Gardner Institute. “Compared to June 2025, a larger share of Utah households in July say they are worse off financially compared to a year ago, and a larger share expects to be worse off a year from now. Similarly, Utahns report less confidence in the state’s business conditions over the next several years. A plurality of Utah households believe now is not a good time to buy major household items, such as appliances.”

A similar survey conducted by the University of Michigan reported a small increase (1.6 percent) in sentiment during July among Americans as a whole.

The Utah consumer confidence survey uses key questions from the University of Michigan’s Survey of Consumers. These questions measure residents’ views of the present economic situation and their expectations for the economy in the future. Data gathered from the key questions are used to create the consumer confidence index for Utah. Demographic questions are included in the questionnaire to allow for additional analysis of the data and to assess the representativeness of the sample.

The full results of the monthly Utah Consumer Sentiment survey can be accessed through the Gardner Institute website at gardner.utah.edu.