Utah’s consumer sentiment increased again as 2024 came to an end, jumping 3.6 percent, from 88.1 in November to 91.3 in December, according to the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute’s Survey of Utah Consumer Sentiment.
A similar survey conducted by the University of Michigan found a slightly smaller change (3.1 percent increase) in sentiment among Americans as a whole during December — from 71.8 to 74.
“This latest month marks the highest level of consumer sentiment among Utah residents in over three years,” said Phil Dean, chief economist at the Gardner Institute. “It also represents the largest disparity between the U.S. and the state’s consumer sentiment since the Utah index began in October 2020. This gap likely reflects several factors, including Utah’s strong economic performance at the end of 2024 and optimism among many Utahns about the incoming administration.”
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.