Utah places at the top of many rankings of state performance across America, including No. 1 among all 50 states in terms of economy and well-being. These rankings suggest that Utah has pioneered a unique path combining prosperity and happiness in the 21st century. The strength of “the Utah way” can be attributed, in part, to the state’s unusually high levels of social capital and low levels of government regulation. But Utah’s material and emotional success is also attributable to the strength and stability of its families, according to Brad Wilcox, a professor of sociology at the University of Virginia, Patrick Brown, a fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, and Jenet Erickson, an associate professor at Brigham Young University. No state in the union has as many men, women and children in married households as the Beehive State. In 2021, 55% of adults in Utah (ages 18-55) were married and 82% of its children were living in married-couple families. This compares to a national average of 45% of adults married and 75% of kids living in married families. What could be called the “Utah family miracle” matters because social science tells us that one of the strongest predictors of a state’s economic success is strong families, write Wilcox, Brown and Erickson. Recent research indicates, for instance, that one of the top predictors of economic performance across the states is the share of married parents. Likewise, Harvard economist found that the Salt Lake City metro area has some of the highest rates of economic mobility for poor children across America. One key reason for that finding is that the region has more two-parent families than other metro areas across the nation. But recent trends suggest that as the state has grown, its status as a family outlier may be starting to converge with national norms. |