Outrageous Utah Rental Prices Forcing Many Into Homelessness

Utah's home rental prices are soaring at an all-time high right now, causing chaos. KSL reported that as the housing prices are rising, so are the amounts of individuals and families that are being forced into homelessness.

Ashlee Dominquez told KSL, "It’s broken me in more ways than one. As a mom, I feel like a failure. I really do."

Utah Housing Coalition advocate Francisca Blanc said, "The rent increases that we have been seeing are between $300 and $500 a month, which is a significant amount of money for anyone."

As of 2020, more than 183,000 families are paying over 50 percent of their income each month to rent. Some are paying significantly more than that.

In 2020, the average price of an apartment in Salt Lake County was over $1,100 per month.

According to the Utah Living Wage Index, a family of five in Utah would need to make nearly $85,000 per year before taxes to be able to afford the bare necessities for their family. These are just things such as food, health care, housing, and transportation.

Dominquez said, "It sucks because everything is so unaffordable."

Blanc said that it's going to take a huge effort to solve the housing problem. "We all have to come together because we need to make sure people are staying housed."