Homes are rising fast on the northwest side of Salt Lake County, and so are the price tags. A new fact sheet from the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute finds the northwest Salt Lake Valley is adding housing at a rapid clip, even as sale prices climb. The study zeroes in on West Valley City, Kearns, Taylorsville, Magna and Salt Lake City’s west side and shows median sale prices jumping from $305,000 in 2019 to $435,000 in 2024. Those homes still sit below the Salt Lake County median, but the report notes a clear shift in what is getting built. Apartments now make up more than one-third of all units on Salt Lake City’s west side, and Magna led the pack in housing-stock growth.
What the Gardner data shows
According to the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute, the northwest valley now has roughly 107,486 housing units and added about 6,835 new units between January 2020 and January 2024. The fact sheet breaks that down into about 68,472 single-family homes, 23,568 apartments and 10,888 townhomes, duplexes and condominiums. It also notes that the Salt Lake County median single-family sale price sits at $535,000. Magna’s housing stock grew 23.2% over the period, while Salt Lake City’s west side alone added 2,891 units.
Prices, sizes and why this feels "affordable"
Moira Dillow, the Gardner Institute housing analyst who authored the brief, told KUTV, "Northwest Valley’s housing market stands out with a range of housing types, including smaller single-family homes at affordable price points." The institute ties the region’s relatively lower median prices to smaller home sizes and a larger share of higher-density units, rather than big discounts on a per-square-foot basis. At the same time, the brief warns that strong demand has pushed prices higher in nearly every northwest valley community.
Why planners should pay attention
The authors say they pulled these numbers together "to inform local decision-makers and community partners as they plan for future growth," complete with maps and tables intended for zoning and infrastructure debates. As the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute notes, this growth overlaps with major projects, including a University of Utah health-campus effort on the valley’s west side, that could reset demand for housing, transit and local services. The brief signals that officials will have to match denser housing with transit upgrades and neighborhood investment if they want long-time residents to stay put instead of being priced out.
What residents are saying
The people living through the boom have plenty of opinions. As reported by KUTV, some Kearns homeowners are already worried about rising HOA fees and the squeeze on smaller households. Neighbors and civic groups told reporters they see both upside, in the form of more housing choices and investment, and clear strains where infrastructure and services lag behind the new rooftops. The institute wrapped the data into a practical toolkit to help communities sort through those trade-offs.
The full fact sheet and detailed tables are available from the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute, and local outlets have posted summaries of the findings. For city planners, councilmembers and neighborhood groups on the west side, the numbers offer a shared baseline as they wrestle with zoning, transit and affordable housing options in a part of the valley that does not seem to be slowing down.
