- Utah's aging population grew 53% from 2010 to 2020, surpassing national rates.
- Many county and city plans mention aging residents but few have concrete strategies.
- Health, housing, transportation and social connection policies are crucial for aging residents.
Ashley Marshall-Cantor thinks the reason people don’t like to talk about aging is because “we’re a little scared of our own mortality and our loved ones’ mortality.” Unless it’s unavoidably close, they skirt the topic.
But that’s not something cities, counties and communities should do, she said. Especially since Utah and the U.S. itself are aging.
Marshall-Cantor is a research analyst with the Utah Foundation, which recently undertook an analysis of whether county and municipal general plans consider the needs of the older members of their community.
The foundation, in collaboration with AARP and Salt Lake County Aging and Adults Services, looked at the various plans in Utah to see which made a casual mention of the needs of those who are older adults, which offered specific suggestions and which were silent on the topic. When the analysis was done, Marshall-Cantor wrote a pair of reports, the first on what a plan should consider and the second on what’s actually in Utah plans to support an aging population.
The compilation could inspire those who haven’t planned for residents to grow older, while offering specific and tested policies and strategies from different communities. The researchers found 83% of county general plans and 59% of city and town general plans mention aging residents. But about 1 in 3 counties and 1 in 5 municipalities include concrete aging strategies in their plans.
Per the reports,“Communities in Utah need to move from acknowledging an aging population to actually planning for one.”
Because Utah is still comparatively young, Marshall-Cantor said such planning provides a “rare opportunity for us to be able to get ahead of the curve on policies.” She added, “Preparing cannot wait.”
But, “as the foundation report notes, actionable general plans among municipalities are hit-or-miss,” said Joseph Hirabayashi, AARP associate state director. “Additionally, the state has a Master Plan on Aging that has not been finalized. We have a great opportunity this year to implement the Governor’s WISE Initiative recommendations into the Master Plan on Aging.”
Utah WISEs up
The Beehive State has already seen what the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute at the University of Utah calls “explosive growth” in the population that’s 65 and older — a group that grew 53% between 2010 and 2020, compared to 39% nationally.
Shawn Tiegen, Utah Foundation president, said there’s a lot of talk about families and how important they are, but often the planning focus is on young families. “But those families have older parents and uncles and aunts and grandparents and whatnot.” Not planning for all the members of families is a disservice, he said.
What communities do for older family members benefit younger family members, too, he said. Moms and dads with strollers and young children, people with disabilities or mobility issues and others. In fact, communities built with older adults in mind can work for everyone, he said.
Communities aren’t the only entities looking at the graying of Utah.
In 2025, the Utah governor’s office launched the WISE initiative, which stands for Wealth, Independence, Security and Engagement. It’s a 10-year plan that focuses on the four areas deemed crucial to help the state age well and meet its older residents’ needs.
It can also provide some guidance to communities as they tackle issues, setting a framework
“Elements of this plan include expanding home-based care, increasing protections against fraud and exploitation, and ensuring continued access to healthy food. This plan will be released for public comment in 2026, marking a promising step toward creating a wiser Utah,” according to the Utah Foundation report.
Gaps and goals to meet the needs
The report is peppered with one piece of advice: Planning for the needs of older people should include older people in the discussion, as well as professionals like gerontologists who are very familiar with challenges that may arise with age.
In Utah, 1 in 5 Utahns 65 and older lived alone in 2020. Just 1 in 20 Utahns of any age lived in multigenerational households. San Juan County had the largest share, at just under 8%, while Wayne County had fewer than 2%.
The report highlights five particular areas that are especially relevant to an aging population, with a goal of prompting policies that don’t just address them, but also embrace them:
- Social connection
- Housing
- Transportation
- Healthcare
- Community leader action
Then it walks through some of the policies and goals within different community plans that address those issues.
Because older adults are at greater risk of social isolation, the report says the need to boost social connection is great.
Older adults also need housing options that are “age friendly and affordable.” And some cities are more specific than others. Stockton, in Tooele County, noted in its plan that “one-third of renters and homeowners are cost-burdened by their housing costs,” spending more than 30% of income on housing. Their plan includes multigenerational housing, which “allows family members to take care of one another, strengthens familial relationships and reduces social isolation.”
Tooele also has “some really fantastic programs to get individuals where they need to be going,” Marshall-Cantor added. As people lose the ability to drive, “Tooele is realizing how rural they are and how their population is vulnerable to that isolation of being stuck at home.”
Tiegen points out that accessory dwelling units (ADUs) are an option that some communities — Farmington is one example — embrace and others don’t. An ADU is a separate dwelling unit on the same property as a single-family home.
Hirabayashi said one of his former colleagues is building one on her property. She plans to live there and let her son and his family have her current home. There are lots of options and variations.
As Tiegen noted, “aging in place” doesn’t always mean staying in the same home. It can be the same community or even on the same street or property in a dwelling that fits better when you’re older. It can mean being close to your family and friends.
Many older adults will no longer be able to drive, so transportation that’s accessible is key to a quality life. So are walkable communities. “Although Utah’s general plans often referred to transportation and walkability, most plans were quite surface-level,” per the report.
Some communities do suggest particular steps. For instance, Millcreek has included in its general plan better lighting and longer street-crossing time, among other measures. Millcreek mentions encouraging development that focuses on pedestrian safety.
The report highlights some policy strategies that are specific and helpful. Vernal, for instance, has expanded older adult-friendly recreational activities, while White City calls out the need for age-friendly, universal design in housing.
Healthcare is another need that grows with age. Brigham City’s plan encourages pharmacies in central locations, while Coalville and Carbon County include supporting programs like Meals on Wheels in their general plan.
There are lots of examples, but even more gaps that could be filled with solid and more specific planning, the analysis found. “There’s not a ton of general plans that really go in depth on these strategies. So we were really excited to see the ones that did go in depth,” Marshall-Cantor said.