City · Carbon County, Utah

East Carbon, Utah

East Carbon is a city in Carbon County, Utah, part of the Price, UT metro area. It has 1,336 residents. East Carbon, Utah has a quality-of-life score of 31 out of 100 (low), ranking #10,787 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Utah it ranks #174 of 175 cities and towns. It ranks best on fine particulate matter (PM2.5) (low), dentists (high) and high school diploma or higher (high). It ranks worst on drought exposure (high), unemployment rate (high) and social associations (low).

31Low

Quality-of-life score: #10,787 of 15,651 cities and towns
Utah: #174 of 175 in UT
Population: 1,336 (2020-2024)
Land area: 11 mi²
Density: 118.3 /mi²
FIPS code: 4920890

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 75 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.

Open in the map

Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.

Safety17#12,965/15,637
Economy10#14,017/15,631
Housing86#2,089/14,977
Health23#12,028/15,609
Healthcare48#8,186/15,650
Environment98#377/15,453
Education39#9,572/15,649
Infrastructure21#12,343/15,650
Community20#12,473/15,651
Leisure & amenities30#10,936/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where East Carbon, Utah ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Carbon County value” are the county’s: the source publishes no figure for this city or town, and the county holding most of its residents stands in.

Strengths

Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) · low4.8 µg/m³
97/100Utah 7.3 µg/m³United States 8.0 µg/m³2022Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyCarbon County value
Dentists · high102 /100k
91/100Utah 70 /100kUnited States 75 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteCarbon County value
High school diploma or higher · high86.8%
89/100Utah 93.4%United States 89.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B15003
Public EV charging ports · high13.5 /10k
89/100Utah 9.0 /10kUnited States 7.6 /10kOct 2026U.S. Department of EnergyCarbon County value
Drinking water violations · low0
86/100Utah 1United States 02024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteCarbon County value
Mammography screening · high53.0%
85/100Utah 45.0%United States 46.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteCarbon County value

Weaknesses

Drought exposure · high100%
1/100Utah 98%United States 43%Oct 2025–Sep 2026National Drought Mitigation Center (University of Nebraska–Lincoln), USDA and NOAACarbon County value
Unemployment rate · high18.0%
1/100Utah 3.5%United States 4.3%2020-2024U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Census table B23025High uncertainty
Social associations · low3.4 /10k
2/100Utah 3.6 /10kUnited States 9.1 /10k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteCarbon County value
Pharmacies · low0.5 /10k
3/100Utah 1.1 /10kUnited States 1.8 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsCarbon County value
Gyms and fitness centers · low0.0 /10k
4/100Utah 1.3 /10kUnited States 1.3 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsCarbon County value
Median household income · low$37,991
5/100Utah $96,398United States $81,6042020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B19013

Trends

The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.

PopulationFalling
1,497 (2015-2019) → 1,336 (2020-2024)
−11%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Child poverty rateImproving
34.6% (2015-2019) → 18.5% (2020-2024)
−16 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Unemployment rateWorsening
4.0% (2015-2019) → 18.0% (2020-2024)
+14 pts5 yearsCensus table B23025US 3.7% → 4.0%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
70.2% (2015-2019) → 84.2% (2020-2024)
+14 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Rent as share of incomeImproving
51.0% (2015-2019) → 38.2% (2020-2024)
−13 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%
Average commute timeWorsening
23.9 min (2015-2019) → 38.6 min (2020-2024)
+62%5 yearsCensus table B08013US 26.9 min → 26.4 min

What changed in five years

How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.

Over about five years, East Carbon, Utah improved on 2 of 10 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 8 moved within the margin of error and 0 barely changed.

Earlier (2015-2019)
Latest (2020-2024)
Lower standingHigher standing

Position is the place's standing among cities and towns: further right is better, whichever way the measure counts.

Improved2

Rent / income−13 points51.0% → 38.2%
Broadband+14 points70.2% → 84.2%

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 10 measures

Change of every measure of East Carbon, Utah between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	23.9 min2015-2019	38.6 min2020-2024	+14.7 min	Within the margin of error	1%
Broadband subscriptions	70.2%2015-2019	84.2%2020-2024	+14 points	Improved	76%
Effective property tax rate	0.87%2015-2019	0.68%2020-2024	−0.2 points	Within the margin of error	56%
High school diploma or higher	84.5%2015-2019	86.8%2020-2024	+2.3 points	Within the margin of error	62%
Home price to income ratio	1.7×2015-2019	2.4×2020-2024	+0.7×	Within the margin of error	35%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4302015-2019	0.4432020-2024	+0.013	Within the margin of error	39%
Median household income	$38,5232015-2019	$37,9912020-2024	−1.4%	Within the margin of error	7%
Poverty rate	24.1%2015-2019	22.4%2020-2024	−1.7 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent as share of income	51.0%2015-2019	38.2%2020-2024	−13 points	Improved	96%
Rent-burdened households	64.0%2015-2019	57.1%2020-2024	−6.9 points	Within the margin of error	76%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 14640 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.

Sources: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Values are the latest and the one five years earlier of the same publisher dataset; datasets that changed publisher in between are never compared.

Survey estimates (American Community Survey) compare the two most recent 5-year windows that do not share years, so the margin of error of the difference holds. The 2015-2019 window predates the pandemic and 2020-2024 includes it.
A change counts only when it is larger than 1.645 times the square root of the two standard errors squared, summed (a 90% margin). Measures published without a margin must change by at least 5% to count.
“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 15651 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.
Standing is a percentile among the same places: 0 is the lowest value on the measure (or the worst when lower is better), 100 the best.

Cities and towns like East Carbon, Utah five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of East Carbon, Utah in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.

For comparison, East Carbon, Utah itself moved −5.1 points in standing on average over the same 9 measures (standings of all places average about zero).

How the ranking works

Similarity is the root-mean-square difference of standings in the earlier period over the measures most places have. Places are ranked by measures that improved beyond the margin of error minus those that declined (a count that estimation noise in small places cannot inflate), then by the mean change of standing over the measures a place has in both periods. Only places with more improvements than declines and a rise in standing are listed. Standings are relative, so a place can improve in absolute terms and still lose standing.

Who lives here

Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).

Age and sex

1,336 residents (±292)

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79†
60–69†

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

543 households (±129)

East Carbon, Utah
Utah share

Under $25k27%†148
$25k–50k35%†191
$50k–75k

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Owners and renters

543 households (±129)

East Carbon, Utah
Utah share

Own68%370
Rent32%†173

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Own (−10.0 points).

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

How people get to work

409 workers (±125)

East Carbon, Utah
Utah share

Drive alone90%†370
Carpool7.3%†30
Public transit

Jobs and pay

What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes pay by metro area, not by county or city. The metro area page lists its largest occupations and lets you look up any job.

Pay in the Price, UT

Local businesses

Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.

The Census Bureau publishes business counts by county, not by city, so these are the figures of Carbon County, the county holding most of East Carbon's residents.

Carbon County has 495 employer establishments, 240 for every 10,000 residents (0.97× the US rate of 248; 0.87× Utah's), with 5,906 paid employees at an average annual pay of $48,665. The Census Bureau also counts 1,350 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 495; 1,350 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 240; US 248 · Utah 277
Paid employees: 5,906
Average annual pay: $48,665; US $68,342

Employer establishments, employees, average pay and nonemployers of Carbon County by industry, with the density per resident against the nation

Ambulatory health care services	54	26.2	1.26×More than typical	497	$53,608	44
Restaurants and other eating places	35	17	0.92×About typical	645	$14,994	4
Specialty trade contractors	28	13.6	0.88×About typical	241	$57,461	93
Building equipment contractors	18	8.7	1.45×More than typical	132	$53,977	13
Limited-service restaurants	17	8.2	1.03×About typical	378	$15,122	—
Construction of buildings	14	6.8	0.90×About typical	51	$25,804	28
Full-service restaurants	14	6.8	0.88×About typical	247	$15,113	—
Offices of dentists	14	6.8	1.69×More than typical	110	$39,164	—
Offices of physicians	14	6.8	1.05×About typical	173	$77,665	14
Lessors of real estate	13	6.3	0.51×Fewer than typical	31	$19,129	165
Truck transportation	13	6.3	1.25×About typical	280	$61,468	19
Gasoline stations	12	5.8	1.79×More than typical	165	$20,061	—

Rank places for an industry Open Carbon County

County Business Patterns (2023); Nonemployer Statistics (2024)

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 20,622 residents here, 336,755,052 in the United States. County Business Patterns counts establishments in 2023; the Nonemployer Statistics count businesses in 2024.
“More than typical” is a density at least 1.25 times the nation's per resident, “fewer” at most 0.8 times, with at least 10 establishments. It compares counts of businesses with counts of people: it says nothing about demand, incomes, size, quality or profit, and visitors and commuters are not residents.
The Census Bureau adds noise to employment and payroll to protect confidentiality, and withholds some figures: an industry with few establishments can show employees or pay as unavailable.
Industries overlap: a narrower industry (full-service restaurants) is part of a broader one (restaurants), so the rows do not add up.
Industries follow the North American Industry Classification System; the two surveys use different editions (NAICS 2017 and 2022), which this page matches industry by industry.

Federal contracts performed here

In FY2026, an estimated $5,006 of federal contract obligations were for work performed in East Carbon, Utah: $3.75 per resident (US $1,995).

Obligations: $5,006; −99% vs FY2025
Per resident: $3.75; US $1,995
Sole-source: 0.0%; US 30%
Single offer: 0.0%; US 8.8%

A signal is a reason to look closer, not evidence of wrongdoing: most sole-source awards are lawful and justified.

Top buying agencies

Federal Aviation Administration$5,006100%

Top recipients

HIGH COUNTRY CONTRACTORS INC$5,006100%

Spending by fiscal year

58.6KFY2018
0FY2019
625.4KFY2025
5KFY2026

What was bought

Construction & real property$5,006100%

Top industries (NAICS)

Utility system construction · 2371$5,006100%

Largest awards whose ZIP code lies mostly in East Carbon, Utah

SUNNYSIDE, UT - CONSTRUCTION TWO (2) NEW 30 FOOT SELF-SUPPORTING ANTENNA TOWERS AT THE SUNNYSIDE (QLC), UTAH RCAG SITE IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE SPECIFICATIONS AND DRAWINGS.$736.4K
HIGH COUNTRY CONTRACTORS INC· Carbon County, UT· Construction & real property· Sep 4, 2025 – Jul 23, 2026· 6973GH25C00179

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 6, 2026, loaded Oct 6, 2026.

How this is estimated

Agencies report each contract action's place of performance as a county and a ZIP code. A ZIP code's money is split among the cities it covers by the share of its land inside each (Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation areas); the part outside city limits stays with the county.

The place of performance is what the contracting agency reports, often the contractor's office rather than where the work happens.
Shares are of land, not of people or businesses: a ZIP code that is mostly rural land but has its offices in town gives the town less than it should.
ZIP codes that are not mapped areas (post office boxes, the unique ZIP codes of large federal sites and companies) stay with their county, unless one city covers nearly all of it.
Counts of actions and awards include those only partly in East Carbon, Utah, so they do not add up across cities.

East Carbon, Utah's figures are part of those of Carbon County, UT ($33.9M in FY2026), never added to them: 0.0% of that total.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: East Carbon is mostly in Carbon County.

See federal money in Carbon County

Representation in Congress

Members serving today, with their record in the current Congress (party-unity votes cast with their caucus, roll calls missed). Not a grade.

East Carbon, Utah is represented in the 119th Congress by these members.

House

Mike KennedyR-UT-3 · 100% of residentsWith party 99%Missed 1.8%

Senate

Explore Congress The 2026 races

County

A city can lie in several counties. Some indicators are published for counties only: the page marks them.

Carbon County47100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Price, UT34

Other cities and towns in Carbon County

Largest first.

Similar cities and towns

Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).

Data and sources

Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.

PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
Building Permits SurveyU.S. Census Bureau · release 2026-08
Population Estimates ProgramU.S. Census Bureau · release 2025
Small Area Health Insurance EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
Small Area Income and Poverty EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement

JSON · /api/v1/places/4920890

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends