City · Uintah County, Utah

Vernal, Utah

Vernal is a city in Uintah County, Utah, part of the Vernal, UT metro area. It has 10,392 residents. Vernal, Utah has a quality-of-life score of 36 out of 100 (low), ranking #10,024 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Utah it ranks #171 of 175 cities and towns. It ranks best on natural hazard risk (low), fine particulate matter (PM2.5) (low) and average commute time (low). It ranks worst on drought exposure (high), social associations (low) and students per teacher (high).

36Low

Quality-of-life score: #10,024 of 15,651 cities and towns
Utah: #171 of 175 in UT
Population: 10,392 (2020-2024)
Land area: 5 mi²
Density: 2,221.2 /mi²
FIPS code: 4980090

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 76 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.

Safety32#10,589/15,637
Economy28#11,232/15,631
Housing90#1,528/14,977
Health34#10,355/15,609
Healthcare22#12,249/15,650
Environment82#2,783/15,453
Education16#13,119/15,649
Infrastructure74#4,008/15,650
Community19#12,647/15,651
Leisure & amenities19#12,644/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Vernal, Utah ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Uintah 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

Natural hazard risk · low2.4
97/100Utah 47.92025Federal Emergency Management AgencyUintah County value
Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) · low5.2 µg/m³
95/100Utah 7.3 µg/m³United States 8.0 µg/m³2022Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyUintah County value
Average commute time · low15.9 min
95/100Utah 22.1 minUnited States 26.4 min2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08013
Rent as share of income · low22.5%
93/100Utah 28.9%United States 30.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25071
Rent-burdened households · low35.3%
93/100Utah 47.2%United States 51.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25070
Time spent in the emergency room · low116 min
89/100Utah 133 minUnited States 170 minOct 2024–Sep 2025Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesUintah 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 NOAAUintah County value
Social associations · low2.9 /10k
1/100Utah 3.6 /10kUnited States 9.1 /10k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteUintah County value
Students per teacher · high22.6×
1/100Utah 21.6×United States 15.2×2024National Center for Education StatisticsUintah County value
Job growth · low-4.8%
2/100Utah 0.9%United States 0.1%2026 Q1U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsProvisional dataUintah County value
Pharmacies · low0.5 /10k
4/100Utah 1.1 /10kUnited States 1.8 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsUintah County value
Suicide rate · high29.1 /100k
4/100Utah 20.4 /100kUnited States 14.1 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataUintah County value

Trends

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

Broadband subscriptionsImproving
78.1% (2015-2019) → 90.6% (2020-2024)
+12 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Median household incomeImproving
$48,325 (2015-2019) → $64,457 (2020-2024)
+33%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
New homes permittedWorsening
1.8 /1k (2021) → 1.3 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
−30%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
High school diploma or higherImproving
81.6% (2015-2019) → 87.4% (2020-2024)
+5.8 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 88.0% → 89.6%
Child poverty rateImproving
27.5% (2015-2019) → 23.3% (2020-2024)
−4.1 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Uninsured residents (under 65)Improving
23.5% (2015-2019) → 19.5% (2020-2024)
−4 pts5 yearsCensus table B27010US 10.8% → 9.8%

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, Vernal, Utah improved on 2 of 14 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 12 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

Broadband+12 points78.1% → 90.6%
Household income+33%$48,325 → $64,457

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 14 measures

Change of every measure of Vernal, Utah between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	17.9 min2015-2019	15.9 min2020-2024	−2.0 min	Within the margin of error	70%
Bachelor's degree or higher	17.8%2015-2019	14.0%2020-2024	−3.8 points	Within the margin of error	10%
Broadband subscriptions	78.1%2015-2019	90.6%2020-2024	+12 points	Improved	71%
Child poverty rate	27.5%2015-2019	23.3%2020-2024	−4.1 points	Within the margin of error	65%
Effective property tax rate	0.58%2015-2019	0.50%2020-2024	−0.1 points	Within the margin of error	32%
High school diploma or higher	81.6%2015-2019	87.4%2020-2024	+5.8 points	Within the margin of error	85%
Home price to income ratio	3.4×2015-2019	3.9×2020-2024	+0.5×	Within the margin of error	49%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4242015-2019	0.4572020-2024	+0.033	Within the margin of error	25%
Median household income	$48,3252015-2019	$64,4572020-2024	+33%	Improved	62%
Poverty rate	20.3%2015-2019	17.9%2020-2024	−2.5 points	Within the margin of error	66%
Rent as share of income	22.7%2015-2019	22.5%2020-2024	−0.2 points	Within the margin of error	57%
Rent-burdened households	36.4%2015-2019	35.3%2020-2024	−1.1 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Unemployment rate	11.5%2015-2019	8.7%2020-2024	−2.8 points	Within the margin of error	88%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	23.5%2015-2019	19.5%2020-2024	−4 points	Within the margin of error	82%

“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 Vernal, Utah five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Vernal, 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, Vernal, Utah itself moved −0.5 points in standing on average over the same 10 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

10,392 residents (±60)

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

3,369 households (±287)

Vernal, Utah
Utah share

Under $25k18%†612
$25k–50k20%670
$50k–75k26%885

Homes

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

Owners and renters

3,369 households (±287)

Vernal, Utah
Utah share

Own55%1,839
Rent45%1,530

No change since 2015–2019 is larger than the margin of error.

Table view

Getting to work

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

How people get to work

4,099 workers (±390)

Vernal, Utah
Utah share

Drive alone70%2,865
Carpool12%†501
Public transit1.0%†39

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 Vernal, 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 Uintah County, the county holding most of Vernal's residents.

Uintah County has 1,149 employer establishments, 304 for every 10,000 residents (1.22× the US rate of 248; 1.10× Utah's), with 10,669 paid employees at an average annual pay of $57,173. The Census Bureau also counts 2,645 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 1,149; 2,645 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 304; US 248 · Utah 277
Paid employees: 10,669
Average annual pay: $57,173; US $68,342

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

Truck transportation	107	28.3	5.59×More than typical	633	$76,280	84
Specialty trade contractors	86	22.7	1.47×More than typical	1,104	$80,438	139
Ambulatory health care services	65	17.2	0.82×About typical	418	$46,837	82
Lessors of real estate	57	15.1	1.22×About typical	101	$24,911	264
Restaurants and other eating places	57	15.1	0.82×About typical	1,208	$17,378	14
Construction of buildings	51	13.5	1.78×More than typical	150	$37,520	66
Automotive repair and maintenance	35	9.2	1.84×More than typical	207	$45,928	40
Management, scientific and technical consulting	30	7.9	1.18×About typical	45	$52,400	67
Real estate agents and brokers	29	7.7	1.57×More than typical	32	$21,313	57
Foundation, structure and building exterior contractors	26	6.9	2.18×More than typical	65	$54,262	28
Limited-service restaurants	25	6.6	0.82×About typical	562	$17,190	6
Accounting, tax preparation and payroll services	22	5.8	1.43×More than typical	98	$40,010	25

Rank places for an industry Open Uintah County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 37,851 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

No federal contract obligations recorded here in FY2026.

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

See federal money in Uintah 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.

Vernal, 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.

Uintah County53100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Vernal, UT42

Other cities and towns in Uintah 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/4980090

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends