Have a few questions about Utah (St. George, Cedar City: real estate, rent, how much)
St. GeorgeWashington County
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Me and my family visited St George and Moab last spring and thought it was beautiful. While we aren't looking to move there, i did find myself researching it a little. I have a few questions::
Why is rent so cheap on such beautiful homes? Is the pay generally low in Southern Utah?
what is the plan for all of the toxic waste burial sites in Utah, and has it been an issue for the people's health? Does it threaten the water supply?
Where does Utah's water supply come from, and is it at risk of running out?
Is there still harmful military testing going on in Nevada or Utah that could again pollute and sicken people in Southern Utah? What will the people do if they again start nuclear tests that threaten the Utah environment and people's health?
How is the water and air quality in Southern Utah?
Is tourism the main industry in the Saint George area, or did i miss something?
Check out Sterling's Best Places for any city's water and air quality as well as a bunch of additional information. I'm looking to possibly relocate to Utah and that's something I'm always looking at, WQ and AQ. If I remember correctly, the AQ ranks very low in St. George; the WQ isn't too bad.
The pay in the region is very low, I think the average in neighboring Iron County is around $8 an hour. It makes the cost of living cheap, but I have my own business which is not dependent upon local income and probably would not have considered moving here were that not the case. St. George's main industry was, until recently, building and selling houses largely to out of state investors and flippers and second home buyers, as kind of an extension of Las Vegas.
The water is from local sources. There is talk of building a billion dollar pipeline to draw Colorado River water from Lake Powell 160 miles away, but the expense would have to be paid entirely by the three counties that would benefit, and as I stated before, people are for the most part relatively poor here so the tax hike to pay for the pipeline would probably be crippling for many. Agriculture (alfalfa farming for export, mostly) uses up a huge chunk of the region's water.
There is no nuclear testing going on right now, but were it to restart the population is split between self described patriots willing to take one for the team so long as the administration is Republican, people who get really concerned and want to stop it, and people who think there is absolutely no danger and all the problems associated with being "downwind" were untrue. At least this is how it played out when there was discussion of conventional testing on the nuclear testing site last administration.
The pay in the region is very low, I think the average in neighboring Iron County is around $8 an hour. It makes the cost of living cheap, but I have my own business which is not dependent upon local income and probably would not have considered moving here were that not the case. St. George's main industry was, until recently, building and selling houses largely to out of state investors and flippers and second home buyers, as kind of an extension of Las Vegas.
The water is from local sources. There is talk of building a billion dollar pipeline to draw Colorado River water from Lake Powell 160 miles away, but the expense would have to be paid entirely by the three counties that would benefit, and as I stated before, people are for the most part relatively poor here so the tax hike to pay for the pipeline would probably be crippling for many. Agriculture (alfalfa farming for export, mostly) uses up a huge chunk of the region's water.
There is no nuclear testing going on right now, but were it to restart the population is split between self described patriots willing to take one for the team so long as the administration is Republican, people who get really concerned and want to stop it, and people who think there is absolutely no danger and all the problems associated with being "downwind" were untrue. At least this is how it played out when there was discussion of conventional testing on the nuclear testing site last administration.
According to city-data the average wage in Iron County was $13.45 in 2009.
Then city data would be wrong, hilgi. Getting a house on the "rich" hill starts at $150,000 and most people here can't afford that. Cedar city is a very poor town, when I do sell here people debate over spending $5- that kind of poor. The university and the feds are the largest employers, but after that it's Walmart.
Then city data would be wrong, hilgi. Getting a house on the "rich" hill starts at $150,000 and most people here can't afford that. Cedar city is a very poor town, when I do sell here people debate over spending $5- that kind of poor. The university and the feds are the largest employers, but after that it's Walmart.
Ok, I will trust your anecdotal evidence over CD, since you must know all 37,000 people. Plus if most people can’t afford those houses than they are asking too much.
BTW, the OP was asking about St. George, not Cedar City.
why rent is so cheap is cuz a lot of jobs dont pay a lot out here... like i lived in ct and if u work at walmart out there u get 15$ a hr(and rent out there is like 1220 for a 2 bedromm). but out here its 10.50(rent is like 650 for a 2 bedroom) and in oklahoma its 8.50(rent is 650 for a 3 bedroom house) get it? its all about how much jobs pay.
What is important to consider, is the difference in cost of living for different areas of the country. A lot of the low wage areas, also have low rent and other lower costs of living.
Example. MY daughter is a IT specialist Business Analyst. She was offered a job in Montana (she took it) and a job in Silicon Valley. She was paid $90,000. In Silicon Valley about $130,000. Difference in cost of living the Silicon Valley job would have had to pay $240,000 to equal the Montana Salary (she was raised in the Silicon Valley). Her home is one of the nicest in town if not the nicest, 3700 sq. ft 4 level contemporary home on 5 acres with barn and rail fenced, with her driveway across the road from the city limits and the nicest area of town. Her home cost $300,000 5 years ago (now worth about $350,000 as a 20 year plus Realtor I know the value) and would cost $2,000,000 plus if it could be duplicated in the Silicon Valley.
Google up a good cost of living comparison calculator and it will allow you to make a cost of living comparison if you are considering moving. You may be surprised you can take a cut in salary and actually be many dollars ahead, if you move to lower cost of living area. You may find that if you moved you would be going to an area where you would have a lot less disposable dollars even at a much higher salary.
Moab is a very small town with a population of just over 5,000. The only real industry is services mostly, so salaries are low. Median income is $32,620. There is money to be made in tourism however. Like most small towns in utah water supplies come from wells and springs. Quite sure moab gets water from wells and springs sourced in the nearby La Sal Mountains. Waste related to the potash mine is slowly being shut down and cleaned up as far as I know.
Cedar City is also a fairly small town with a population of about 30,000. median income is $32,403/yr. Industries include the university, a small hospital, state and federal offices and services. Houses are cheap because there isnt a lot of industry or well paying jobs... but they do exist, and the "rich" people of cedar city would be considered the middle class median income of most larger cities in utah.
St. George is now the 8th largest city in Utah with nearly 80,000 people and a number of bedroom communities. The county has ~150,000 and a good amount of well paying industry. The IHC regional hospital is likely the biggest single employer, followed by the University, the State, City, etc.. The biggest industry has been construction & real estate related jobs, not tourism.
Water used to come exclusively from groundwater wells and springs at the base of pine valley mountain but is now predominately from the virgin river. Pipes take water from the river and put it into Sand Hollow & Quail Creek reservoirs and from there to a water treatment plant. Water is limited and could perhaps support up to 300,000 residents. Planners expect more growth than this, so a pipeline to pull colorado river water from lake powell is being studied.
There are no toxic waste problems around st george or cedar city that are of note. Air quality is still quite good. And no, above ground nuclear testing was banned long ago, although there are some who say radioactive material from the tests in the 40-60's can be stirred up in forest and brush fires. See the Wikipedia article on Nevada nuclear test site Nevada National Security Site - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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