Will federal budget cuts impact Utah?

SALT LAKE CITY — A new report from the Kem G. Gardner Policy Institute showed that over a quarter of Utah’s spending last year came from federal funds, raising concerns amid federal budget cuts.

Phil Dean, chief economist with the Gardner Institute, said it’s unclear how these cuts will impact Utah.

“You know, I’ve heard President Trump say he’s not going to be looking at Social Security and Medicare and Medicaid besides fraud in those areas,” said Dean. “It’ll be interesting to see how that plays out.”

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The data shows 27% of the state’s budget relied on federal funds, with half of it allocated to Medicaid, a program that supports low-income Utahns. 

“I think it’s still somewhat uncertain in terms of the money that flows directly through the state budget, Medicaid is the largest piece of that.”

The rest funds social services, education and transportation. In 2024, that amounted to $7 billion.

Dean said that Utah, while partially reliant on federal funding, is among the states with the lowest dependency. In fact, Utah ranks 39th out of all states in terms of reliance on federal funds.

Eric Cabrera is a reporter for KSL NewsRadio. You can follow him on Instagram.