As President Trump visits Nevada and Arizona this week to tout his economic agenda, a new report shows that affordability varies dramatically across our region.
The study, “How the Post Pandemic Price Surge Reshaped Affordability in America,” looked at the costs of basic living expenses like shelter, utilities and groceries, etc.
In the Mountain West, the study shows Nevada, Arizona and Colorado are among the “least affordable” states , where households dedicate more than 20% of their gross income to basic expenses.
Following the pandemic, inflation slowed but baseline costs kept rising, explained the report’s author Zach Milne, senior economist and research analyst, with the Arizona-based Common Sense Institute.
“Prices shot up so fast in the 2022-23 inflationary surge and so those prices are now at this new level that is much much higher than what it was before that inflationary surge,” said Milne.
And that trend has continued as people flee more expensive states. The institute estimates that, on average, American households needed as much as $15K more in 2025 for the same basic expenses. Milne believes the answers will have to be addressed through policy changes.
“I really think the solution is to find ways to build more new affordable housing in states like Arizona, Nevada and Idaho in order to meet that increasing demand of people wanting to live in that state,” said Milne.
The study compared affordability between 2019 and 2025. It found Wyoming and New Mexico are the most affordable Mountain West states.
The institute estimates that, on average, American households needed as much as $15K more in 2025 for the same basic expenses.
This story was produced by the Mountain West News Bureau, a collaboration between Wyoming Public Media, Nevada Public Radio, Boise State Public Radio in Idaho, KUNR in Nevada, KUNC in Northern Colorado, KANW in New Mexico, Colorado Public Radio, KJZZ in Arizona and NPR, with additional support from affiliate newsrooms across the region. Funding for the Mountain West News Bureau is provided in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and Eric and Wendy Schmidt.
