Utah Credential–Labor Alignment
Where Utah's education pipelines diverge from mapped labor demand — and how that differs from credential ROI.
Utah colleges produced nearly 19,184 education credentials in 2023–24 — about 194 graduates for every 1,000 related local jobs in our analysis. Health professions and computing also graduate large classes relative to mapped Utah employment, while architecture and precision production show the opposite pattern.
These figures do not predict unemployment or labor shortages. They offer one way to see where Utah's educational pipeline appears more or less aligned with its current workforce — and where financial return (Strada ROI) and labor-market alignment tell different stories. Sort all mapped fields interactively in our fields & wages explorer.
- This brief introduces one indicator: graduates per 1,000 related jobs — annual IPEDS completions divided by Utah occupational employment, linked through a CIP→SOC crosswalk.
- Supply = credentials Utah colleges awarded in 2023–24. Demand = people employed in related occupation groups (BLS OEWS, May 2024).
- If readers remember one phrase, make it graduates per 1,000 related jobs. The charts illustrate the framework; the framework is the story.
- This is separate from Strada's positive ROI benchmark (financial return). Alignment and ROI answer different questions — both appear below.
- Assumption
- Utah colleges train students for jobs that exist locally.
- Question
- Where do Utah's education pipelines appear to diverge from its labor market—and what does that mean for students, colleges, and state leaders?
- Evidence
- IPEDS completions 2023–24 · BLS OEWS Utah May 2024 · CIP-to-SOC crosswalk · Strada 2025 State Opportunity Index
- Finding
- Education, health, and computing show the steepest graduate-to-job ratios; several small fields sit at the opposite end. Utah earns Strada's Advanced employer-alignment rating while trailing the U.S. positive-ROI share.
- Limits
- Ratios are illustrative alignment indicators—not forecasts, vacancy counts, or placement rates. Crosswalks are approximate; education mapping excludes most K–12 hiring.
- 19,184 education credentials in 2023–24 — steepest graduate-to-job ratio (194 per 1,000 mapped jobs).
- Education, health, and computing produced about 58,764 credentials — roughly 46% of mapped completions in this analysis.
- Strada rates Utah Advanced on employer alignment, yet only 65.0% of Utah credentials show positive ROI vs. 70.0% nationally. That is 5.0 percentage points below the U.S. share.
- At the other end, Philosophy and religion produced 101 graduates while mapped employment topped 124,650.
- Does a high ratio mean graduates won't find jobs?
- No. Many graduates leave Utah, change fields, or take jobs outside our occupation mapping. A high ratio flags where mapped local supply looks heavy—not a prediction about any one student.
- Does this include people who leave Utah after graduating?
- No. Demand counts Utah employment only. Supply counts Utah credentials. Out-migration is one reason ratios should not be read as placement rates.
- Why does education rank first?
- Our crosswalk maps education credentials mainly to postsecondary teaching occupations. Most K–12 teaching jobs use different classifications, so this is not a measure of Utah's teacher labor market.
- Why is philosophy at the bottom?
- Philosophy produced only 101 graduates while mapped related employment is very large — the crosswalk links philosophy to broad professional fields, not philosophy-specific jobs.
- Is this a labor-shortage measure?
- No. We compare annual graduate volume to a point-in-time employment stock. Hiring demand, turnover, and vacancies are not in these data.
Financial return vs. labor-market alignment
Utah presents an interesting contrast. Employers and colleges appear more coordinated than in most states according to Strada, yet a smaller share of Utah credentials exceed Strada's positive-ROI benchmark than nationally. The two measures capture different dimensions — coordination between education and employers versus whether typical pay appears to exceed credential cost.
Source: Pathways & Outcomes analysis · Strada Education Foundation · 2025 State Opportunity Index
Utah trails the U.S. positive-ROI share in this benchmark. Strada defines positive ROI as typical earnings exceeding credential cost within a benchmark window—not graduates per job.
Key takeaway: Utah scores Advanced on employer alignment in Strada's index, yet only 65.0% of credentials clear Strada's positive-ROI bar vs. 70.0% nationally. Coordination between colleges and employers and graduates' financial outcomes are related but distinct.
Technical note: Strada positive ROI aggregates program-level cost and earnings statewide. Employer alignment is a separate Strada rating. Neither metric uses graduates-per-job ratios.
Local supply and demand by field
Three fields account for much of Utah's apparent graduate surplus relative to mapped employment: education, health professions, and computing. Together they produce nearly 58,764 credentials annually — suggesting statewide workforce-alignment discussions are driven largely by a handful of large academic sectors rather than broad oversupply across higher education.
Utah colleges awarded 268,260 credentials in 2023–24. About 128,856 fall into families we could link to BLS job categories. After education, ratios decline quickly — engineering produces about one-third as many graduates per mapped job as education.
Our occupation mapping primarily captures postsecondary education — college teaching and training roles. Most K–12 teaching positions are classified differently. Education's #1 rank should not be read as proof that Utah produces too many teachers for K–12 classrooms.
19,184 ÷ 98,960 × 1,000 = 193.9
Annual education credentials divided by related Utah employment, scaled per 1,000 jobs. The same formula applies to every field in the tables below.
Education graduates at roughly 1.5× the rate of computer science and more than 3.3× engineering relative to mapped Utah employment — even though business graduates far more students overall than education.
Source: Pathways & Outcomes analysis · IPEDS completions 2023–24 · BLS OEWS Utah May 2024
Education, health, and computing drive the steepest ratios — together about 46% of mapped completions in this analysis.
Fields with many graduates per 1,000 local jobs
| Field | Graduates | Related jobs | Per 1k jobs | Median wage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Education | 19,184 | 98,960 | 193.9 | $65K |
| Health professions | 26,015 | 160,770 | 161.8 | $62K |
| Computer and information sciences | 13,565 | 104,310 | 130.0 | $97K |
| Liberal arts and sciences | 18,960 | 253,340 | 74.8 | $65K |
| Engineering | 2,949 | 49,550 | 59.5 | $82K |
| Business | 22,242 | 387,340 | 57.4 | $68K |
| Homeland security and law enforcement | 1,166 | 26,310 | 44.3 | $58K |
| Visual and performing arts | 2,453 | 64,050 | 38.3 | $59K |
- Education's ratio (194 per 1,000 jobs) is about 20% higher than health professions and roughly 1.5× computer science's rate.
- After the top three fields, ratios decline quickly — engineering produces about one-third as many graduates per mapped job as education (59.5 vs. 194), so imbalance is concentrated rather than statewide.
- Education's ratio is more than 23.9× the median among mapped fields in this analysis (8 per 1,000 jobs).
Key takeaway: Education, health, and computing produce large graduating classes relative to mapped Utah employment — but business graduates far more students overall (22,242) with a much lower ratio (57.4 per 1,000 jobs) because related employment is larger.
Technical note: Ratios use IPEDS 2023–24 completions divided by OEWS May 2024 employment through a CIP2→SOC crosswalk. They measure relative educational output, not hiring demand or graduate placement.
Source: Pathways & Outcomes analysis · IPEDS completions 2023–24 · BLS OEWS Utah May 2024
Small graduating classes can sit next to large mapped employment totals. Low ratios often reflect broad occupation mappings—not proof that graduates are in high demand.
Fields with few graduates per 1,000 local jobs
Low ratios do not automatically mean strong opportunity — occupation mappings can be broad, and many graduates work outside mapped categories. They still show where colleges produce few credentials relative to large mapped employment totals.
| Field | Graduates | Related jobs | Per 1k jobs | Median wage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Philosophy and religion | 101 | 124,650 | 0.8 | $65K |
| Architecture | 178 | 161,210 | 1.1 | $106K |
| Science technologies | 117 | 100,570 | 1.2 | $83K |
| Natural resources | 176 | 146,570 | 1.2 | $73K |
| Communications technologies | 196 | 97,480 | 2.0 | $97K |
| History | 316 | 115,730 | 2.7 | $73K |
| Multi/interdisciplinary studies | 839 | 227,390 | 3.7 | $106K |
| Precision production | 811 | 214,900 | 3.8 | $51K |
- Philosophy and religion appears at the bottom largely because the occupation mapping covers broad professional fields — not philosophy-specific jobs.
- Precision production shows a low ratio despite large mapped employment — a field where workforce planners may care about hiring even when colleges produce few credentials.
- Architecture and multi/interdisciplinary studies sit low on ratios but report high median wages in mapped occupations — supply-demand and pay tell different stories.
Two dimensions: financial return and labor-market alignment
Most coverage asks which degrees pay well. This brief adds a second question: even where pay is strong, are we producing many more graduates than mapped local jobs? Use both lenses together.
| Strong alignment signal (lower ratio) | Steep ratio (higher supply vs. mapped jobs) | |
|---|---|---|
| Strong Strada ROI (field or statewide) | Business, engineering — large mapped employment bases | Health, computing — high pay sectors with large graduating classes |
| Weaker or mixed ROI context | Small fields with few graduates (philosophy, architecture) | Education — high ratio partly driven by crosswalk scope, not K–12 demand |
Field-level ROI is not available for every row; Strada figures are statewide. This matrix is a reasoning tool — pair it with our Program ROI snapshot for major-level pay and debt.
Occupations rarely map neatly to one degree. A business graduate may work in healthcare, manufacturing, or government; many employers hire from several majors. These ratios are indicators of broad alignment — not direct labor-market forecasts. Utah's system appears broadly connected to its labor market, but alignment varies substantially by field depending on whether you measure graduate production, occupational demand, or economic returns.
What this means for you
Find yourself below. Each bullet turns this report's evidence into a practical next step — not a prescription.
- Students A high graduates-per-job ratio does not mean a field is unwinnable — competition and out-of-state jobs may matter more.
- Families A steep ratio does not mean a field is unwinnable. It flags where local competition or out-of-state mobility may matter more than at schools with large mapped employment bases.
- School counselors Pair this field-wide lens with Program ROI for pay and debt at specific majors. Graduates-per-job ratios are not placement rates.
- Policymakers Utah rates Advanced on Strada employer alignment yet 65.0% of credentials clear Strada's ROI bar vs. 70.0% nationally. Alignment and ROI are different policy questions.
Supply = IPEDS completions by CIP 2-digit family. Demand = sum of Utah OEWS employment in mapped SOC major groups. Ratio is illustrative, not a forecast. Median wage summarizes related BLS occupations in Utah, not what new graduates earn in year one.
Updated 2026-06-29. Sources: IPEDS Completions 2023-24 (Utah study universe), BLS OEWS Utah May 2024, CIP2→SOC crosswalk (Data/workforce/cip2-soc-crosswalk.json).
Pathways & Outcomes original analysis; cite the report and link to the primary URL. Data vintage: IPEDS completions 2023–24 · BLS OEWS Utah May 2024.
APA: Pathways and Outcomes. (2026). Utah Credential–Labor Alignment. https://pathwaysandoutcomes.org/utah/research/utah-credential-labor-alignment/
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