Sanpete eighth out of 29 counties in Utah for social security payouts

By Max Higbee

Staff Writer

Dec. 21, 2017

Sanpete County residents are receiving some of the highest yearly payments from Social Security in Utah, according to a recent study by financial technology company SmartAsset.

Sanpete comes in eighth in the ranking of the 29 Utah counties, with an average annual payout of $18,897, which exceeds the estimated annual cost of living, $18,132, by $765.

These numbers are, respectively, higher than the average national payout of $17,124 and lower than the average national cost of living, $18,413.

The county has a national rank of 355th in the average Social Security payout in SmartAsset’s study of just over 3,000 total counties in the nation.

In addition, Sanpete County ranks sixth in the state for Social Security going the furthest, meaning these benefits “cover the most of a person’s cost of living after paying taxes,” according to the SmartAsset website.

According to Stephanie Ciosek, a public relations associate with the company, the researchers first looked at the average payout to Social Security recipients in each county in the country.

“Then,” she explains, “we calculated the taxes a typical retiree would pay on that income based on the state-specific Social Security tax rules. We subtracted the taxes from that average Social Security income to determine the net income from Social Security.”

The study synthesized data made public by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Living Wage Calculator and the U.S. Census Bureau 2015 American Community Survey. The study results for this year, as well as 2015 and 2016, are available on SmartAsset’s website at smartasset.com/retirement/social-security-calculator#Utah/socialsecurity.