Utah's largest metro area — Salt Lake — grew by 2 percent, reaching an estimated population of 1.1 million. And the Logan metro area grew by 2.2 percent.

"We're connected to the larger nation," Perlich said. "The St. George area has been impacted a bit more."

St. George is the state's only metro area that is a declining market, in which median home prices have decreased for two quarters or more, according to the U.S. Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversite.

The southwestern metro area is more like Phoenix and Las Vegas and has seen a more intense upturn and downturn in housing prices than the Wasatch Front, said Kelly Matthews, executive vice president and economist for Wells Fargo.

Home prices throughout Utah have risen more sharply than incomes and need to decrease for the market to stabilize, he said. Still, Utah remains relatively attractive to those moving from states such as California, from which Utah has seen much of its influx.

"The reality is not too many people move from Ohio and Michigan to Utah," Matthews said. "Utah still looks very good relative to California."

And Matthews said Utah's job market continues to look comparatively good, even though growth is declining and approaching 2 percent. That compares to growth that has dipped below 1 percent in some places.

"It's clear we have to work our way through this difficult time, just like everyone else," he said. "Utah remains in an excellent position, not only to return to normal or average growth; there isn't any reason we can't get back to above-average growth."

In St. George, growth continues to be the top issue, even if it's slowing somewhat, Gardner said. The metro area's population is approaching 134,000 people.

"Over the years we've seen a change in lifestyle and vocation," he said. "We've moved from a more agrarian community to a retirement/resort community."

St. George's growth continues to be driven by migration, more so than the state's other metro areas. St. George saw an influx of 4,700 people in one year, accounting for nearly 70 percent of the county's growth, according to the census. That's more than double that of the Salt Lake area, where only 31 percent of the growth was due to people moving in.

One recent transplant to St. George is Russ Behrmann, president of the St. George Area Chamber of Commerce, who said he moved there a year and a half ago from Salt Lake City for "the weather, nature and outdoor recreation."

"But I'm not really new anymore," he said. "If you walk down the street right now, nearly one in three people you meet moved here within the last year or so."