When visitors come to Utah they tend to find the population as being very friendly, industrious, young, and healthy. Of course Utah is the youngest state in the nation, mainly due to the area’s high birth rate, and it will remain the second-fastest area for elderly population growth. Utah’s young and educated workforce is one of its most attractive features to companies considering relocation – that and the array of cultural and recreational opportunities.
The U.S. Census Bureau estimates that Utah’s population will grow to more than 4 million residents by 2030, which places Utah as the fifth-fastest growing state in the nation.
Ethnic Diversity
Like other states in the American Southwest, Utah is growing more racially and ethnically diverse-especially in its largest cities. For example, the number of Utahns claiming Hispanic or Latino ethnicity grew 128 percent since 1997. Nearly one in every ten Utahns is Hispanic. Excluding those who identified themselves in the census only as being from "some other race" or as being from "two or more races", the state's next largest racial minority was Asian, followed by American Indians and Alaska Natives, African Americans, and Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders.
Population breakdown
Nearly two million of Utah’s residents, most of the state’s population, live in a four-county geographic area known as the Wasatch Front. Half of Wasatch Front residents live in Salt Lake County.
Salt Lake City makes up a relatively small portion of the Salt Lake Valley. While Salt Lake County covers approximately 737 square miles, Salt Lake City covers only 111.1 square miles. Salt Lake City is the largest city in the state and has a population of 178,858. However, Salt Lake City is one of more than a dozen municipalities in Salt Lake County. Many residential projects, currently under construction, will increase the city’s population over the next few years.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Utah's median age in 2005 was 28.5 years, well below the national figure of 36.2 years.
Also, in 2006-2007 Utah is first in the nation in the number of persons per household at 3.13, compared to the national average of 2.62. Utah's persons per family are 3.67, compared to the national figure of 3.16.
Salt Lake City Workforce
Salt Lake City’s daytime population increases to more than 370,000 as 40 percent of Salt Lake County’s workforce and 20 percent of the state’s total workforce commute to jobs within city limits.
Demographics
