Utah’s population is growing in different ways across the state

By Darienne DeBrule

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    SALT LAKE CITY (KSTU) — There’s a lot to love about the Beehive State, from the mountains to the people, to the economy. Those are just some of the reasons why so many have moved to the state.

Since the turn of the century back in 2000, the Kem C. Gardner Institute says Utah has added over 1 million new residents.

“In the most recent decade, 2/3 of that was natural increase; so that’s births minus deaths and then 1/3 was from migration,” said Mallory Bateman, Director of Demographic Research at the institute. “This is a place people want to live. We do get a lot of movers from western states, we do get a lot of Californians, but we also get a lot from Idaho, Wyoming, and Colorado.”

Utah historically has not been very racially diverse, but with net migration that’s starting to change.

Based on data from the U.S. Census Bureau, the Salt Lake City metro area’s Black population increased 161%, while the Asian population grew 135% and the Hispanic population was up 118% with the Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander population growing about 97%.

“Seeing how diverse it is at school is really amazing,” said Utah resident Raelee ‘Iongi.

Demographics and growth can look very different depending on the location within the state.

“Along the Wasatch Front we’re seeing it one way, those other counties like Wasatch County, Summit, Tooele, Juab, you’re seeing pretty intense growth in those smaller populations,” said Bateman, “and then you do have parts of the state that are changing in a very different way, they’re growing slowly.”

From rural Utah to the suburbs to Salt Lake City, State Planning Coordinator Laura Hanson says there are four main things Utahns are concerned about when it comes to growth.

“Housing affordability, water availability, transportation convenience, and good access to parks and recreation,” she explained.

Neighborhoods might look very different than they did decades ago, or even last year, but Hanson says with the right planning Utah can continue to be a place everyone wants to call home.

“Utah is a great place to live today because of our past planning efforts, and Utah will remain a great place to live because we have this culture of collaboration and thinking about what we want our communities to look like in 30 years,” Hanson said.

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