Utah is the 30th most populous state in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

with a population of about 3.3 million, according to projections from the

US Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The U.S. Census Bureau is part of the U ...

's 2017 estimates. The state has also been characterized by a tremendous amount of growth in the last decade, with the highest percent increase in population of any state since 2010. Utah has a surface area of 84,899 square miles, though around 80% of its population is concentrated around a metropolitan area in the north-central part of the state known as the

Wasatch Front The Wasatch Front is a major metropolitan region in the north-central part of the U.S. state of Utah. It consists of a chain of contiguous cities and towns stretched along the Wasatch Range from Santaquin in the south to Pleasant View in the n ...

Population

The

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

estimates that the population of

Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...

was 3,205,958 on July 1, 2019, a 16.00% increase since the 2010 United States census. The

center of population In Demography, demographics, the center of population (or population center) of a region is a geographical point that describes a centerpoint of the region's population. There are several ways of defining such a "center point", leading to dif ...

of Utah is located in Utah County in the city of Lehi. As of April 1, 2010 the 2010 census indicated that Utah had a population of 2,763,885. In 2008, the U.S. Census Bureau determined Utah was the fastest-growing

state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

in the country. Much of the population lives in cities and towns along the

, a metropolitan region that runs north–south with the Wasatch Mountains rising on the eastern side. Growth outside the Wasatch Front is also increasing. The St. George metropolitan area is currently the second fastest-growing in the country after the

Las Vegas metropolitan area Clark County is the most populous county in the U.S. state of Nevada with 2,265,461 residents as of the 2020 census. The county is the location of the state's three largest cities, Las Vegas (the county seat), Henderson, and North Las Vegas ...

, while the Heber micropolitan area is also the second fastest-growing in the country (behind

Palm Coast, Florida Palm Coast is a city in Flagler County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 89,258, an increase of almost 200% since the 2000 count of 32,832. The population was estimated to be 98,411 as of July 1, ...

). Utah contains five

metropolitan areas A metropolitan area or metro is a region consisting of a densely populated urban agglomeration and its surrounding territories which share industries, commercial areas, transport network, infrastructures and housing. A metropolitan area usually ...

( Logan, Ogden- Clearfield,

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in the state. The city is the core of the Salt Lake Ci ...

, Provo- Orem, and

St. George Saint George (;Geʽez: ጊዮርጊስ, , ka, გიორგი, , , died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was an early Christian martyr who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to holy tradition, he was a soldier in the ...

), and four micropolitan areas ( Heber, Vernal,

Price A price is the (usually not negative) quantity of payment or compensation expected, required, or given by one party to another in return for goods or services. In some situations, especially when the product is a service rather than a ph ...

, and Cedar City).

Birth data

''Note: Births in table don't add up, because Hispanics are counted both by their ethnicity and by their race, giving a higher overall number.'' *Since 2016, data for births of White Hispanic origin are not collected, but included in one ''Hispanic'' group; persons of Hispanic origin may be of any race.

Ancestry

According to 2010 United States census projections, the racial and ethnic makeup of Utah are as follows: * 88.6% White or European * 2.8%

Asian American Asian Americans are Americans with ancestry from the continent of Asia (including naturalized Americans who are immigrants from specific regions in Asia and descendants of those immigrants). Although this term had historically been used fo ...

* 1.8% American Indians and Alaskan Natives * 1.6%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

* 1.3%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

* 6.9% Some other race * 13% ''Hispanic/Latino'' (of any race) The largest ancestry groups in the state are: * 27.7%

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

: (10.3% English, 4.7% Scottish, 2.2% Welsh, & 1.4% Scotch Irish) * 14.9% Scandinavian: (5.9% Danish, 4.3% Swedish, & 2.4% Norwegian) * 12.4% German * 7.0% American * 6.1% Irish * 3.9%

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

* 3.4% Polish * 2.2% French * 1.3%

Swiss Swiss most commonly refers to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Swiss may also refer to: Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss Café, an old café located ...

Utah County has the largest Icelandic American population, while Sanpete County is about a fifth (17%) Danish American.

Swedish Americans Swedish Americans () are Americans of Swedish descent. The history of Swedish Americans dates back to the early colonial times, with notable migration waves occurring in the 19th and early 20th centuries and approximately 1.2 million arrivi ...

and

Norwegian Americans Norwegian Americans () are Americans with ancestral roots in Norway. Norwegian immigrants went to the United States primarily in the latter half of the 19th century and the first few decades of the 20th century. There are more than 4.5 milli ...

outnumbered

English Americans English Americans (also known as Anglo-Americans) are Americans whose ancestry originates wholly or partly in England. In the 2020 United States census, English Americans were the largest group in the United States with 46.6 million Ameri ...

British Americans British Americans usually refers to Americans whose ancestry, ancestral origin originates wholly or partly in the United Kingdom (England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland and also the Isle of Man, the Channel Islands, and Gibraltar). It ...

ancestry in Central Utah (i.e. Heber City). Finnish Americans,

Polish Americans Polish Americans () are Americans who either have total or partial Polish ancestry, or are citizens of the Republic of Poland. There are an estimated 8.81 million self-identified Polish Americans, representing about 2.67% of the U.S. population, ...

Russian Americans Russian Americans are Americans of full or partial Russians, Russian ancestry. The term can apply to recent Russian diaspora, Russian immigrants to the United States, as well as to those that settled in the 19th-century Russian colonization of ...

and

Ukrainian Americans Ukrainian Americans are Americans who are of full or partial Ukrainian ancestry. According to U.S. census estimates, in 2021 there were 1,017,586 Americans of Ukrainian descent representing 0.3% of the American population. The Ukrainian popu ...

are significant in number throughout the state (esp. Carbon County, Utah and Wasatch County, Utah areas). The Wikipedia article Utah Italians describes the state's small but established Italian-Americans community. And the percentage of persons of

Spanish Americans Spanish Americans (, ''hispanoestadounidenses'', or ''hispanonorteamericanos'') are Americans whose ancestry originates wholly or partly from Spain. They are the longest-established European American group in the modern United States, with a ...

ancestry including those of

Basque Basque may refer to: * Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France * Basque language, their language Places * Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France * Basque Country (autonomous co ...

descent are also present. Most Utahns are of

Northern Europe The northern region of Europe has several definitions. A restrictive definition may describe northern Europe as being roughly north of the southern coast of the Baltic Sea, which is about 54th parallel north, 54°N, or may be based on other ge ...

an descent. In the 2010 census estimates, 89.2% of the state population is

white White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

and

European American European Americans are Americans of European ancestry. This term includes both people who descend from the first European settlers in the area of the present-day United States and people who descend from more recent European arrivals. Since th ...

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

s are the next largest group with 13.0%, followed by Asians at 1.7% and Native American at 1.3%. The largest Latino group is Mexican.

Native American tribes

Languages

Religion

150px, Percent Latter-day Saint by county LDS Membership in Utah

As of 2020, 60.68% of Utahns are reported as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The LDS Church has historically reported membership numbers for the state of Utah but did not do so in 2021; a church spokesperson said this was because the numbers they had did not "accurately reflect membership numbers and trends" so the current number of members that the LDS church claims in Utah is unknown. Latter-day Saints make up about 49% (28% active) of the population in Salt Lake County, making it the fifth minority LDS county in the state, joining Carbon, San Juan, Summit, and Grand. Salt Lake County Latter-day Saints mainly reside in the southern part of the valley ( Draper, South Jordan, and parts of West Jordan). Rural areas tend to have larger proportions of LDS, but nearly all counties have seen decreasing percentages affiliated with the church since 2009. Several explanations have been given to explain this decrease, such as relocation, members resigning, and a decreasing birth rate in the state. However, contrary to the declining membership trend, Utah County, home of

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU) is a Private education, private research university in Provo, Utah, United States. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is the flagship university of the Church Educational System sponsore ...

, has seen a modest uptick in membership since 2009 to nearly 85%, making it second only to Morgan County at 86.1%. Though The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints officially maintains a policy of neutrality in regards to political parties, the church's doctrine has a strong regional influence on politics. Another doctrine effect can be seen in Utah's high

birth rate Birth rate, also known as natality, is the total number of live childbirth, human births per 1,000 population for a given period divided by the length of the period in years. The number of live births is normally taken from a universal registr ...

(the highest of any U.S. state, and 25 percent higher than the national average). The Latter-day Saints in Utah tend to have

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

views when it comes to most political issues and the majority of voting-age Utahns are unaffiliated voters (60%) who vote overwhelmingly Republican.

John McCain John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American statesman and United States Navy, naval officer who represented the Arizona, state of Arizona in United States Congress, Congress for over 35 years, first as ...

polled 62.5% in the 2008 presidential election while 70.9% of Utahns opted for

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...

in 2004. In 2000, the Religious Congregations and Membership Study reported that the three largest denominational groups in Utah are Latter-day Saint,

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

, and

Evangelical Protestant Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide, interdenominational movement within Protestant Christianity that emphasizes evangelism, or the preaching and spreading of the Christian ...

. The LDS Church has the highest number of adherents in Utah (at 1,493,612 members), followed by the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

with 97,085 members reported and the

Southern Baptist Convention The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), alternatively the Great Commission Baptists (GCB), is a Christian denomination based in the United States. It is the world's largest Baptist organization, the largest Protestant, and the second-largest Chr ...

, reporting 13,258 adherents. According to a report produced by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life, the self-identified religious affiliations of Utahns over the age of 18 as of 2014 are: *

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...

73% **

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a nontrinitarian restorationist Christian denomination and the largest denomination in the Latter Day Saint movement. Founded durin ...

55% **

Evangelicals Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide, interdenominational movement within Protestant Christianity that emphasizes evangelism, or the preaching and spreading of the Christian g ...

7% ** Mainline Protestants 6% **

5% ** Black Protestant Churches <1% **

Eastern Orthodox Eastern Orthodoxy, otherwise known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity or Byzantine Christianity, is one of the three main Branches of Christianity, branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholic Church, Catholicism and Protestantism ...

<1% **

Jehovah's Witnesses Jehovah's Witnesses is a Christian denomination that is an outgrowth of the Bible Student movement founded by Charles Taze Russell in the nineteenth century. The denomination is nontrinitarian, millenarian, and restorationist. Russell co-fou ...

<1% ** Other Christian <1% * Unaffiliated 22% ** Nothing in particular 18% **

Atheist Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no ...

3% ** Agnostic 2% * Non-Christian Faiths 4% **

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

1% **

Buddhism Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

1% **

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Hypernymy and hyponymy, umbrella term for a range of Indian religions, Indian List of religions and spiritual traditions#Indian religions, religious and spiritual traditions (Sampradaya, ''sampradaya''s) that are unified ...

<1% **

Judaism Judaism () is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic, Monotheism, monotheistic, ethnic religion that comprises the collective spiritual, cultural, and legal traditions of the Jews, Jewish people. Religious Jews regard Judaism as their means of o ...

<1% ** Other World Religions 1%

Culture

Recently, Utah has experienced an in-migration of population from other U.S. states which served to change the state's sociocultural/political character. The percentage of Utah residents who are LDS has declined while the number of the religiously unaffiliated has increased. The warmer climate and temperate of mid-elevation areas, like Iron, Juab, Millard, Sanpete and Washington counties, recorded increased population growth rates from the 1980s to early 2010s. The state witnessed some splits, and sects of Mormonism are evident— Bickertonites,

Church of Christ Church of Christ may refer to: Church groups * Christianity, the Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ * Christian Church, an ecclesiological term used by denominations to describe the true body of Christia ...

and

ex-Mormon Ex-Mormon or post-Mormon refers to a Religious disaffiliation, disaffiliate of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). Ex-Mormons—sometimes referred to as exmo or postmo—may neither believe in nor affiliate with the LDS ...

s, and the FLDS fundamentalist communes—in rural communities, like Hildale (in southernmost Utah), or the nearby Arizona towns of Colorado City and Fredonia adjacent to the Arizona Strip on the state boundary with

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

. Utah has seen recent growth of its resident LGBTQIA+ community, which is most concentrated in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area, but present in other cities and towns, as well, such as Ogden, Logan, Herriman, Cottonwood Heights, Park City, and areas of South Jordan. According to a Gallup poll, Salt Lake City ranks among the top-ten American cities with the highest number of people identifying as

lesbian A lesbian is a homosexual woman or girl. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate nouns with female homosexu ...

, gay,

bisexual Bisexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior toward both males and females. It may also be defined as the attraction to more than one gender, to people of both the same and different gender, or the attraction t ...

, or

transgender A transgender (often shortened to trans) person has a gender identity different from that typically associated with the sex they were sex assignment, assigned at birth. The opposite of ''transgender'' is ''cisgender'', which describes perso ...

(among other identities and orientations); at around 4.7%, this is slightly more than even larger cities, including

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. Utah has a high total

, and the youngest population of any U.S. state. In 2000, 49.9% females and 50.1% males constituted the gender makeup of Utah.

Obesity rate

The age-adjusted percentage of Utah adults who were obese increased from 19.5% in 2000 to 28.4% in 2018. Utah ranked 40th among the 50 states and the District of Columbia.

References

External Links

* {{Demographics of US