State Of Utah – Population Growth Rate 2014-2019


January 31, 2015
Bureau of Economic and Business Research at the University of Utah
Economic Development Corporation of Utah

The population of the State of Utah is geographically concentrated along the Wasatch Front. The Wasatch Front is generally considered to consist of Weber, Davis, Salt Lake, Tooele and Utah counties, all of which are situated along the western slope of the Wasatch Mountain range. These counties contain 75.5% of the population of the state. Summit County (Park City), located on the Wasatch Back, is also included in the SL MSA and as such is a portion of this 75.5% population. The expected growth rate for this area from 2014 – 2019 is from 5.0% to 6.9%.

Utah’s population growth rate continues to outpace that of the nation and the world, with the state’s numbers projected to reach 3 million during 2015. Jan. 1 projections put Utah’s population at about 2,971,700, with a growth rate of 1.7 percent — more than twice the national average, according to the Governor’s Office of Management and Budget.

Young people represent an especially large portion of Utah’s growing population, but it isn’t only because Utah maintains the highest fertility rate in the nation, according to Pamela Perlich, senior research economist at the Bureau of Economic and Business Research at the University of Utah. “More people coming to the state is an indication of economic and educational opportunity,” Perlich said. “To the extent that we do have more educational and economic opportunities, then young people don’t have to leave Utah.”