Utah Population 2024

3,454,232

The last census in the USA was carried out in 2010, and this revealed that the Utah population stood at 2,763,885. This is a significant increase of over 20% from the numbers declared in 2000. Utah is currently the 4th fastest-growing state in the United States. Utah currently enjoys a growth rate of 1.64%, which ranks 4th in the country.

Utah Area and Population Density

Located in the central southern sector of the USA, the state of Utah is the 13th largest in terms of land mass, but it is very sparsely populated by comparison. Around 80% of Utah's residents live in the surroundings of Salt Lake City; therefore, there are vast areas which are simply uninhabited.

It's interesting to note that this is one of the most sparsely populated countries in the US, and although numbers are growing by significant percentages, large parts of Utah remain completely uninhabited.

The total surface area of Utah covers 84,899 square miles (219,887 square kilometers). For every square mile of Utah land, there is an average of 33.6 people, and there are only nine states in the country with a less dense population.

Most of Utah's population (more than 2 million) lives in the towns and cities along the Wasatch Front, a metropolitan area running north-south with the Wasatch Mountains, although growth outside this area is also on the rise. For example, St. George is currently the 17th growing metropolitan area in the country.

By far the largest metropolitan area in the state is the Salt Lake City metropolitan area, with 1.3 million residents as of 2016. This is followed by the Odgen-Clearfield area with 597,000 residents. While Utah as a whole has a very low population density, Salt Lake city proper has a density of 1,666 people per square mile.

Utah Gender and Religion Statistics

The median age across the population of Utah is approximately 30.3 years of age. When examining the ratio of females to males among the residents of Utah, females are at 49.7% and males are at 50.3%.

In terms of religious preferences among the current residents of the state, 73% are affiliated with a Christian based faith, 4% are affiliated with non-Christian based faiths, and 18% are not affiliated with any religion in particular.

Additionally, it's worth noting that Salt Lake City, Utah, is the world headquarters of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). However, almost half of Utah's counties are seeing significant declines in Mormon membership in recent years. About 60.68% of Utahans are members of the church. This has a large influence on the culture and life in Utah.

Utah Boundary, Census, and Statehood History

Utah was acquired from Mexico in 1848 and established as a territory in September 1850, including most of present-day Nevada and western Colorado. Colorado and Nevada were separated in 1861, with further transfers from Utah to Nevada in 1862 and 1866. Utah acquired its present boundaries in 1868, and was admitted as a State on January 4, 1896. Utah's 1850 census was taken as of April 1, 1851 and included almost no population outside the present State. The 1860 population includes some persons in present-day Wyoming, but excludes counties located in present-day Nevada. The 1870 population excludes Rio Virgin County, which was part of Nevada although enumerated as part of Utah.

Utah Demographics

According to the most recent ACS, the racial composition of Utah was:

  • White: 83.7%
  • Two or more races: 5.64%
  • Other race: 5.2%
  • Asian: 2.34%
  • Black or African American: 1.19%
  • Native American: 1.03%
  • Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander: 0.9%

Utah Population History

In 1850, the Utah population was recorded at 11,380 but some significant increases were to follow. Just ten years later, the census of 1860 revealed a leap in figures of over 250% to 40,273.

Further sustained growth was to follow and by the end of the century, the population of Utah had grown to 276,749. While the overall picture through the 1900s was one of further increases, it wasn’t until 1970 that numbers breached the one million mark for the very first time.

However, from that point onwards, percentage increases on a census by census basis have been quite significant, and in the present day, the Utah population is now climbing toward three million.

Utah Population Growth

While the Utah population may be relatively small, it is growing rapidly. By the time of the next census in 2020, figures should have comfortably exceeded three million. Utah's St. George is currently one of the fastest-growing metropolitan areas in the country, and the state as a whole has the 4th highest growth rate. According to the Census Bureau, Utah's minority population is growing the fastest and quickly gaining on the white population as well.

Utah Population Projections

According to projections, Utah's rapid growth is expected to continue over the next few decades, and by 2060, the state should have a population of 6.84 million people. It's believed the state's fast growth is partially due to the quality of life and the strong economy, as the state and many of its cities are frequently rated as some of the best places to live in the whole country.

Utah is one of few states that has a significantly higher percentage of white residents -- surpassing 90%. The current estimate of 91.2% is significantly higher than the 86.1% recorded during the 2010 Census. Most people residing in the state are of Northern European descent, although there are also communities of Icelandic Americans and Italian Americans.

Utah has one of the lowest African American population percentages in the nation, ranking 43rd out of 50 states. The state does, however, have one of the highest percentages of Hispanic residents in relation to toal population, ranking 12th out of 50 states. It ranks 10th in its percentage of Mexican American inhabitants when compared to total population.

Utah's major ancestry groups include English (26%), German (11.9%), Scandinavian (11.8%), Mexican (9%), American (6.6%) and Irish (6.2%).

Utah Growth Rate

Utah Population Rank

Utah Population 2024

  • Utah has the youngest population in the entire United States, as well as one of the highest birth rates.
  • Utah's population is considered the healthiest in the entire country.
  • The state also has the highest literacy rate, the highest number of high school graduates and the highest number of college graduates.
  • The mountains near Salt Lake City see an average of 500 inches of snowfall annually.
  • Gosiute, Paiute, Shoshone, and Ute Indians originally inhabited what is now the state of Utah. In fact, the name was derived from the Ute Indians.
  • Salt Lake City has the second highest number of plastic surgeons per capita than any other city in the US.
  • A higher number of Utahns are married than in any other state. In addition, the median age of marriage is lower than the nationwide average.

Utah Facts

Population

100K

200K

300K

400K

500K

600K

700K

800K

900K

1M

1.1M

The growth patterns of the counties in the state of Utah were observed by looking at data from the 2010 US Census and estimates recorded by the Census Bureau in 2015. This comparison showed that Utah as a whole primarily had population gains across its counties. The highest increases in population were observed in the northern region of the state. Wasatch County had the highest increase in population that exceeded 23%. Other significant gains were recorded in Washington County (12.41%), Uintah County (16.9%), and Morgan County (16.13), among others. Smaller gains were observed in counties including Summit, Davis, and Salt Lake.

While there was primarily population growth observed in most of Utah's counties, some did see losses in population. The highest loss occurred in Emery, which had a drop of 5.66%. Other losses were observed in Wayne County, Piute County, Beaver, Carbon, and Garfield.

Utah Population by County

Population by Race

Download Table Data

Enter your email below, and you'll receive this table's data in your inbox momentarily.

Race
Population
Percentage (of total)
White2,704,56183.7%
Two or more races182,3585.64%
Other race168,0485.2%
Asian75,5302.34%
Black or African American38,5451.19%
Native American33,2421.03%
Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander29,0860.9%

White

Two or more races

Other race

Asian

Black or African American

Native American

Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander

Utah Population by Race

Utah Population Pyramid 2024

Utah Median Age

31.3

Total

30.8

Male

31.8

Female

Utah Adults

There are 2,285,307 adults, (358,168 of whom are seniors) in Utah.

Utah Age Dependency

67.7

Age Dependency Ratio

18.6

Old Age Dependency Ratio

49.1

Child Dependency Ratio

Utah Sex Ratio

Female1,597,52749.44%
Male1,633,84350.56%

Utah Population by Age

Utah Renter vs Owner Occupied by Household Type

Household Type
Count
Average Size
Owner
Renter
All1,033,6513.0870.529.5
Married624,8783.6981.418.6
Non Family270,2981.4152.347.7
Female91,8653.6356.143.9
Male46,6103.4758.941.1

3.58

Average Family Size

3.08

Average Household Size

70.5%

Rate of Home Ownership

Married

Male

Female

NonFamily

owner

renter

Utah Households and Families

Male

Female

Download Table Data

Enter your email below, and you'll receive this table's data in your inbox momentarily.

Less Than 9th Grade

9th to 12th Grade

High School Graduate

Some College

Associates Degree

Bachelors Degree

Graduate Degree

Utah Educational Attainment by Sex (over 25)

Utah Educational Attainment by Race

High School Graduation Rate

Bachelors Rate

Download Table Data

Enter your email below, and you'll receive this table's data in your inbox momentarily.

The highest rate of high school graduation is among white people with a rate of 96.16%.

The highest rate of bachelors degrees is among asian people with a rate of 47.46%.

Utah Educational Attainment by Race

All

Male

Female

Download Table Data

Enter your email below, and you'll receive this table's data in your inbox momentarily.

$44,483

Average Earnings

$56,560

Average Male

$32,981

Average Female

Utah Earnings by Educational Attainment

Utah Language by Age

Only English

Spanish

Other Indo-European Languages

Asian and Pacific Island Languages

Other Languages

Utah Language

84.56% of Utah residents speak only English, while 15.44% speak other languages. The non-English language spoken by the largest group is Spanish, which is spoken by 10.39% of the population.

Utah Language

Utah Poverty by Race

rate

Download Table Data

Enter your email below, and you'll receive this table's data in your inbox momentarily.

Name
Total
In Poverty
Poverty Rate
White2,463,623181,2117.36%
Hispanic456,74962,76213.74%
Other163,65124,58215.02%
Multiple179,77917,3019.62%
Asian74,1249,03112.18%
Black36,8377,81521.22%
Native32,3647,66023.67%
Islander28,5842,6719.34%

8.75%

Overall Poverty Rate

7.97%

Male Poverty Rate

9.54%

Female Poverty Rate

Poverty in Utah

The race most likely to be in poverty in Utah is Native, with 23.67% below the poverty level.

The race least likely to be in poverty in Utah is White, with 7.36% below the poverty level.

The poverty rate among those that worked full-time for the past 12 months was 2.01%. Among those working part-time, it was 12.98%, and for those that did not work, the poverty rate was 14.99%.

Utah Poverty

rate

Download Table Data

Enter your email below, and you'll receive this table's data in your inbox momentarily.

Rate
Poverty
Less Than 9th Grade15.9%
High School9%
Some College6.41%
Bachelors or Greater4.12%

Utah Poverty Rate by Education

rate

Download Table Data

Enter your email below, and you'll receive this table's data in your inbox momentarily.

Rate
Poverty
Female Unemployed25.76%
Male Unemployed21.87%
Female Employed6.15%
Male Employed4.67%

Utah Poverty Rate by Employment Status and Sex

Utah Income by Household Type

Households

Families

MarriedFamilies

NonFamilies

Download Table Data

Enter your email below, and you'll receive this table's data in your inbox momentarily.

mean

median

Income by Household Type

Utah Marital Status

Married

Widowed

Divorced

Separated

NeverMarried

Marriage Rates

55.5%

Overall Marriage Rate

55.9%

Male Marriage Rate

55.1%

Female Marriage Rate

Utah Married by Age and Sex

male

female

Utah Marriage

The age group where males are most likely to be married is Over 65, while the female age group most likely to be married is 35-44.

Utah Marital Status by Race

Married

Widowed

Divorced

Separated

NeverMarried

Utah Marital Status

Second Gulf War

First Gulf War

Vietnam

Korea

World War II

118,744

Number of Veterans

109,664

Male Veterans

9,080

Female Veterans

Download Table Data

Enter your email below, and you'll receive this table's data in your inbox momentarily.

Utah Veterans by War

count

Download Table Data

Enter your email below, and you'll receive this table's data in your inbox momentarily.

Utah Veterans by Age

count

Download Table Data

Enter your email below, and you'll receive this table's data in your inbox momentarily.

Utah Veterans by Race

Utah Veterans by Education

Less Than 9th Grade

High School Graduate

Some College

Bachelors or Greater

5.16%

Veteran Poverty Rate

28.44%

Veteran Disability Rate

Utah Veterans by Education

LaborForceParticipation

69.1%

Labor Force Participation

66.5%

Employment Rate

3.5%

Unemployment Rate

Utah Employment by Age

LaborForceParticipation

Utah Employment by Race

LaborForceParticipation

Utah Employment by Education

Origin of Non-Citizens

Europe

Asia

Africa

Oceania

Latin America

North America

Non citizens include legal permanent residents (green card holders), international students, temporary workers, humanitarian migrants, and illegal immigrants.

Origin of Naturalized Citizens

Europe

Asia

Africa

Oceania

Latin America

North America

61.63%

Born in Utah

91.54%

Native Born

8.46%

Foreign Born

4.84%

Non Citizen

3.62%

Naturalized

Place of Birth

91.54% of Utah residents were born in the United States, with 61.63% having been born in Utah. 4.84% of residents are not US citizens. Of those not born in the United States, the largest percentage are from Latin America.

Utah Place of Birth

  1. Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute
  2. US Census State Population Estimates - Most recent state estimates from the Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program
  3. US Census County Population Estimates - Most recent county estimates from the Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program
  4. American Community Survey (2009 - 2013)
  5. Census QuickFacts
  6. Historical Populations of States and Counties (1790 - 1990)

Sources