Utah County, Utah

Utah County, Utah
Location in the U.S. state of Utah
Utah's location in the U.S.
Founded	1850
Named for	Ute Tribe
Seat	Provo
Largest city	Provo
Area
• Total	2,144 sq mi (5,553 km2)
• Land	2,003 sq mi (5,188 km2)
• Water	141 sq mi (365 km2), 6.6%
Population
• (2010)	516,564
• Density	258/sq mi (100/km²)
Congressional districts	3rd, 4th
Time zone	Mountain: UTC-7/-6
Website	www.utahcounty.gov

Utah County is a county in the U.S. state of Utah. As of the 2010 census, the population was 516,564, making it the second-most populous county in Utah. The county seat and largest city is Provo, which is the third-largest city in the state. The county was created in 1850 and named for the Spanish name (Yuta) for the Ute Indians.

Utah County is part of the Provo-Orem, UT Metropolitan Statistical Area as well as the Salt Lake City-Provo-Orem, UT Combined Statistical Area.

In 2010, the center of population of Utah was located in Utah County, in the city of Saratoga Springs.

Utah County is one of seven counties in the United States to share the same name as the state it is located in (the other six counties are Arkansas County, Hawaii County, Idaho County, Iowa County, New York County, and Oklahoma County).

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 2,144 square miles (5,550 km²), of which 2,003 square miles (5,190 km²) is land and 141 square miles (370 km²) (6.6%) is water.

Utah Valley lies at the center of the county, lined by the mountains of the Wasatch Range on the east. Utah Lake occupies a large part of the valley. The elevation ranges from 4,487 feet (1,368 m) above sea level at the lake to 11,928 feet (3,636 m) at the peak of Mount Nebo.

Adjacent counties

• Salt Lake (north)
• Tooele (west)
• Wasatch (east)
• Juab (southwest)
• Sanpete (south)
• Carbon (southeast)
• Duchesne (east)

A partial view of Utah Valley seen here from outside of Salem

National protected areas

• Ashley National Forest (part)
• Manti-La Sal National Forest (part)
• Timpanogos Cave National Monument
• Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest (part)

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.		%±
1850	2,026		—
1860	8,248		307.1%
1870	12,203		48.0%
1880	17,973		47.3%
1890	23,768		32.2%
1900	32,456		36.6%
1910	37,942		16.9%
1920	40,792		7.5%
1930	49,021		20.2%
1940	57,382		17.1%
1950	81,912		42.7%
1960	106,991		30.6%
1970	137,776		28.8%
1980	218,106		58.3%
1990	263,590		20.9%
2000	368,540		39.8%
2010	516,564		40.2%
Est. 2014	560,974		8.6%
U.S. Decennial Census 1790–1960 1900–1990 1990–2000 2010–2014

As of the census of 2010, there were 516,564 people, 140,602 households, and 114,350 families residing in the county. The population density was 259 people per square mile (100/km²). There were 148,350 housing units, at an average density of 74 per square mile (29/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 89.4% White, 0.5% Black or African American, 0.6% American Indian or Alaska Native, 1.4% Asian, 0.8% Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander, 4.6% some other race, and 2.7% from two or more races. 10.8% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 140,602 households, out of which 47.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 69.9% were headed by married couples living together, 8.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 18.7% were non-families. 11.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 4.4% were someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.57, and the average family size was 3.88.

In the county, the population was spread out with 35.2% under the age of 18, 15.8% from 18 to 24, 28% from 25 to 44, 14.5% from 45 to 64, and 6.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 24.6 years. For every 100 females there were 100.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.7 males.

At the 2000 census, the median income for a household in the county was $45,833, and the median income for a family was $50,196. Males had a median income of $37,878 versus $22,656 for females. The per capita income for the county was $15,557. About 6.80% of families and 12.00% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.40% of those under age 18 and 4.80% of those age 65 or over.

The five most reported ancestries in Utah County are:

• English-30%
• German-10%
• Danish-7%
• Mexican-5%
• Scottish-4%

Religion

88.1% Mormon
10.1% Non Religious
1.8% Other

Government

View of the cities of Lehi, American Fork, Pleasant Grove, Lindon and Orem along Interstate 15 and the northeast shore of Utah Lake

The government is an elected county commission made up of three commissioners. Utah County commissioners are elected at-large. As of 2015, the three county commissioners are William C. Lee, Greg Graves, and Larry Ellertson. Commissioners Lee and Graves were elected in 2014, and the seat held by Commissioner Ellertson is up for election in 2016. Other elected officials include the county sheriff, the county clerk, and the county attorney.

Utah County's growth was recognized by the state legislature in 2011 by adding one new state Senate seat and two House district seats.

Infrastructure

The I-15 CORE project, which has recently been completed, was an expansion project that added multiple lanes on Interstate 15 through most of Utah County. This expanded 24 miles (39 km) of freeway and was scheduled for completion in December 2012, but was finished ahead of schedule and under budget, in November 2012.

Politics

Utah County has been referred to as "the most Republican county in the most Republican state in the United States." In the 1992 presidential election, George H. W. Bush received the most votes and Bill Clinton was third in votes received. In the 2004 presidential election, 85.99% voted for George W. Bush. In the 2008 U.S. presidential election, the county voted for John McCain by a 58.9% margin over Barack Obama, compared to McCain winning by 28.1% statewide. Eight other Utah counties voted more strongly in favor of McCain. In the 2012 election, Mitt Romney received 88.32% of the vote.

Education

Utah County has three school districts. They are Alpine, Provo, and Nebo.

It also has two universities: Brigham Young University and Utah Valley University. The county also has the Mountainland_Applied_Technology_College.

Communities

File:Phone 006.jpg

Utah Valley, Utah County as seen from Traverse Ridge in Lehi

Mount Timpanogos in the Wasatch Range is visible from much of Utah County.

Cities

• Alpine
• American Fork
• Bluffdale
• Cedar Hills
• Draper
• Eagle Mountain
• Elk Ridge
• Highland
• Lehi
• Lindon
• Mapleton
• Orem
• Payson
• Pleasant Grove
• Provo (county seat)
• Salem
• Santaquin
• Saratoga Springs
• Spanish Fork
• Springville
• Woodland Hills

Towns

• Cedar Fort
• Fairfield
• Genola
• Goshen
• Vineyard

Census-designated places

• Benjamin
• Elberta
• Lake Shore
• Palmyra
• Spring Lake
• West Mountain

Unincorporated communities

• Birdseye
• Vivian Park

In popular culture

• The 2003 book Under the Banner of Heaven written by Jon Krakauer discusses locations throughout Utah County.
• The 2007 film American Fork (later known as Humble Pie) was filmed in that city.
• The film Brigham City was filmed in Mapleton. Despite the name of the film, Richard Dutcher had Mapleton, not Brigham City, in mind in making the film.
• The 1984 film Footloose was filmed at various locations in Utah County: American Fork, Lehi, Orem, Payson, and Provo.
• The 1985 film Fletch is set in part in Provo. The dialogue makes frequent reference to the city.
• The 2008 documentary Happy Valley is about drug abuse in Utah County.
• The book Social Welfare: Politics and Public Policy, by Diana DiNitto, mentions Utah County as one of the three most generous counties in philanthropic donations in the U.S., based on an article in Giving USA 2003 (the other two were San Juan County, Utah and Madison County, Idaho).

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Utah County, Utah

External links

• Utah County official website
• Utah County Sheriff's Office
•