Utah is the 30th most populous state in the United States with a population of about 3.3 million, according to projections from the US Census Bureau'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.
Population
The United States Census Bureau estimates that the population of Utah was 3,205,958 on July 1, 2019, a 16.00% increase since the 2010 United States census.
The center of population 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 in the country.
Much of the population lives in cities and towns along the Wasatch Front, 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, while the Heber micropolitan area is also the second fastest-growing in the country (behind Palm Coast, Florida).
Utah contains five metropolitan areas (Logan, Ogden-Clearfield, Salt Lake City, Provo-Orem, and St. George), and four micropolitan areas (Heber, Vernal, Price, 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
1.8% American Indians and Alaskan Natives
1.6% African American
1.3% Pacific Islander
6.9% Some other race
13% Hispanic/Latino (of any race)
The largest ancestry groups in the state are:
27.7% English
14.9% Scandinavian: (5.9% Danish, 4.3% Swedish, & 2.4% Norwegian) 12.4% German 7.0% American 6.1% Irish 4.7% Scottish 3.9% Italian 3.3% British 2.2% French 2.2% Welsh 1.4% Scotch Irish 1.3% Swiss
Utah County has the largest Icelandic American population, while Sanpete County is about a fifth (17%) Danish American. Swedish Americans and Norwegian Americans outnumbered English Americans or British Americans ancestry in Central Utah (i.e. Heber City). Finnish Americans, Russian Americans and Ukrainian Americans 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 ancestry including those of Basque descent are also present. Most Utahns are of Northern European descent.
In the 2010 census estimates, 89.2% of the state population is white and European American. Hispanics 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.