Media Mentions

The hard-driving forces that have made St. George and the rest of Washington County one of the fastest-growing populations in the U.S. are expected to continue for the foreseeable future, ballooning the area to more than 500,000 people over the next 50 years, according to new state population projections released this week. […]

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — New data from the U.S. Census Bureau shows Utah is experiencing a growing wave of diversity and Asian and multiracial population are growing faster than others. The state's Asian and multiracial populations both grew by 6 percent between 2015 and 2016 — faster than any other racial or ethnic group, according to the data released Thursday. More than 1 in 5 Utah residents is now a racial or ethnic minority, including more than 1 in 4 under the age of 18, the census bureau said. "These trends are cumulative and ongoing and irreversible," said Pam[...]

The United States is growing more diverse, and forecasts for Utah match changes seen across the country. Minorities now account for 21 percent of Utah's population, compared with 19 percent in 2010. In short, minority populations are growing faster than white populations, prompting local demographer Pam Perlich to label these differences as "the new Utah." "Since 2010, Utah's minority population grew by 20.3 percent, while the white population increased by a much smaller 8 percent." That is a distinct difference. Perlich continued, "These trends are cumulative, ongoing and irreversible."

SALT LAKE CITY — New research from the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute indicates the Utah economy has largely benefited because of globalization. The report also shows that the value of the state's annual exports have climbed above $13 billion. The study, titled "What has been the impact of globalization on Utah?" was authored by Jim Wood, Ivory-Boyer senior fellow at the Gardner Institute. He said the impact of globalization for Utah has been widespread and generally positive, with a major reason for Utah’s international success attributed to the many products locally manufactured that have been largely immune to "offshoring."[...]

Editor's note: A. Scott Anderson serves as co-chairman of the Gardner Institute Advisory Board A robust public policy debate is occurring in Utah, in Congress, across the country and throughout the world regarding globalization — is it a boon or bane for the economy? It’s a very good question. And it’s driving a lot of discussion over immigration, populism and “America first” attitudes. Do such things as international trade agreements, offshoring and the unrestricted flow of goods and services across national boundaries help or hurt Utah’s economy? Answering that question sounds like an ideal job for the University of Utah’s[...]

As a crowd of Wasatch Front officials listened, economist Juliette Tennert on Wednesday described trains and buses as vital to solve congestion and pollution as the area's population will double in a few decades. But there's a big problem. "We have this challenge of how are we going to pay for it," said Tennert, director of economics and public policy at the University of Utah's Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute.

New data from the Census Bureau ranks Lehi, Utah, as the 11th fastest growing city in the U.S., a reflection of the Wasatch Front’s strong economy, particularly in the area known as Silicon Slopes. Lehi was the only Utah city ranked in the top 15 and one of just four in the West, according to the Census Bureau’s new population estimates for 2016. At 4.6 percent growth, Lehi now has a population of 61,130 people.

The Utah County town of Vineyard grew sixfold in the past two years — from 611 residents to 3,953 — as new homes mushroomed on and around the old Geneva Steel plant site. But City Manager Jacob McHargue says those newly released U.S. Census Bureau estimates are for 2016, and he figures the town's population has already expanded to 8,000 residents by now, based on the number of recently completed and occupied homes.

Tourism in the Beehive State is growing at historic levels, and research indicates the trend could continue for the foreseeable future. A report authored by the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute at the University of Utah stated that tourism grew 12 percent from 2011 to 2015, with visitors spending a record of nearly $8.2 billion and generating approximately $1.15 billion in total state and local tax revenue.

Utah’s top tourism official says at a time when the number of people visiting national parks is skyrocketing, the Trump administration and Congress should step up their funding of the National Park Service. “The federal government needs to make an investment,” says Vicki Varela, director of the state’s office of tourism, film and global branding.