News Release

August 9, 2024 (Salt Lake City) — This month, the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute released three reports detailing aspects of Utah’s population. They were:

• Demographic Insight: Utah’s California In-Migrants – One in five movers to Utah were Californians in 2022. This report highlights where these movers are living in Utah, as well as the differences and similarities between this population and other movers to Utah.
  • California in-migrants were the largest domestic source of migration into Utah.
  • Approximately half of California in-migrants were born in California, and almost one quarter of California in-migrants were born in Utah.
  • Utah County attracted 28% of Utah’s California in-migrants- with the largest share landing in the Saratoga Springs, Payson, and Lehi areas.
  • California movers have higher household incomes than other in-migrants, with 40% of households having incomes over $100,000.
  • The data show that California migrants coming to Utah are not very different from all other Utah in-migrants in respect to age, race and ethnicity, education, and employment. They have higher household income and a higher likelihood of owning a home compared to Utah’s other in-migrants.

Two reports using new 2020 census data on detailed race and ethnicity – Heidi Prior, Public Policy Analyst and lead author of this series, says, “The in-depth nature of this new data is incredibly exciting. Seeing the small groups and heritages of Utahns reflected in these numbers breathes life into the big categories we typically use to describe racial and ethnic diversity.”

Exploring Utah’s Racial and Ethnic Groups: A Detailed Analysis – Utah residents self-identify as members of 258 detailed race groups and 757 American Indian and Alaska Native tribes and villages. This finding comes from 2020 census data, which provides deeper insights into racial and ethnic identities of the U.S. population than previous decades.

• More American Indian and Alaska Native Utahns identify as part of the Navajo Nation than any other tribe, with 21,413 Utah residents selecting the Navajo Nation alone or in combination with other races.
• Of Utah’s over 125,000 residents who identify as Asian, the largest populations identify as Chinese, Filipino, and Japanese.
• In 2020, Salt Lake County had the largest Tongan population of any county in the U.S.

Exploring Utah’s Hispanic or Latino Groups: A Detailed Analysis – More than 25% of Utah’s new residents in the last decade were Hispanic or Latino. Using the in-depth 2020 census data, this research explores the myriad populations that are part of the broader Hispanic or Latino grouping.

• Utah’s Venezuelan population grew faster than any other Hispanic group, adding 7,685 residents last decade.
• One in ten Utahns and two-thirds of the Hispanic or Latino population identify as Mexican.

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