News Release

Salt Lake City (November 29, 2017) — Utah’s population increased by 59,045 people between July 1, 2016 and July 1, 2017, according to new population estimates released by the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute.

Net migration continues to increase with a statewide estimate of 26,989 net migrants, the highest level since 2006. This exceeds last year’s estimate by 2,728 persons. A pattern of strong net in-migration to Utah appears to have been firmly reestablished, albeit at a slower rate than prerecession levels. Annual births continue to decline with 1,202 fewer births than last year and annual deaths continuing to increase.

“The increased net in-migration is evidence of the relative economic strength of the state,” said Dr. Pamela Perlich, director of demographic research at the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute. “Salt Lake County has attracted the largest percentage of the net in-migration flow, with a surge in multi-family residential units.”

New data also show population by county, with the largest increase occurring in Salt Lake County. Salt Lake County is estimated to have added 19,372 persons to reach a total of 1,128,283, the largest numeric increase of all counties. Salt Lake County’s net in-migration was almost double that of Utah County, a reversal from last year’s estimates. These two counties represent 56 percent of the state’s population.

Strong growth has occurred in counties adjacent to Salt Lake and Utah Counties as well as Washington County, which surpassed 165,000 persons. Wasatch County continues to be the fastest growing county since 2014 and has grown 32.7 percent since the decennial census in 2010.

While overall growth is up, Daggett and Kane Counties are seeing a decrease in their population, while Carbon, Uintah, San Juan, and Piute Counties are all showing less than .2 percent growth.

The estimates are prepared by the Utah Population Committee, which is chaired and staffed by the Gardner Policy Institute. The committee includes individuals with expertise in the data used to prepare population estimates, including births, deaths, building permits, tax returns, employment, school enrollment, and other indicators.

The full research brief is available here.

Visit our population estimates page for more materials and data visualizations.