SALT LAKE CITY — Utah has added half a million people to its population from the 2010 to 2020 fiscal years, and the manner of growth has changed dramatically through the decade, according to a new report from the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute at the University of Utah.
That 18 percent growth for the state as a whole is not distributed equally. Utah's most populous county, Salt Lake, has grown thirteen percent, while Utah County grew 29 percent.
Wasatch County on the eastern slopes of the Wasatch Mountains grew 41 percent over the same period, and Washington County grew at a faster clip than any other from 2019 to 2020.
Emily Harris with the Gardner Institute authored the study, pointing out the change in the type of growth over time.
In 2010, Utah saw 38,000 more births than deaths, known by demographers as "natural increase."
In 2020, that same measure was down to 27,000.
The other type of growth happens as a result of migration. In 2010, Utah saw 1,600 more people move away than move into the state.
Demographers call this measure "net migration."
In 2020, Utah's net migration was a positive 25,000 contributing almost as much to the state's growth as "natural increase."
