SALT LAKE CITY — Data shows Utah is booming as the net migration increase in 2022 was more than any other time in state history, according to a report.
The new study from the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute at the University of Utah puts the state's population at 3,404,706 people, with over 61,000 new residents. Net migration accounted for over 38,000 of the new Utahns this year, which eclipsed the previous record set in 2005.
Net migration is the difference between the number of immigrants and the number of emigrants throughout the year.
The population additions through natural increase, which records the number of births against the number of deaths, declined by 38 percent in Utah to just over 23,000 people. That is the lowest natural increase in Utah since 1975, with the report claiming it is the result of the "combined effects of fewer annual births and annual deaths increasing from an aging population and COVID-19."
However, the report shows that births increased this year for the first time since 2015.
In all, Utah's absolute growth, which combines net migration and natural increase, reached its highest levels in 16 years.
Iron County experienced the fastest population growth in the state at 4.3%, followed by Wasatch, Utah, Kane, Rich, Juab and Sanpete counties with all grew over 3.0 percent. Overall, Utah County added the most residents and accounted for 39% of the state's population growth in 2022.
