Utah

The name Utah derives from the name of the Ute tribe, meaning 'people of the mountains'.{{Cite web |url=http://www.utah.gov/about/quickfacts.html |title=Utah Quick Facts |access-date=August 31, 2023 |archive-date=April 25, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210425084602/http://www.utah.gov/about/quickfacts.html |url-status=dead }} However, no such word exists in the Utes' language, and the Utes refer to themselves as {{lang|ute|Noochee}}. The meaning of Utes as 'the mountain people' has been attributed to the neighboring Pueblo Indians,{{Cite news |url=https://www.deseretnews.com/article/363685/UTAH--THE-RIDDLE-BEHIND-THE-NAME.html |title=Utah: The Riddle Behind The Name |date=July 10, 1994 |work=Deseret News |access-date=May 21, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181013204738/https://www.deseretnews.com/article/363685/UTAH--THE-RIDDLE-BEHIND-THE-NAME.html |archive-date=October 13, 2018 |url-status=dead }} as well as to the Apache word {{lang|apa|Yuttahih}}, which means 'one that is higher up' or 'those that are higher up'. In Spanish, it was pronounced {{lang|es|Yuta}}; subsequently, English-speaking people may have adapted the word as Utah.{{cite web |last1=Carvajal |first1=Guillermo |title=El desconocido origen español del nombre de ocho Estados de Norteamérica |trans-title=The unknown Spanish origin of the name of eight States of North America |url=http://www.abc.es/tecnologia/redes/20140113/abci-desconocido-origen-espanol-nombre-201401131030.html |work=ABC |date=January 13, 2014 |access-date=May 8, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160603202702/http://www.abc.es/tecnologia/redes/20140113/abci-desconocido-origen-espanol-nombre-201401131030.html |archive-date=June 3, 2016 |url-status=live }}

{{Main|History of Utah}}

{{see also|Native Americans in Utah}}

File:California1838.jpg

Thousands of years before the arrival of Europeans, the Ancestral Puebloans and the Fremont people lived in what is now known as Utah, some of which spoke languages of the Uto-Aztecan group. Ancestral Pueblo peoples built their homes through excavations in mountains, and the Fremont people built houses of straw before disappearing from the region around the 15th century.

Another group of Native Americans, the Navajo, settled in the region around the 18th century. In the mid-18th century, other Uto-Aztecan tribes, including the Goshute, the Paiute, the Shoshone, and the Ute people, also settled in the region. These five groups were present when the first European explorers arrived.{{Cite web|url=http://historytogo.utah.gov/utah_chapters/american_indians/nativeamericansinutah.html|title=Native Americans in Utah|website=historytogo.utah.gov|access-date=July 9, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170625180359/http://historytogo.utah.gov/utah_chapters/american_indians/nativeamericansinutah.html|archive-date=June 25, 2017|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|url=http://ilovehistory.utah.gov/people/first_peoples/tribes/|title=Utah's American Indians|website=ilovehistory.utah.gov|language=en|access-date=July 9, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170625190631/http://ilovehistory.utah.gov/people/first_peoples/tribes/|archive-date=June 25, 2017|url-status=live}}

{{Main|New Spain|The Californias#History|First Mexican Empire|Provisional Government of Mexico|First Mexican Republic|Centralist Republic of Mexico}}

The southern Utah region was explored by the Spanish in 1540, led by Francisco Vázquez de Coronado while looking for the legendary Cíbola. A group led by two Catholic priests—sometimes called the Domínguez–Escalante expedition—left Santa Fe in 1776, hoping to find a route to the coast of California. The expedition traveled as far north as Utah Lake and encountered the native residents. The Spanish made further explorations in the region but were not interested in colonizing the area because of its desert nature. In 1821, the year Mexico achieved its independence from Spain, the region became known as part of its territory of Alta California.

European trappers and fur traders explored some areas of Utah in the early 19th century from Canada and the United States. The city of Provo, Utah, was named for one Étienne Provost, who visited the area in 1825. The city of Ogden, Utah, was named after Peter Skene Ogden, a Canadian explorer who traded furs in the Weber Valley.

In late 1824, Jim Bridger became the first known English-speaking person to sight the Great Salt Lake. Due to the high salinity of its waters, he thought he had found the Pacific Ocean; he subsequently learned this body of water was a giant salt lake. After the discovery of the lake, hundreds of American and Canadian traders and trappers established trading posts in the region. In the 1830s, thousands of migrants traveling from the Eastern United States to the American West began to make stops in the region of the Great Salt Lake, then known as Lake Youta.{{Cite journal |last=Wheat |first=Carl I. |title=Mappig the American West 1540-1857 |url=https://www.americanantiquarian.org/node/11484 |journal=Proceedings of the American Antiquarian Society |volume=64 |issue=1 |pages=110}}

{{Main|Mexican–American War|Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo|Mexican Cession}}

File:BrighamYoung1.jpg led the first Mormon pioneers to the Great Salt Lake.]]

Following the death of Joseph Smith in 1844, Brigham Young, as president of the Quorum of the Twelve, became the leader of the LDS Church in Nauvoo, Illinois.Leonard J. Arrington and Davis Bitton: The Mormon Experience, page 22. Vintage/Random House, 1979. To address the growing conflicts between his people and their neighbors, Young agreed with Illinois Governor Thomas Ford in October 1845 that the Mormons would leave by the following year.Richard N. Ostling and Joan K. Ostling: Mormon America, page 38–39. HarperCollins, 2000.

Young and the first group of Mormon pioneers reached the Salt Lake Valley on July 24, 1847. Over the next 22 years, more than 70,000 pioneers crossed the plains and settled in Utah.William W. Slaughter and Michael Landon: Trail of Hope—The Story of the Mormon Trail. Shadow Mountain, 1997. For the first few years, Brigham Young and the thousands of early settlers of Salt Lake City struggled to survive. The arid desert land was deemed desirable by the Mormons as a place where they could practice their religion without harassment.

Settlers buried thirty-six Native Americans in one grave after an outbreak of measles occurred during the winter of 1847.{{cite news |last1=Arave |first1=Lynn |title=Tidbits of history — Unusual highlights of Salt Lake County |url=https://www.deseret.com/2007/1/5/19993469/tidbits-of-history-151-unusual-highlights-of-salt-lake-county#part-of-downtown-salt-lake-city-will-soon-be-redeveloped-by-the-lds-church-for-decades-the-salt-lake-temple-stood-out-as-the-areas-most-prominent-structure |access-date=May 6, 2020 |work=Deseret News |date=January 5, 2007}}

The first group of settlers brought three African slaves with them, making Utah the only place in the western United States to have African slavery.Negro Slaves in Utah by Jack Beller, Utah Historical Quarterly, vol. 2, no. 4, 1929, pp. 124–126 The three slaves, Green Flake, Hark Lay, and Oscar Crosby, came west with the first group of settlers in 1847.{{cite news |title=Slavery in Utah Involved Blacks, Whites, Indians, and Mexicans. |url=https://collections.lib.utah.edu/details?id=419212&q=Blacks+in+Utah+History+An+Unknown+Legacy |access-date=May 6, 2020 |work=The History Blazer |issue=April 1995 |publisher=Utah State Historical Society}}

Utah was a Mexican territory when the first pioneers arrived in 1847. Early in the Mexican–American War in late 1846, the United States had taken control of New Mexico and California. The entire Southwest became U.S. territory upon the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, February 2, 1848. The treaty was ratified by the United States Senate on March 11. Learning that California and New Mexico were applying for statehood, the settlers of the Utah area (originally having planned to petition for territorial status) applied for statehood with an ambitious plan for a State of Deseret.

The Mormon settlements provided pioneers for other settlements in the West. Salt Lake City became the hub of a "far-flung commonwealth"Arrington and Bitton, p. 118 of Mormon settlements. With new church converts coming from the East and around the world, Church leaders often assigned groups of church members as missionaries to establish other settlements throughout the West. They developed irrigation to support fairly large pioneer populations along Utah's Wasatch front (Salt Lake City, Bountiful and Weber Valley, and Provo and Utah Valley).William Clayton, edited by George D. Smith: An Intimate Chronicle: The Journals of William Clayton, p. 300. Signature Books, 1991. Throughout the remainder of the 19th century, Mormon pioneers established hundreds of other settlements in Utah, Idaho, Nevada, Arizona, Wyoming, California, Canada, and Mexico—including in Las Vegas, Nevada; Franklin, Idaho (the first European settlement in Idaho); San Bernardino, California; Mesa, Arizona; Star Valley, Wyoming; and Carson Valley, Nevada.

Prominent settlements in Utah included St. George, Logan, and Manti (where settlers completed the LDS Church's first three temples in Utah, each started after but finished many years before the larger and better-known temple built in Salt Lake City was completed in 1893), as well as Parowan, Cedar City, Bluff, Moab, Vernal, Fillmore (which served as the territorial capital between 1850 and 1856), Nephi, Levan, Spanish Fork, Springville, Provo Bench (now Orem), Pleasant Grove, American Fork, Lehi, Sandy, Murray, Jordan, Centerville, Farmington, Huntsville, Kaysville, Grantsville, Tooele, Roy, Brigham City, and many other smaller towns and settlements. Young had an expansionist view of the territory that he and the Mormon pioneers were settling, calling it Deseret—which according to the Book of Mormon was an ancient word for "honeybee". This is symbolized by the beehive on the Utah flag, and the state's motto, "Industry".Corporation of the President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints: "Church History in the Fullness of Times". 1989.

{{Main|Organic act#List of organic acts|Utah Territory|Admission to the Union|List of U.S. states by date of admission to the Union}}

File:Sketch of Salt Lake 1860.jpg

File:Deseret Village.jpg recreates Utah pioneer life for tourists.]]

File:East and West Shaking hands at the laying of last rail Union Pacific Railroad - Restoration.jpg where the First transcontinental railroad was completed in the U.S. on May 10, 1869, in Promontory, Utah]]

The Utah Territory was much smaller than the proposed state of Deseret, but it still contained all of the present states of Nevada and Utah as well as pieces of modern Wyoming and Colorado.Michael S. Durham: Desert between the Mountains, pages 162,163. University of Oklahoma Press, 1997. It was created with the Compromise of 1850, and Fillmore, named after President Millard Fillmore, was designated the capital. The territory was given the name Utah after the Ute tribe of Native Americans. Salt Lake City replaced Fillmore as the territorial capital in 1856.

By 1850, there were around 100 black people in the territory, the majority of whom were slaves.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=idktzKdgb7YC|title=Dictionary of Afro-American Slavery|author=John David Smith|isbn=9780275957995|year=1997|publisher=Bloomsbury Academic }} In Salt Lake County, 26 slaves were counted. In 1852, the territorial legislature passed the Act in Relation to Service and the Act for the relief of Indian Slaves and Prisoners formally legalizing slavery in the territory. Slavery was abolished in the territory during the Civil War.

In 1850, Salt Lake City sent out a force known as the Nauvoo Legion and engaged the Timpanogos in the Battle at Fort Utah.{{cite book|last1=Farmer|first1=Jared|title=On Zion's Mount: Mormons, Indians, and the American Landscape|date=2008|publisher=Harvard University Press|isbn=9780674027671}}{{rp|71}}

Disputes between the Mormon inhabitants and the U.S. government intensified due to the practice of plural marriage, or polygamy, among members of the LDS Church. The Mormons were still pushing for the establishment of a State of Deseret with the new borders of the Utah Territory. Most, if not all, of the members of the U.S. government opposed the polygamous practices of the Mormons.

Members of the LDS Church were viewed as un-American and rebellious when news of their polygamous practices spread. In 1857, particularly heinous accusations of abdication of government and general immorality were leveled by former associate justice William W. Drummond, among others. The detailed reports of life in Utah caused the administration of James Buchanan to send a secret military "expedition" to Utah. When the supposed rebellion should be quelled, Alfred Cumming would take the place of Brigham Young as territorial governor. The resulting conflict is known as the Utah War, nicknamed "Buchanan's Blunder" by the Mormon leaders.

In September 1857, about 120 American settlers of the Baker–Fancher wagon train, en route to California from Arkansas, were murdered by Utah Territorial Militia and some Paiute Native Americans in the Mountain Meadows massacre.{{cite news |last= Ravitz |first= Jessica |url= http://www.sltrib.com/ci_6862682 |title= LDS Church Apologizes for Mountain Meadows Massacre |newspaper= The Salt Lake Tribune |date= September 11, 2007 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20141104171210/http://www.sltrib.com/ci_6862682 |archive-date= November 4, 2014 |url-status=live }}

Before troops led by Albert Sidney Johnston entered the territory, Brigham Young ordered all residents of Salt Lake City to evacuate southward to Utah Valley and sent out the Nauvoo Legion to delay the government's advance. Although wagons and supplies were burned, eventually the troops arrived in 1858, and Young surrendered official control to Cumming, although most subsequent commentators claim that Young retained true power in the territory. A steady stream of governors appointed by the president quit the position, often citing the traditions of their supposed territorial government. By agreement with Young, Johnston established Camp Floyd, {{convert|40|mi|km|-1}} away from Salt Lake City to the southwest.

Salt Lake City was the last link of the First Transcontinental Telegraph, completed in October 1861. Brigham Young was among the first to send a message, along with Abraham Lincoln and other officials.

Because of the American Civil War, federal troops were pulled out of Utah Territory in 1861. This was a boon to the local economy as the army sold everything in camp for pennies on the dollar before marching back east to join the war. The territory was then left in LDS hands until Patrick E. Connor arrived with a regiment of California volunteers in 1862. Connor established Fort Douglas just {{convert|3|mi|km}} east of Salt Lake City and encouraged his people to discover mineral deposits to bring more non-Mormons into the territory. Minerals were discovered in Tooele County and miners began to flock to the territory.

Beginning in 1865, Utah's Black Hawk War developed into the deadliest conflict in the territory's history. Chief Antonga Black Hawk died in 1870, but fights continued to break out until additional federal troops were sent in to suppress the Ghost Dance of 1872. The war is unique among Indian Wars because it was a three-way conflict, with mounted Timpanogos Utes led by Antonga Black Hawk fighting federal and LDS authorities.

On May 10, 1869, the First transcontinental railroad was completed at Promontory Summit, north of the Great Salt Lake.{{cite web |url = http://www.wdl.org/en/item/11371/ |title = Ceremony at "Wedding of the Rails", May 10, 1869 at Promontory Point, Utah |website = World Digital Library |date = May 10, 1869 |access-date = July 20, 2013 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20131018052635/http://www.wdl.org/en/item/11371/ |archive-date = October 18, 2013 |url-status = live }} The railroad brought increasing numbers of people into the territory and several influential businesspeople made fortunes there.

During the 1870s and 1880s laws were passed to punish polygamists due, in part, to stories from Utah. Notably, Ann Eliza Young—tenth wife to divorce Brigham Young, women's advocate, national lecturer, and author of Wife No.{{nbsp}}19 or My Life of Bondage—and Fanny Stenhouse, author of Tell It All: My Life in Mormonism, testified to the happiness of the very early Church members before polygamy. They independently published their books in 1875. These books and the lectures of Ann Eliza Young have been credited with the United States Congress's passage of anti-polygamy laws by newspapers throughout the United States, as recorded in "The Ann Eliza Young Vindicator", a pamphlet which detailed Ms. Young's travels and warm reception throughout her lecture tour.

T. B. H. Stenhouse, former Utah Mormon polygamist, a Mormon missionary for thirteen years, and a Salt Lake City newspaper owner, finally left Utah and wrote The Rocky Mountain Saints. His book gives a witnessed account of life in Utah, both the good and the bad. He finally left Utah and Mormonism after financial ruin occurred when Brigham Young sent Stenhouse to relocate to Ogden, Utah, according to Stenhouse, to take over his thriving pro-Mormon Salt Lake Telegraph newspaper. In addition to these testimonies, The Confessions of John D. Lee, written by John D. Lee—alleged "Scapegoat" for the Mountain Meadow Massacre—also came out in 1877. The corroborative testimonies coming out of Utah from Mormons and former Mormons influenced Congress and the people of the United States.

In the 1890 Manifesto, the LDS Church banned polygamy. When Utah applied for statehood again, it was accepted. One of the conditions for granting Utah statehood was that a ban on polygamy be written into the state constitution. This was a condition required of other western states that were admitted into the Union later. Statehood was officially granted on January 4, 1896.

File:Children reading 1940.jpg, in 1940]]

Beginning in the early 20th century, with the establishment of such national parks as Bryce Canyon National Park and Zion National Park, Utah became known for its natural beauty. Southern Utah became a popular filming spot for arid, rugged scenes featured in the popular mid-century western film genre. From such films, most US residents recognize such natural landmarks as Delicate Arch and "the Mittens" of Monument Valley.{{cite web|url=http://www.mountainproject.com/v/monument-valley/105964237|title=Rock Climbing Monument Valley in Northern Arizona|website=Mountain Project|access-date=November 7, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151029035231/http://www.mountainproject.com/v/monument-valley/105964237|archive-date=October 29, 2015|url-status=live}} During the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s, with the construction of the Interstate highway system, accessibility to the southern scenic areas was made easier.

Since the establishment of Alta Ski Area in 1939 and the subsequent development of several ski resorts in the state's mountains, Utah's skiing has become world-renowned. The dry, powdery snow of the Wasatch Range is considered some of the best skiing in the world (the state license plate once claimed "the Greatest Snow on Earth").{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20090210021223/http://www.skinet.com/travel/2008-09/ski-magazines-top-30-resorts-2008-09 SKI Magazine's Top 30 Resorts for 2008–09]}}{{cite web |url=https://www.usatoday.com/travel/destinations/ski/2008-10-20-outside-best-ski-resorts_N.htm |title='Outside' magazine ranks the top ski resorts |website=USA Today |date=October 17, 2008 |access-date=July 31, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100526174205/http://www.usatoday.com/travel/destinations/ski/2008-10-20-outside-best-ski-resorts_N.htm |archive-date=May 26, 2010 |url-status=live }} Salt Lake City won the bid for the 2002 Winter Olympic Games, and this served as a great boost to the economy. The ski resorts have increased in popularity, and many of the Olympic venues built along the Wasatch Front continue to be used for sporting events. Preparation for the Olympics spurred the development of the light-rail system in the Salt Lake Valley, known as TRAX, and the reconstruction of the freeway system around the city.

In 1957, Utah created the Utah State Parks Commission with four parks. Today, Utah State Parks manages 43 parks and several undeveloped areas totaling over {{convert|95000|acre|km2}} of land and more than {{convert|1000000|acre|km2}} of water. Utah's state parks are scattered throughout Utah, from Bear Lake State Park at the Utah/Idaho border to Edge of the Cedars State Park Museum deep in the Four Corners region and everywhere in between. Utah State Parks is also home to the state's off highway vehicle office, state boating office, and the trails program.{{cite web|url=http://stateparks.utah.gov/about/|title=Official Utah State Parks website|publisher=Stateparks.utah.gov|access-date=November 7, 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130407044150/http://www.stateparks.utah.gov/about|archive-date=April 7, 2013}}

File:Flag of the Utah Territory.svg

During the late 20th century, the state grew quickly. In the 1970s growth was phenomenal in the suburbs of the Wasatch Front. Sandy was one of the fastest-growing cities in the country at that time. Today, many areas of Utah continue to see boom-time growth. Northern Davis, southern and western Salt Lake, Summit, eastern Tooele, Utah, Wasatch, and Washington counties are all growing very quickly. Management of transportation and urbanization are major issues in politics, as development consumes agricultural land and wilderness areas and transportation is a major reason for poor air quality in Utah.

On March 18, 2020, Utah suffered a 5.7 magnitude earthquake originating {{cvt|3.7|mi|km}} northeast of Magna, near Salt Lake City.{{Cite anss|Magna|2020|https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/uu60363602/executive|access-date=March 18, 2020|mode=cs2}}

{{anchor|Geography}}

{{main|Geography of Utah|Geology of Utah}}

{{See also|List of canyons and gorges in Utah|List of Utah counties|List of earthquakes in Utah}}

File:Utah Counties.png

Utah is known for its natural diversity and is home to features ranging from arid deserts with dunes to thriving pine forests in mountain valleys. It is a rugged and geographically diverse state at the convergence of three distinct geological regions: the Rocky Mountains, the Great Basin, and the Colorado Plateau.

Utah covers an area of {{convert|84899|sqmi|abbr=on}}. It is one of the Four Corners states and is bordered by Idaho in the north, Wyoming in the north and east, Colorado in the east, at a single point by New Mexico to the southeast, by Arizona in the south, and by Nevada in the west. Only three U.S. states (Utah, Colorado, and Wyoming) have exclusively latitude and longitude lines as boundaries.

One of Utah's defining characteristics is the variety of its terrain. Running down the middle of the state's northern third is the Wasatch Range, which rises to heights of almost {{convert|12000|ft|abbr=on}} above sea level. Utah is home to world-renowned ski resorts made popular by light, fluffy snow and winter storms that regularly dump up to three feet of it overnight. In the state's northeastern section, running east to west, are the Uinta Mountains, which rise to heights of over {{convert|13,000|ft|m}}. The highest point in the state, Kings Peak, at {{convert|13,528|ft|m}},{{cite web|date=April 29, 2005 |url=http://erg.usgs.gov/isb/pubs/booklets/elvadist/elvadist.html#Highest |title=Elevations and Distances in the United States |publisher=United States Geological Survey |access-date=November 8, 2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061102095332/http://erg.usgs.gov/isb/pubs/booklets/elvadist/elvadist.html |archive-date=November 2, 2006 }} lies within the Uinta Mountains.

At the western base of the Wasatch Range is the Wasatch Front, a series of valleys and basins that are home to the most populous parts of the state. It stretches approximately from Brigham City at the north end to Nephi at the south end. Approximately 75 percent of the state's population lives in this corridor, and population growth is rapid.

Western Utah is a mostly arid desert with a basin and range topography. Small mountain ranges and rugged terrain punctuate the landscape. The Bonneville Salt Flats are an exception, being comparatively flat as a result of once forming the bed of ancient Lake Bonneville. Great Salt Lake, Utah Lake, Sevier Lake, and Rush Lake are all remnants of this ancient freshwater lake,{{cite book|title=The Great Salt Lake|last=Morgan|first=Dale L.|publisher=University of Utah Press|location=Salt Lake City|year=1947|page=22|isbn=978-0-87480-478-2}} which once covered most of the eastern Great Basin. West of the Great Salt Lake, stretching to the Nevada border, lies the arid Great Salt Lake Desert. One exception to this aridity is Snake Valley, which is (relatively) lush due to large springs and wetlands fed from groundwater derived from snow melt in the Snake Range, Deep Creek Range, and other tall mountains to the west of Snake Valley. Great Basin National Park is just over the Nevada state line in the southern Snake Range. One of western Utah's most impressive, but least visited attractions is Notch Peak, the tallest limestone cliff in North America, located west of Delta.

Much of the scenic southern and southeastern landscape (specifically the Colorado Plateau region) is sandstone, specifically Kayenta sandstone and Navajo sandstone. The Colorado River and its tributaries wind their way through the sandstone, creating some of the world's most striking and wild terrain (the area around the confluence of the Colorado and Green Rivers was the last to be mapped in the lower 48 United States). Wind and rain have also sculpted the soft sandstone over millions of years. Canyons, gullies, arches, pinnacles, buttes, bluffs, and mesas are common sights throughout south-central and southeast Utah.

This terrain is the central feature of protected state and federal parks such as Arches, Bryce Canyon, Canyonlands, Capitol Reef, and Zion national parks, Cedar Breaks, Grand Staircase–Escalante, Hovenweep, and Natural Bridges national monuments, Glen Canyon National Recreation Area (site of the popular tourist destination, Lake Powell), Dead Horse Point and Goblin Valley state parks, and Monument Valley. The Navajo Nation also extends into southeastern Utah, and the tribe is part of the coalition that manages Bears Ears National Monument. Southeastern Utah is also punctuated by the remote, but lofty La Sal, Abajo, and Henry mountain ranges.

Eastern (northern quarter) Utah is a high-elevation area covered mostly by plateaus and basins, particularly the Tavaputs Plateau and San Rafael Swell, which remain mostly inaccessible, and the Uinta Basin, where the majority of eastern Utah's population lives. Economies are dominated by mining, oil shale, oil, and natural gas-drilling, ranching, and recreation. Much of eastern Utah is part of the Uintah and Ouray Indian Reservation. The most popular destination within northeastern Utah is Dinosaur National Monument near Vernal.

Southwestern Utah is the lowest and hottest spot in Utah. It is known as Utah's Dixie because early settlers were able to grow some cotton there. Beaverdam Wash in far southwestern Utah is the lowest point in the state, at {{convert|2,000|ft|m}}. The northernmost portion of the Mojave Desert is also located in this area. Dixie is quickly becoming a popular recreational and retirement destination, and the population is growing rapidly. Although the Wasatch Mountains end at Mount Nebo near Nephi, a complex series of mountain ranges extends south from the southern end of the range down the spine of Utah. Just north of Dixie and east of Cedar City is the state's highest ski resort, Brian Head.

Like most of the western and southwestern states, the federal government owns much of the land in Utah. Over 70 percent of the land is either BLM land, Utah State Trustland, or U.S. National Forest, U.S. National Park, U.S. National Monument, National Recreation Area or U.S. Wilderness Area.{{cite news|url=http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/2010/0304/Utah-fights-for-states-rights-with-land-push|title=Utah fights for states' rights with land push|last=Farrell|first=Michael B.|newspaper=Christian Science Monitor|date=March 4, 2014|access-date=October 19, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141020072312/http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/2010/0304/Utah-fights-for-states-rights-with-land-push|archive-date=October 20, 2014|url-status=live}} Utah is the only state where every county contains some national forest.{{Cite web |url=https://www.utah.gov/governor/docs/OutdoorRecreationVision.pdf |title=The state of Utah outdoor recreation vision. |date=January 2013 |access-date=October 13, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181111174839/https://www.utah.gov/governor/docs/OutdoorRecreationVision.pdf |archive-date=November 11, 2018 |url-status=live }}

File:Arches 1 - panoramio.jpg|Arches National Park

File:My Public Lands Roadtrip- Pariette Wetlands in Utah (20220345702).jpg|Pariette Wetlands

File:LCLfallfoliage2005.JPG|Little Cottonwood Canyon

File:Deer Creek Reservoir.jpg|Deer Creek Reservoir

File:American Fork Canyon from Timpanogos Cave entrance.jpg|American Fork Canyon

File:Kolob Canyon at Zion National Park, March 2019.jpg|Kolob Canyons at Zion National Park

• Idaho (north)
• Wyoming (east and north)
• Colorado (east)
• Nevada (west)
• Arizona (south)

File:Köppen Climate Types Utah.png of Utah, using 1991–2020 climate normals.]]

Utah features a dry, semi-arid to desert climate,{{Cite web |date=2021-12-14 |title=Why is Utah so dry? - 2022 |url=https://theflatbkny.com/united-states/why-is-utah-so-dry/ |access-date=2022-06-10 |website=The Flat |language=en-US}} although its many mountains feature a large variety of climates, with the highest points in the Uinta Mountains being above the timberline. The dry weather is a result of the state's location in the rain shadow of the Sierra Nevada in California. The eastern half of the state lies in the rain shadow of the Wasatch Mountains. The primary source of precipitation for the state is the Pacific Ocean, with the state usually lying in the path of large Pacific storms from October to May. In summer, the state, especially southern and eastern Utah, lies in the path of monsoon moisture from the Gulf of California.

Most of the lowland areas receive less than {{convert|12|in|mm|0}} of precipitation annually, although the I-15 corridor, including the densely populated Wasatch Front, receives approximately {{convert|15|in|mm|0}}. The Great Salt Lake Desert is the driest area of the state, with less than {{convert|5|in|mm|0}}. Snowfall is common in all but the far southern valleys. Although St. George receives only about {{convert|3|in|mm|0}} per year, Salt Lake City sees about {{convert|60|in|mm|0}}, enhanced by the lake-effect snow from the Great Salt Lake, which increases snowfall totals to the south, southeast, and east of the lake.

Some areas of the Wasatch Range in the path of the lake effect receive up to {{convert|500|in|cm|0}} per year. This micro climate of enhanced snowfall from the Great Salt Lake spans the entire proximity of the lake. The cottonwood canyons adjacent to Salt Lake City are located in the right position to receive more precipitation from the lake.{{cite book|last1=Steenburgh|first1=Jim|title=Secrets of the Greatest Snow on Earth|date=November 14, 2014|publisher=Utah State University Press|isbn=978-0874219500|edition=1}} The consistently deep powder snow led Utah's ski industry to adopt the slogan "the Greatest Snow on Earth" in the 1980s. In the winter, temperature inversions are a common phenomenon across Utah's low basins and valleys, leading to thick haze and fog that can last for weeks at a time, especially in the Uintah Basin. Although at other times of year, its air quality is good, winter inversions give Salt Lake City some of the worst wintertime pollution in the country.

Previous studies have indicated a widespread decline in snowpack over Utah accompanied by a decline in the snow–snow-precipitation ratio while anecdotal evidence claims have been put forward that measured changes in Utah's snowpack are spurious and do not reflect actual change. A 2012 study[http://journals.ametsoc.org/doi/abs/10.1175/JCLI-D-11-00084.1 2012 study] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170512142725/http://journals.ametsoc.org/doi/abs/10.1175/JCLI-D-11-00084.1 |date=May 12, 2017 }}, journals.ametsoc.org. found that the proportion of winter (January–March) precipitation falling as snow has decreased by nine percent during the last half century, a combined result of a significant increase in rainfall and a minor decrease in snowfall. Meanwhile, observed snow depth across Utah has decreased and is accompanied by consistent decreases in snow cover and surface albedo. Weather systems with the potential to produce precipitation in Utah have decreased in number with those producing snowfall decreasing at a considerably greater rate.Gillies et al. (2012) http://journals.ametsoc.org/doi/abs/10.1175/JCLI-D-11-00084.1 {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170512142725/http://journals.ametsoc.org/doi/abs/10.1175/JCLI-D-11-00084.1 |date=May 12, 2017 }}

File:RoseParkStreets.jpg]]

Utah's temperatures are extreme, with cold temperatures in winter due to its elevation, and very hot summers statewide (except mountain areas and high mountain valleys). Utah is usually protected from major blasts of cold air by mountains lying north and east of the state, although major Arctic blasts can occasionally reach the state. Average January high temperatures range from around {{convert|30|F|C|0}} in some northern valleys to almost {{convert|55|F|C|0}} in St. George.

Temperatures dropping below {{convert|0|F|C|0}} should be expected on occasion in most areas of the state most years, although some areas see it often (for example, the town of Randolph averages about fifty days per year with temperatures that low). In July, average highs range from about {{convert|85|to|100|F|C|0}}. However, the low humidity and high elevation typically lead to large temperature variations, leading to cool nights on most summer days. The record high temperature in Utah was {{convert|118|F|C|0}}, recorded south of St. George on July 4, 2007,{{cite news |last= Fidel |first= Steve |url= http://www.deseretnews.com/article/680196797/Utahns-feeling-hot-hot-hot.html |title= Utahns feeling hot, hot, hot |newspaper= Deseret Morning News |date= July 6, 2007 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20141104175045/http://www.deseretnews.com/article/680196797/Utahns-feeling-hot-hot-hot.html |archive-date= November 4, 2014 }} and the record low was {{convert|-69|F|C|0}}, recorded at Peter Sinks in the Bear River Mountains of northern Utah on February 1, 1985.{{cite news|url=http://www.ksl.com/index.php?nid=341&sid=148094|title=Utah Cold Weather Facts—Snow and Winter Storms|work=KSL-TV |access-date=October 19, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141022004925/http://www.ksl.com/index.php?nid=341&sid=148094|archive-date=October 22, 2014|url-status=live}} However, the record low for an inhabited location is {{convert|-49|F|C|0}} at Woodruff on December 12, 1932.{{cite web|url=http://www.wrcc.dri.edu/cgi-bin/cliMAIN.pl?ut9595|title=WOODRUFF, UTAH (429595)|website=wrcc.dri.edu|access-date=October 19, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150630174716/http://www.wrcc.dri.edu/cgi-bin/cliMAIN.pl?ut9595|archive-date=June 30, 2015|url-status=live}}

Utah, like most of the western United States, has few days of thunderstorms. On average, there are fewer than 40 days of thunderstorm activity during the year, although these storms can be briefly intense when they do occur. They are most likely to occur during monsoon season from about mid-July through mid-September, especially in southern and eastern Utah. Dry lightning strikes and the generally dry weather often spark wildfires in summer, while intense thunderstorms can lead to flash flooding, especially in the rugged terrain of southern Utah. Although spring is the wettest season in northern Utah, late summer is the wettest period for much of the south and east of the state. Tornadoes are uncommon in Utah, with an average of two striking the state yearly, rarely higher than EF1 intensity.[http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/img/climate/research/tornado/small/avgt5304.gif Annual Average Number of Tornadoes, 1953–2004] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111016174155/http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/img/climate/research/tornado/small/avgt5304.gif |date=October 16, 2011 }}. NOAA National Climatic Data Center. Retrieved March 20, 2008.

One exception of note, however, was the unprecedented Salt Lake City Tornado that moved directly across downtown Salt Lake City on August 11, 1999. The F2 tornado killed one person, injured 60 others, and caused approximately $170 million in damage;{{cite web |last1=Brough |first1=Clayton |last2=Brown |first2=Dan |last3=James |first3=David |last4=Pope |first4=Dan |last5=Summy |first5=Steve |title=Salt Lake City Tornado - August 11, 1999 |url=http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/slc/climate/tornado.php |website=NOAA |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120614191624/http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/slc/climate/tornado.php |archive-date=June 14, 2012}} it was the second strongest tornado in the state behind an F3 on August 11, 1993, in the Uinta Mountains.{{cite web |last1=Dunn |first1=Larry |last2=Alder |first2=William |last3=McClung |first3=Tim |title=Western Region Technical Attachment No. 94-20: The High Uinta Tornado |url=https://www.weather.gov/media/wrh/online_publications/TAs/ta9420.pdf |website=NOAA |access-date=October 7, 2021 |date=June 21, 1994}} The only other reported tornado fatality in Utah's history was a 7-year-old girl who was killed while camping in Summit County on July 6, 1884.

File:Rocky-mountain-elk.jpg is the Utah state mammal.]]

File:California-gull.jpg is the Utah state bird.]]

{{see also|List of fauna of Utah}}

Utah is home to more than 600 vertebrate animal species{{cite web|url=https://dwrcdc.nr.utah.gov/rsgis2/search/SearchVerts.asp |title=Vertebrate Animals |access-date=May 18, 2017 |publisher=Utah Division of Wildlife Resources |archive-date=May 2, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170502184742/http://dwrcdc.nr.utah.gov/rsgis2/Search/SearchVerts.asp |url-status=dead }} as well as numerous invertebrates and insects.{{cite web|url=https://dwrcdc.nr.utah.gov/rsgis2/search/SearchInverts.asp |title=Insects and Mollusks |access-date=May 18, 2017 |publisher=Utah Division of Wildlife Resources |archive-date=May 25, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170525083953/https://dwrcdc.nr.utah.gov/rsgis2/search/SearchInverts.asp |url-status=dead }}

{{main|List of mammals of Utah}}

Mammals are found in every area of Utah. Non-predatory larger mammals include the plains bison,{{cite web|url=https://digitallibrary.utah.gov/awweb/awarchive?type=file&item=80834|title=American Bison (Bison bison)|date=January 2011|first1=Ron|last1=Stewart|first2=Allen|last2=Nielson|publisher=Utah Division of Wildlife Resources|access-date=December 7, 2020|format=PDF|page=3|archive-date=April 15, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210415033637/https://digitallibrary.utah.gov/awweb/awarchive?type=file&item=80834|url-status=dead}}{{cite web |url=https://dwrcdc.nr.utah.gov/rsgis2/Search/Display.asp?FlNm=bosxbiso |title=American bison |access-date=June 19, 2020 |publisher=Utah Division of Wildlife Resources |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200719222820/https://dwrcdc.nr.utah.gov/rsgis2/Search/Display.asp?FlNm=bosxbiso |archive-date=July 19, 2020 |url-status=live}} elk,{{cite web |url=https://dwrcdc.nr.utah.gov/rsgis2/Search/Display.asp?FlNm=cervelap |title=Elk or Wapati |access-date=June 19, 2020 |publisher=Utah Division of Wildlife Resources |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200719232153/https://dwrcdc.nr.utah.gov/rsgis2/Search/Display.asp?FlNm=cervelap |archive-date=July 19, 2020 |url-status=live}} moose,{{cite web |url=https://nhmu.utah.edu/mammals-wasatch-front |title=Mammals of the Wasatch Front |date=August 29, 2012 |access-date=July 19, 2020 |publisher=Natural History Museum of Utah |archive-date=July 19, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200719175602/https://nhmu.utah.edu/mammals-wasatch-front |url-status=live}} mountain goat, mule deer, pronghorn,{{cite web |url=https://dwrcdc.nr.utah.gov/rsgis2/Search/Display.asp?FlNm=antiamer |title= Pronghorn |access-date=June 19, 2020 |publisher=Utah Division of Wildlife Resources |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200719233459/https://dwrcdc.nr.utah.gov/rsgis2/Search/Display.asp?FlNm=antiamer |archive-date=July 19, 2020 |url-status=live}} and multiple types of bighorn sheep.{{cite web |url=https://dwrcdc.nr.utah.gov/rsgis2/Search/Display.asp?FlNm=oviscaca |title=California bighorn sheep |access-date=June 19, 2020 |publisher=Utah Division of Wildlife Resources |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200719224838/https://dwrcdc.nr.utah.gov/rsgis2/Search/Display.asp?FlNm=oviscaca |archive-date=July 19, 2020 |url-status=live}}{{cite web |url=https://dwrcdc.nr.utah.gov/rsgis2/Search/Display.asp?FlNm=oviscane |title=Desert bighorn sheep |access-date=June 19, 2020 |publisher=Utah Division of Wildlife Resources |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161130062348/http://dwrcdc.nr.utah.gov/rsgis2/Search/Display.asp?FlNm=oviscane |archive-date=November 30, 2016 |url-status=live}}{{cite web |url=https://dwrcdc.nr.utah.gov/rsgis2/Search/Display.asp?FlNm=oviscana |title=Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep |access-date=June 19, 2020 |publisher=Utah Division of Wildlife Resources |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200719233729/https://dwrcdc.nr.utah.gov/rsgis2/Search/Display.asp?FlNm=oviscana |archive-date=July 19, 2020 |url-status=live}} Non-predatory small mammals include muskrat, and nutria.{{cite web |url=https://dwrcdc.nr.utah.gov/rsgis2/Search/Display.asp?FlNm=myoccoyp |title=Nutriap |access-date=March 15, 2021 |publisher=Utah Division of Wildlife Resources |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201030194724/https://dwrcdc.nr.utah.gov/rsgis2/Search/Display.asp?FlNm=myoccoyp |archive-date=October 30, 2020 |url-status=live}} Large and small predatory mammals include the black bear, cougar, Canada lynx,{{cite web |url=https://dwrcdc.nr.utah.gov/rsgis2/Search/Display.asp?FlNm=lynxcana |title=Canada lynx |access-date=June 19, 2020 |publisher=Utah Division of Wildlife Resources |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161130061948/http://dwrcdc.nr.utah.gov/rsgis2/Search/Display.asp?FlNm=lynxcana |archive-date=November 30, 2016 |url-status=live}} bobcat, fox (gray, red, and kit), coyote, badger, black-footed ferret,{{cite web |url=https://dwrcdc.nr.utah.gov/rsgis2/Search/Display.asp?FlNm=mustnigr |title=Black-footed ferret |access-date=June 19, 2020 |publisher=Utah Division of Wildlife Resources |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200719223712/https://dwrcdc.nr.utah.gov/rsgis2/Search/Display.asp?FlNm=mustnigr |archive-date=July 19, 2020 |url-status=live}} mink, stoat, long-tailed weasel, raccoon, and otter.{{cite web|url=http://thelivingplanet.com/discoverutah/|title=Discover Utah|publisher=Loveland Living Planet Aquarium|access-date=May 21, 2017|archive-date=June 11, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170611104801/http://thelivingplanet.com/discoverutah/|url-status=live}}

The brown bear was formerly found within Utah, but has since been extirpated.{{cite web |url=https://dwrcdc.nr.utah.gov/rsgis2/Search/Display.asp?FlNm=ursuarct |title=Brown bear |access-date=June 19, 2020 |publisher=Utah Division of Wildlife Resources |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200719224031/https://dwrcdc.nr.utah.gov/rsgis2/Search/Display.asp?FlNm=ursuarct |archive-date=July 19, 2020 |url-status=live}} There are no confirmed mating pairs of gray wolves in Utah, although there have been sightings in northeastern Utah along the Wyoming border.{{cite web |url=https://dwrcdc.nr.utah.gov/rsgis2/Search/Display.asp?FlNm=canilupu |title=Gray wolf |access-date=June 19, 2020 |publisher=Utah Division of Wildlife Resources |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200719232443/https://dwrcdc.nr.utah.gov/rsgis2/Search/Display.asp?FlNm=canilupu |archive-date=July 19, 2020 |url-status=live}}{{cite web |url=https://www.sltrib.com/news/2020/06/03/gray-wolf-is-utah-first/ |title=A gray wolf is in Utah for the first time in years. The state is setting traps. |first=Zak |last=Podmore |date=June 3, 2020 |work=Salt Lake Tribune |access-date=June 19, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200719233113/https://www.sltrib.com/news/2020/06/03/gray-wolf-is-utah-first/ |archive-date=July 19, 2020 |url-status=live}}

{{main|List of birds of Utah}}

As of January 2020, there were 466 species included in the official list managed by the Utah Bird Records Committee (UBRC).{{cite web|url=http://www.utahbirds.org/checklistUtah.htm |title=Birds of Utah |date=January 2020 |publisher=Utah Birds Records Committee|access-date=July 6, 2020}}{{cite web|url=http://www.utahbirds.org/RecCom/AuxiliaryList.htm |title=Auxiliary Lists |date=May 2017 |publisher=Utah Birds Records Committee|access-date=July 6, 2020}} Of these, 119 are classed as accidental, 29 are classed as occasional, 57 are classed as rare, and 10 have been introduced to Utah or North America. Eleven of the accidental species are also classed as provisional.

Due to the "Miracle of the Gulls" incident in 1848, the most well-known bird in Utah is the California gull, which is also the Utah state bird.{{cite web | url = http://onlinelibrary.utah.gov/research/utah_symbols/bird.html |title = Utah State Bird |access-date = August 11, 2014 | publisher = Utah.gov |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200122135458/http://onlinelibrary.utah.gov/research/utah_symbols/bird.html |archive-date = January 22, 2020 }}{{cite book|title=Birds of the Great Basin|first=Fred A.|last=Ryser|year=1985|location=Reno, NV, US|publisher=University of Nevada Press|page=203|isbn=0-87417-080-X|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bxpXq_hMxfAC&pg=PA203|access-date=August 11, 2014}}{{Dead link|date=February 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} A monument in Salt Lake City commemorates the Miracle of the Gulls. Other gulls common to Utah include Bonaparte's gull,{{cite web|url=https://dwrcdc.nr.utah.gov/rsgis2/search/Display.asp?FlNm=laruphil|title=Larus philadelphia|publisher=Utah Division of Wildlife Resources|access-date=May 29, 2017|archive-date=December 13, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161213230552/http://dwrcdc.nr.utah.gov/rsgis2/Search/Display.asp?FlNm=laruphil|url-status=live}} the ring-billed gull, and Franklin's gull.

Other birds commonly found include the American robin,{{cite web|url=https://dwrcdc.nr.utah.gov/rsgis2/search/Display.asp?FlNm=turdmigr|title=Turdus migratorius|publisher=Utah Division of Wildlife Resources|access-date=May 23, 2017|archive-date=December 13, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161213063241/http://dwrcdc.nr.utah.gov/rsgis2/Search/Display.asp?FlNm=turdmigr|url-status=live}} the common starling, finches (black rosy,{{cite web|url=https://dwrcdc.nr.utah.gov/rsgis2/search/Display.asp?FlNm=leucatra|title=Leucosticte atrata|publisher=Utah Division of Wildlife Resources|access-date=May 29, 2017|archive-date=December 13, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161213135645/http://dwrcdc.nr.utah.gov/rsgis2/Search/Display.asp?FlNm=leucatra|url-status=live}} Cassin's,{{cite web|url=https://dwrcdc.nr.utah.gov/rsgis2/search/Display.asp?FlNm=carpcass|title=Carpodacus cassinii|publisher=Utah Division of Wildlife Resources|access-date=June 24, 2017|archive-date=December 14, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161214041445/http://dwrcdc.nr.utah.gov/rsgis2/Search/Display.asp?FlNm=carpcass|url-status=live}} and goldfinch),{{cite web|url=https://dwrcdc.nr.utah.gov/rsgis2/search/Display.asp?FlNm=cardtris|title=Carduelis tristis|publisher=Utah Division of Wildlife Resources|access-date=May 23, 2017|archive-date=December 13, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161213063147/http://dwrcdc.nr.utah.gov/rsgis2/Search/Display.asp?FlNm=cardtris|url-status=live}} the black-billed magpie,{{cite web|url=https://dwrcdc.nr.utah.gov/rsgis2/search/Display.asp?FlNm=picapica|title=Pica hudsonia|publisher=Utah Division of Wildlife Resources|access-date=May 29, 2017|archive-date=December 13, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161213135802/http://dwrcdc.nr.utah.gov/rsgis2/Search/Display.asp?FlNm=picapica|url-status=live}} mourning doves,{{Cite web |title=Two Doves |url=https://www.alpinenaturecenter.org/two-doves.html |access-date=2023-09-29 |website=ALPINE NATURE CENTER |language=en}} sparrows (house, tree,{{cite web|url=https://dwrcdc.nr.utah.gov/rsgis2/search/Display.asp?FlNm=spizarbo|title=Spizella arborea|publisher=Utah Division of Wildlife Resources|access-date=May 23, 2017|archive-date=December 13, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161213063257/http://dwrcdc.nr.utah.gov/rsgis2/Search/Display.asp?FlNm=spizarbo|url-status=live}} black-chinned,{{cite web|url=https://dwrcdc.nr.utah.gov/rsgis2/search/Display.asp?FlNm=spizatro|title=Spizella atrogularis|publisher=Utah Division of Wildlife Resources|access-date=May 29, 2017|archive-date=December 13, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161213140048/http://dwrcdc.nr.utah.gov/rsgis2/Search/Display.asp?FlNm=spizatro|url-status=live}} black-throated,{{cite web|url=https://dwrcdc.nr.utah.gov/rsgis2/search/Display.asp?FlNm=amphbili|title=Amphispiza bilineata|publisher=Utah Division of Wildlife Resources|access-date=May 29, 2017|archive-date=December 13, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161213140215/http://dwrcdc.nr.utah.gov/rsgis2/Search/Display.asp?FlNm=amphbili|url-status=live}} Brewer's,{{cite web|url=https://dwrcdc.nr.utah.gov/rsgis2/search/Display.asp?FlNm=spizbrew|title=Spizella breweri|publisher=Utah Division of Wildlife Resources|access-date=May 29, 2017|archive-date=December 13, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161213230653/http://dwrcdc.nr.utah.gov/rsgis2/Search/Display.asp?FlNm=spizbrew|url-status=live}} and chipping),{{cite web|url=https://dwrcdc.nr.utah.gov/rsgis2/search/Display.asp?FlNm=spizpass|title=Spizella passerina|publisher=Utah Division of Wildlife Resources|access-date=June 24, 2017|archive-date=December 15, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161215221910/http://dwrcdc.nr.utah.gov/rsgis2/Search/Display.asp?FlNm=spizpass|url-status=live}} Clark's grebe,{{cite web|url=https://dwrcdc.nr.utah.gov/rsgis2/search/Display.asp?FlNm=aechclar|title=Aechmophorus clarki|publisher=Utah Division of Wildlife Resources|access-date=June 24, 2017|archive-date=December 15, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161215222007/http://dwrcdc.nr.utah.gov/rsgis2/Search/Display.asp?FlNm=aechclar|url-status=live}} the ferruginous hawk, geese (snow, cackling,{{cite web|url=https://dwrcdc.nr.utah.gov/rsgis2/search/Display.asp?FlNm=branhutc|title=Branta hutchinsii|publisher=Utah Division of Wildlife Resources|access-date=May 29, 2017|archive-date=December 14, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161214041153/http://dwrcdc.nr.utah.gov/rsgis2/Search/Display.asp?FlNm=branhutc|url-status=live}} and Canada),{{cite web|url=https://dwrcdc.nr.utah.gov/rsgis2/search/Display.asp?FlNm=brancana|title=Branta canadensis|publisher=Utah Division of Wildlife Resources|access-date=May 29, 2017|archive-date=December 14, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161214041249/http://dwrcdc.nr.utah.gov/rsgis2/Search/Display.asp?FlNm=brancana|url-status=live}} eagles (golden and bald),{{cite web|url=https://dwrcdc.nr.utah.gov/rsgis2/search/Display.asp?FlNm=halileuc|title=Haliaeetus leucocephalus|publisher=Utah Division of Wildlife Resources|access-date=May 23, 2017|archive-date=December 13, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161213063713/http://dwrcdc.nr.utah.gov/rsgis2/Search/Display.asp?FlNm=halileuc|url-status=live}} California quail,{{cite web|url=https://dwrcdc.nr.utah.gov/rsgis2/search/Display.asp?FlNm=callcali|title=Callipepla californica|publisher=Utah Division of Wildlife Resources|access-date=May 29, 2017|archive-date=December 14, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161214041235/http://dwrcdc.nr.utah.gov/rsgis2/Search/Display.asp?FlNm=callcali|url-status=live}} mountain bluebird, and hummingbirds (calliope,{{cite web|url=https://dwrcdc.nr.utah.gov/rsgis2/search/Display.asp?FlNm=stelcall|title=Stellula calliope|publisher=Utah Division of Wildlife Resources|access-date=May 29, 2017|archive-date=December 14, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161214041242/http://dwrcdc.nr.utah.gov/rsgis2/Search/Display.asp?FlNm=stelcall|url-status=live}} black-chinned,{{cite web|url=https://dwrcdc.nr.utah.gov/rsgis2/search/Display.asp?FlNm=archalex|title=Archilochus alexandri|publisher=Utah Division of Wildlife Resources|access-date=May 29, 2017|archive-date=December 13, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161213135843/http://dwrcdc.nr.utah.gov/rsgis2/Search/Display.asp?FlNm=archalex|url-status=live}} and broad-tailed).{{cite web|url=https://dwrcdc.nr.utah.gov/rsgis2/search/Display.asp?FlNm=selaplat|title=Selasphorus platycercus|publisher=Utah Division of Wildlife Resources|access-date=May 29, 2017|archive-date=December 14, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161214040937/http://dwrcdc.nr.utah.gov/rsgis2/Search/Display.asp?FlNm=selaplat|url-status=live}}

File:Latrodectus hesperus (F Theridiidae).jpg

{{main|List of arachnids of Utah|List of butterflies and moths of Utah|List of mollusks of Utah}}

Utah is host to a wide variety of arachnids, insects, mollusks, and other invertebrates. Arachnids include the Arizona bark scorpion,{{cite web|url=http://extension.usu.edu/files/publications/factsheet/ENT-68-08.pdf|title=Utah Pests Fact Sheet: Scorpions|publisher=Utah State University Extension Service|access-date=May 22, 2017|archive-date=May 22, 2017|archive-url=https://www.webcitation.org/6qe6jAaLp?url=http://digitalcommons.usu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1947|url-status=live}} Western black widow spiders,{{cite web|url=https://nhmu.utah.edu/bugs-utah|title=Bugs of Utah|publisher=Natural History Museum of Utah|access-date=May 20, 2017|archive-date=July 1, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170701201747/https://nhmu.utah.edu/bugs-utah|url-status=live}} crab spiders,{{cite web|url=http://aces.nmsu.edu/academics/spiders/entelegynes3.html|title=The Spiders of the Arid Southwest - Taxonomic Section - Entelegynae (page 3)|publisher=New Mexico State University College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences|access-date=May 22, 2017|archive-date=November 26, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161126145033/http://aces.nmsu.edu/academics/spiders/entelegynes3.html|url-status=live}} hobo spiders (Tegenaria agrestis),{{cite web|url=http://utahpests.usu.edu/uppdl/htm/top-20-arachnids|title=Top 20 Arachnids|publisher=Utah State University Extension Service|access-date=May 22, 2017|archive-date=May 21, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170521052156/http://utahpests.usu.edu/uppdl/htm/top-20-arachnids|url-status=live}} cellar spiders, American grass spiders, woodlouse spiders. Several spiders found in Utah are often mistaken for the brown recluse spider, including the desert recluse spider (found only in Washington County), the cellar spider, and crevice weaving spiders.{{cite web |url=https://extension.usu.edu/pests/uppdl/top-20-arachnids |title=Top 20 Arachnids |publisher=Utah State University Extension Office |access-date=March 15, 2021 |archive-date=November 29, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201129051733/https://extension.usu.edu/pests/uppdl/top-20-arachnids |url-status=live }}{{cite news |url=https://www.ksl.com/article/36882486/5-of-the-most-common-spiders-in-utah |title=5 of the most common spiders in Utah |date=October 10, 2015 |first=Natalie |last=Crofts |work=KSL-TV |access-date=March 15, 2021 |archive-date=March 16, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210316004147/https://www.ksl.com/article/36882486/5-of-the-most-common-spiders-in-utah |url-status=live }}{{cite web |url=https://www.deseret.com/1992/11/25/19018756/arachnophobia-or-not-utahns-should-look-upon-spiders-as-friends |title=Arachnophobia or not, Utahns should look upon spiders as friends |date=November 25, 1992 |first=Larry A. |last=Sagers |work=Deseret News |access-date=March 15, 2021 |archive-date=March 16, 2021 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20210316004511/https://www.deseret.com/1992/11/25/19018756/arachnophobia-or-not-utahns-should-look-upon-spiders-as-friends |url-status=live }} The brown recluse spider has not been officially confirmed in Utah {{as of|2020|06|alt=as of summer 2020}}.{{cite web |url=https://extension.usu.edu/pests/files/up-newsletter/2020/UtahPestsNews-summer20.pdf |title=Murder Hornet Madness |date=2020 |issue=Summer |quote=And finally, false reports of brown recluse spiders incite fear in Utah residents (only the desert recluse spider, found in Washington County, exists in Utah). |page=7 |publisher=Utah State University Extension Office |access-date=March 15, 2021 |archive-date=January 15, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210115151806/https://extension.usu.edu/pests/files/up-newsletter/2020/UtahPestsNews-summer20.pdf |url-status=live }}

One of the rarest insects in Utah is the Coral Pink Sand Dunes tiger beetle, found only in Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park, near Kanab.{{cite web|url=https://ecos.fws.gov/ecp0/profile/speciesProfile?spcode=I0EW |title=Species Profile for Coral Pink Sand Dunes tiger beetle (Cicindela albissima) |publisher=United States Fish and Wildlife Service |access-date=May 18, 2017 |archive-date=May 25, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170525081829/https://ecos.fws.gov/ecp0/profile/speciesProfile?spcode=I0EW |url-status=dead }} It was proposed in 2012 to be listed as a threatened species,{{cite web|url=https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2012-10-02/pdf/2012-23741.pdf |title=Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Proposed Threatened Status for Coral Pink Sand Dunes Tiger Beetle and Designation of Critical Habitat; Proposed Rule |date=October 2, 2012 |access-date=May 18, 2017 |publisher=National Archives and Records Administration |archive-date=May 25, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170525081830/https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2012-10-02/pdf/2012-23741.pdf |url-status=dead }} but the proposal was not accepted.{{cite web|url=https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2013-10-02/pdf/2013-23165.pdf |title=Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Withdrawal of the Proposed Rule To List Coral Pink Sand Dunes Tiger Beetle and Designate Critical Habitat; Proposed Rule |date=October 2, 2013 |access-date=May 18, 2017 |publisher=National Archives and Records Administration |archive-date=May 6, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170506184803/https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2013-10-02/pdf/2013-23165.pdf |url-status=dead }} Other insects include grasshoppers,{{cite web|url=http://vegetableguide.usu.edu/insects/cucurbits-melon/grasshoppers|title=Grasshoppers|publisher=Utah State University Extension Services|access-date=May 22, 2017|archive-date=November 6, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181106154353/http://vegetableguide.usu.edu/insects/cucurbits-melon/grasshoppers|url-status=live}} green stink bugs,{{cite web|url=http://vegetableguide.usu.edu/insects/tomato-pepper-eggplant/stink-bugs|title=Stink Bugs|publisher=Utah State University Extension Service|access-date=May 22, 2017|archive-date=November 6, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181106154439/http://vegetableguide.usu.edu/insects/tomato-pepper-eggplant/stink-bugs|url-status=live}} the Army cutworm,{{cite web|url=http://vegetableguide.usu.edu/insects/potato/cutworms|title=Cutworms|publisher=Utah State University Extension Services|access-date=May 22, 2017|archive-date=November 6, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181106154408/http://vegetableguide.usu.edu/insects/potato/cutworms|url-status=live}} the monarch butterfly,{{cite web|url=http://www.thebutterflysite.com/utah-butterflies.shtml|title=List of Butterflies of Utah|publisher=The Butterfly Site|access-date=May 20, 2017|archive-date=June 15, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170615131854/http://www.thebutterflysite.com/utah-butterflies.shtml|url-status=live}} and Mormon fritillary butterfly. The white-lined sphinx moth is common to most of the United States, but there have been reported outbreaks of large groups of their larvae damaging tomato, grape and garden crops in Utah.{{Cite web|url=https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species/Hyles-lineata|title=White-lined Sphinx Hyles lineata (Fabricius, 1775) {{!}} Butterflies and Moths of North America|website=www.butterfliesandmoths.org|language=en|access-date=November 14, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170821125506/https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species/Hyles-lineata|archive-date=August 21, 2017|url-status=live}} Four or five species of firefly are also found across the state.{{cite web|url=https://www.heraldextra.com/news/local/south/spanish-fork/spanish-fork-resident-shows-off-fireflies-for-community/article_ec3dfc61-d033-559b-8889-34b8e2caeca1.html |title=Spanish Fork resident shows off fireflies for community |first=Katie |last=England |date=June 10, 2018 |work=The Daily Herald |access-date=March 15, 2021 |archive-date=June 12, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612203739/https://www.heraldextra.com/news/local/south/spanish-fork/spanish-fork-resident-shows-off-fireflies-for-community/article_ec3dfc61-d033-559b-8889-34b8e2caeca1.html |url-status=live }}

In February 2009, Africanized honeybees were found in southern Utah.[http://www.oregonlive.com/environment/index.ssf/2009/02/africanized_bees_found_in_utah.html African bees found in Utah for the first time] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160912145440/http://www.oregonlive.com/environment/index.ssf/2009/02/africanized_bees_found_in_utah.html |date=September 12, 2016 }}. Associated Press. February 12, 2009{{cite web |url=http://ag.utah.gov/news/africanmainpage.html |title=Utah Department of Agriculture and Food |publisher=Ag.utah.gov |access-date=October 19, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101020154420/http://ag.utah.gov/news/africanmainpage.html |archive-date=October 20, 2010 |url-status=dead }} The bees had spread into eight counties in Utah, as far north as Grand and Emery counties by May 2017.{{cite news |url=http://www.ksl.com/?sid=44294722&nid=148&title=killer-bees-now-documented-in-8-utah-counties |title=Killer bees now documented in 8 Utah counties |date=May 18, 2017 |first=Becky |last=Wright |work=KSL-TV |access-date=May 18, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170520212841/http://www.ksl.com/?sid=44294722&nid=148&title=killer-bees-now-documented-in-8-utah-counties |archive-date=May 20, 2017}}

{{main|List of flora of Utah}}

File:FallPando02.jpg, considered one of the heaviest and oldest organisms on Earth.{{cite journal |last1=Mitton |first1=Jeffry B. |last2=Grant |first2=Michael C. |title=Genetic Variation and the Natural History of Quaking Aspen |journal=BioScience |date=1996 |volume=46 |issue=1 |pages=25–31 |doi=10.2307/1312652 |doi-access=free |jstor=1312652 | issn = 0006-3568 }}{{Cite journal|last1=Mock|first1=K. E.|last2=Rowe|first2=C. A.|last3=Hooten|first3=M. B.|last4=Dewoody|first4=J.|last5=Hipkins|first5=V. D.|date=November 2008|title=Clonal dynamics in western North American aspen (Populus tremuloides)|journal=Molecular Ecology|language=en|volume=17|issue=22|pages=4827–4844|doi=10.1111/j.1365-294X.2008.03963.x|pmid=19140975|bibcode=2008MolEc..17.4827M |s2cid=1425039}}]]

File:Mojave2.jpg, yuccas, and cholla cactus occupy the far southwest corner of the state in the Mojave Desert]]

Several thousand plants are native to Utah,{{cite web|url=https://dwrcdc.nr.utah.gov/rsgis2/search/SearchSelection.asp?Group=PLANT&Species=PLANT |title=Plants |access-date=May 18, 2017 |publisher=Utah Division of Wildlife Resources |archive-date=May 25, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170525085006/https://dwrcdc.nr.utah.gov/rsgis2/search/SearchSelection.asp?Group=PLANT&Species=PLANT |url-status=dead }} including a variety of trees, shrubs, cacti, herbaceous plants, and grasses. {{As of|2018}}, there are 3,930 species of plants in Utah, with 3,128 of those being indigenous and 792 being introduced through various means.{{cite web |url=https://www.sltrib.com/news/environment/2018/05/07/how-a-waterwise-ornamental-plant-has-taken-over-wasatch-foothills/ |title=How a 'waterwise' ornamental plant has taken over Wasatch foothills |first=Brian |last=Maffly |date=May 7, 2018 |access-date=July 21, 2020 |work=Salt Lake Tribune |archive-date=July 21, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200721220511/https://www.sltrib.com/news/environment/2018/05/07/how-a-waterwise-ornamental-plant-has-taken-over-wasatch-foothills/ |url-status=live}}

Common trees include pines/piñons (white fir, Colorado, single-leaf, Great Basin bristlecone, ponderosa, Engelmann spruce, Rocky Mountain white), and Acer grandidentatum, quaking aspen, bigtooth maple, Utah juniper, speckled alder, red birch, Gambel oak, desert willow, blue spruce, and Joshua trees. Utah has a number of named trees, including the Jardine Juniper, Pando, and the Thousand Mile Tree. Shrubs include a number of different ephedras (pitamoreal, Navajo, Arizona, Nevada, Torrey's jointfir, and green Mormon tea), sagebrushes (little, Bigelow, silver, Michaux's wormwood, black, pygmy, bud, and Great Basin), blue elderberry, Utah serviceberry, chokecherry, and skunkbush sumac. Western poison oak, poison sumac, and western poison ivy are all found in Utah.{{cite web|url=https://healthcare.utah.edu/healthfeed/postings/2014/07/070214_poisonous-plants.php|title=Protect Yourself From Poisonous Plants|author=University of Utah Health Office of Public Affairs|date=July 1, 2014|access-date=March 15, 2021|archive-date=October 3, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161003034708/https://healthcare.utah.edu/healthfeed/postings/2014/07/070214_poisonous-plants.php|url-status=live}}

There are many varieties of cacti in Utah's varied deserts, especially in the southern and western parts of the state. Some of these include desert prickly pear, California barrel cactus, fishhook cactus, cholla, beavertail prickly pear, and Uinta Basin hookless cactus. Despite the desert climate, many different grasses are found in Utah, including Mormon needlegrass, bluebunch wheatgrass, western alkali grass, squirreltail, desert saltgrass, and cheatgrass.

Several invasive species of plants are considered noxious weeds by the state, including Bermuda grass, field bindweed, henbane, jointed goatgrass, Canada thistle, Balkan and common toadflax, giant cane, couch grass, St. John's wort, hemlock, sword grass, Russian olive, myrtle spurge, Japanese knotweed, salt cedar, and goat's head.{{cite web |url=https://ag.utah.gov/farmers/plants-industry/noxious-weed-control-resources/state-of-utah-noxious-weed-list/ |title=State of Utah Noxious Weed List |date=June 6, 2019 |access-date=July 21, 2020 |publisher=Utah Department of Agriculture and Food |archive-date=January 22, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200122094445/https://ag.utah.gov/farmers/plants-industry/noxious-weed-control-resources/state-of-utah-noxious-weed-list/ |url-status=live}}

{{Main|Demographics of Utah}}

File:Utah Sign during RAAM 2015 by D Ramey Logan.jpg

At the 2020 U.S. census, Utah had a population of 3,271,616. The U.S. Census Bureau estimated that the population of Utah was 3,205,958 on July 1, 2019, a 16.00% increase since the 2010 U.S. census.{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/ut,US/PST045218|title=QuickFacts Utah; UNITED STATES|website=2019 Population Estimates|publisher=United States Census Bureau, Population Division|date=February 26, 2019|access-date=February 26, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190111055013/https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/ut,US/PST045218|archive-date=January 11, 2019|url-status=live}} The center of population of Utah is located in Utah County in the city of Lehi.{{cite web|title=Population and Population Centers by State |year=2000 |publisher=United States Census Bureau |access-date=December 6, 2008 |url=https://www.census.gov/geo/www/cenpop/statecenters.txt |url-status=dead |archive-url=http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20080918020344/http://www.census.gov/geo/www/cenpop/statecenters.txt |archive-date=September 18, 2008 }} Much of the population lives in cities and towns along the Wasatch Front, a metropolitan region that runs north–south with the Wasatch Mountains rising on the eastern side. Growth outside the Wasatch Front is also increasing. The St. George metropolitan area is currently the second fastest-growing in the country after the Las Vegas metropolitan area, while the Heber micropolitan area is also the second fastest-growing in the country (behind Palm Coast, Florida).{{Cite news |first= Deborah |last= Bulkeley |date= September 22, 2005 |url= http://www.deseretnews.com/article/610152931/St-George-growth-2nd-fastest-in-US.html |title= St. George growth 2nd fastest in US |newspaper= Deseret Morning News |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20141104181451/http://www.deseretnews.com/article/610152931/St-George-growth-2nd-fastest-in-US.html |archive-date= November 4, 2014 |url-status=dead }}

Utah contains five metropolitan areas (Logan, Ogden-Clearfield, Salt Lake City, Provo-Orem, and St. George), and six micropolitan areas (Brigham City, Heber, Vernal, Price, Richfield, and Cedar City).

According to HUD's 2022 Annual Homeless Assessment Report, there were an estimated 3,557 homeless people in Utah.{{Cite web |title=2007-2022 PIT Counts by State |url=https://view.officeapps.live.com/op/view.aspx?src=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.huduser.gov%2Fportal%2Fsites%2Fdefault%2Ffiles%2Fxls%2F2007-2022-PIT-Counts-by-State.xlsx&wdOrigin=BROWSELINK}}{{Cite web |title=The 2022 Annual Homelessness Assessment Report (AHAR) to Congress |url=https://www.huduser.gov/portal/sites/default/files/pdf/2022-AHAR-Part-1.pdf}}

The majority of Utah's immigrants come from Mexico.{{Cite web | url=https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/sites/default/files/research/new_americans_in_utah.pdf | title=New Americans in Utah | website=www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org}}{{cite web | url=https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/research/immigrants-in-utah | title=Immigrants in Utah | date=May 2015 }}

{{main|Healthcare in Utah}}

Utah ranks among the highest in total fertility rate, 47th in teenage pregnancy, lowest in percentage of births out of wedlock, lowest in number of abortions per capita, and lowest in percentage of teen pregnancies terminated in abortion. However, statistics relating to pregnancies and abortions may also be artificially low from teenagers going out of state for abortions because of parental notification requirements.{{cite web | url = http://www.agi-usa.org/pubs/journals/2911597.html | title = Teenage Abortion and Pregnancy Statistics by State, 1992 | publisher = AGI | place = United States | date = May 30, 1997 | access-date = July 31, 2010 | url-status=dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20060302092337/http://www.agi-usa.org/pubs/journals/2911597.html | archive-date = March 2, 2006 | df = mdy-all }}{{cite web|url=http://www.agi-usa.org/pubs/ib22.html |title=Contraception Counts: State-by-State Information |publisher=AGI |place=US |access-date=July 31, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080517160052/http://www.agi-usa.org/pubs/ib22.html |archive-date=May 17, 2008 }} Utah has the lowest child poverty rate in the country, despite its young demographics.{{cite web |url=http://www.adherents.com/largecom/lds_dem.html |title=Sampling of Latter-day Saint/Utah Demographics and Social Statistics from National Sources |publisher=Adherents.com |access-date=July 31, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100508230001/http://www.adherents.com/largecom/lds_dem.html |archive-date=May 8, 2010 |url-status=usurped }} According to the Gallup-Healthways Global Well-Being Index {{as of|2012|lc=y}}, Utahns ranked fourth in overall well-being in the United States.{{Cite news | title = Fourth year Hawai'i no wellbeing last | work= Gallup | url = http://www.gallup.com/poll/160730/fourth-year-hawaii-no-wellbeing-last.aspx | access-date = August 15, 2013 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130730155212/http://www.gallup.com/poll/160730/fourth-year-hawaii-no-wellbeing-last.aspx | archive-date = July 30, 2013 | url-status = live }} A 2002 national prescription drug study determined that antidepressant drugs were "prescribed in Utah more often than in any other state, at a rate nearly twice the national average".{{Cite news| url = https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2002-feb-20-mn-28924-story.html| title = Study Finds Utah Leads Nation in Antidepressant Use| newspaper = Los Angeles Times| date = February 20, 2002| access-date = July 12, 2013| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20131021201158/http://articles.latimes.com/2002/feb/20/news/mn-28924| archive-date = October 21, 2013| url-status = live}} The data shows that depression rates in Utah are no higher than the national average.{{Cite journal |url= https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5938a2.htm |title= Current Depression Among Adults, United States, 2006 and 2008 |journal= Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report |volume= 59 |issue= 38 |pages= 1229–1235 |author1= O Gonzalez |author2= JT Berry |date= October 1, 2010 |pmid= 20881934 |display-authors= etal |access-date= September 17, 2017 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20170902150316/https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5938a2.htm |archive-date= September 2, 2017 |url-status= live }} In 2022, Utah had the lowest percent of births to unmarried women of any US state, at 20.3 percent.{{cite web | title = Percent of Babies Born to Unmarried Mothers by State | date = February 24, 2022 | publisher = U.S. Department of Health & Human Services | url = https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/pressroom/sosmap/unmarried/unmarried.htm | accessdate = September 21, 2024}}

{{US Census population

| 1850 = 11380

| 1860 = 40273

| 1870 = 86336

| 1880 = 143963

| 1890 = 210779

| 1900 = 276749

| 1910 = 373351

| 1920 = 449396

| 1930 = 507847

| 1940 = 550310

| 1950 = 688862

| 1960 = 890627

| 1970 = 1059273

| 1980 = 1461037

| 1990 = 1722850

| 2000 = 2233169

| 2010 = 2763885

| 2020 = 3271616

| estimate = 3503613

| estref = {{Cite web |title=QuickFacts: Utah |url=https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/UT | website=Census.gov | publisher=United States Census Bureau |access-date=December 21, 2024}}

| estyear = 2024

| align-fn = center

| footnote = Source: 1910–2020{{cite web |title=Historical Population Change Data (1910–2020) |url=https://www.census.gov/data/tables/time-series/dec/popchange-data-text.html |website=Census.gov |publisher=United States Census Bureau |access-date=May 1, 2021 |archive-date=April 29, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210429012609/https://www.census.gov/data/tables/time-series/dec/popchange-data-text.html |url-status=dead }}

}}

{| class="wikitable sortable collapsible" ; text-align:right; font-size:80%;"

|+ style="font-size:90%" |Ethnic composition as of the 2020 census

|-

! Race and Ethnicity{{cite web |url=https://www.census.gov/library/visualizations/interactive/race-and-ethnicity-in-the-united-state-2010-and-2020-census.html |title=Race and Ethnicity in the United States: 2010 Census and 2020 Census

|author= |date=August 12, 2021 |website=census.gov |publisher=United States Census Bureau |access-date=2021-09-26}}

! colspan="2" data-sort-type="number" |Alone

! colspan="2" data-sort-type="number" |Total

|-

| White (non-Hispanic)

|align=right| {{bartable|75.3|%|2||background:gray}}

|align=right| {{bartable|78.9|%|2||background:gray}}

|-

| Hispanic or Latino{{efn|Persons of Hispanic or Latino origin are not distinguished between total and partial ancestry.}}

|align=right| {{bartable}}

|align=right| {{bartable|15.1|%|2||background:green}}

|-

| Asian

|align=right| {{bartable|2.4|%|2||background:purple}}

|align=right| {{bartable|3.6|%|2||background:purple}}

|-

| African American (non-Hispanic)

|align=right| {{bartable|1.1|%|2||background:mediumblue}}

|align=right| {{bartable|1.8|%|2||background:mediumblue}}

|-

| Pacific Islander

|align=right| {{bartable|1.1|%|2||background:pink}}

|align=right| {{bartable|1.7|%|2||background:pink}}

|-

| Native American

|align=right| {{bartable|0.9|%|2||background:gold}}

|align=right| {{bartable|1.8|%|2||background:gold}}

|-

| Other

|align=right| {{bartable|0.4|%|2||background:brown}}

|align=right| {{bartable|1.1|%|2||background:brown}}

|}

[[File:Utah counties by race.svg|thumb|227x227px|Map of counties in Utah by racial plurality, per the 2020 US Census{{Collapsible list

| title = Legend|{{col-begin}}{{col-3}}

Non-Hispanic White

{{legend|#a61c00|60–70%}}

{{legend|#85200c|70–80%}}

{{legend|#5b0f00|80–90%}}

{{legend|#410b00|90%+}}

{{col-3}}

Native American

{{legend|#93c47d|50–60%}}

{{col-end}}

}}]]

{| class="wikitable sortable collapsible" style="font-size: 90%;"

|+ Historical racial demographics

|-

! Racial composition !! 1970 !! 1990{{cite web |last1=Gibson |first1=Campbell |last2=Jung |first2=Kay |date=September 2002 |url=https://www.census.gov/population/www/documentation/twps0056/twps0056.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080725044857/http://www.census.gov/population/www/documentation/twps0056/twps0056.html|archive-date=July 25, 2008 |title=Historical Census Statistics on Population Totals By Race, 1790 to 1990, and By Hispanic Origin, 1970 to 1990, For The United States, Regions, Divisions, and States |at=Section: "Utah—Race and Hispanic Origin: 1850 to 1990"|publisher=United States Census Bureau}}!! 2000{{Cite web|url=http://censusviewer.com/state/UT|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160323174952/http://censusviewer.com/state/UT|url-status=dead|title=Population of Utah: Census 2010 and 2000 Interactive Map, Demographics, Statistics, Quick Facts|archivedate=March 23, 2016}}!! 2010{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census/decade.2010.html|title=2010 Census Data|publisher=United States Census Bureau. census.gov|access-date=November 7, 2015}} Search "Utah" in "2010 Census Demographic Profiles" (via [https://www.census.gov U.S. Census website]), or in "[https://www.census.gov/geo/maps-data/maps/thematic.html 2010 Census Population Profiles Maps—Population Profiles] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170723110759/https://www.census.gov/geo/maps-data/maps/thematic.html |date=July 23, 2017 }}". !! 2020

|-

| White (non-Hispanic) || 97.4% || 93.8% || 89.2% || 86.1% || 75.3%

|-

| Hispanic (of any race) || 4.1% || 4.9% || 9.0% || 13.0% || 15.1%

|-

| Asian || 0.6% || 1.9% || 1.7% || 2.0% || 2.4%

|-

| Native (non-Hispanic) || 1.1% || 1.4% || 1.3% || 1.2% || 0.9%

|-

| Black (non-Hispanic) || 0.6% || 0.7% || 0.8% || 1.0% || 1.1%

|-

| Native Hawaiian and
other Pacific Islander || – || – || 0.7% || 0.9% || 1.1%

|-

| Other race || 0.2% || 2.2% || 4.2% || 6.0% || 0.4%

|-

| Two or more races || – || – || 2.1% || 2.7% || 3.7%

|}

The largest ancestry groups in the state are:

• 26.0% English
• 11.9% German
• 11.8% Scandinavian (5.4% Danish, 4.0% Swedish, 2.4% Norwegian)
• 9.0% Mexican
• 6.6% American
• 6.2% Irish
• 4.6% Scottish
• 2.7% Italian
• 2.4% Dutch
• 2.2% French
• 2.2% Welsh
• 1.4% Scotch Irish
• 1.3% Swiss

In 2011, 28.6% of Utah's population younger than the age of one were ethnic minorities, meaning they had at least one parent who was of a race other than non-Hispanic white.{{cite news|url= http://www.cleveland.com/datacentral/index.ssf/2012/06/americas_under_age_1_populatio.html|title= Americans under age 1 now mostly minorities, but not in Ohio: Statistical Snapshot|last= Exner|first= Rich|date= June 3, 2012|website= The Plain Dealer|access-date= August 16, 2012|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160714084214/http://www.cleveland.com/datacentral/index.ssf/2012/06/americas_under_age_1_populatio.html|archive-date= July 14, 2016|url-status= live}}

{{Further|Demographics of Utah#Religion}}

{{see also|The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Utah}}

{{bar box

|title = Religion in Utah {{as of|2014|lc=y}}{{cite web|url=http://www.pewforum.org/religious-landscape-study/state/utah/|title=Religious Landscape Study|date=May 11, 2015|access-date=October 5, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171005201915/http://www.pewforum.org/religious-landscape-study/state/utah/|archive-date=October 5, 2017|url-status=live}}

|titlebar=#ddd |left1=Religion |right1=Percent |float=left

|bars =

{{bar percent|Mormonism/Latter-day Saints|red|55}}

{{bar percent|Unaffiliated|Grey|22}}

{{bar percent|Protestant|Blue|13}}

{{bar percent|Catholic|DarkOrchid|5}}

{{bar percent|Other faiths|grey|2}}

{{bar percent|Buddhist|yellow|1}}

{{bar percent|Muslim|green|1}}

}}

File:Salt Lake LDS Temple.jpg, the primary attraction in the city's Temple Square]]

File:First Presbyterian.jpg in Salt Lake City]]

File:Festival of Colors at the Krishna Temple near Spanish Fork, Utah 2012.jpg]]

Mormons are the largest religious group in Utah. However, the percentage of Mormons in the overall population has been decreasing. In 2017, 62.8% of Utahns were members of the LDS Church.{{Cite news |last=Canham |first=Matt |date=July 16, 2017 |title=Salt Lake County is becoming less Mormon—Utah County is headed in the other direction |url=https://archive.sltrib.com/article.php?id=5403049&itype=CMSID |access-date=February 12, 2020}}{{cite news |last=Canham |first=Matt |date=November 18, 2007 |title=Utah less LDS than ever |url=https://archive.sltrib.com/article.php?id=7496034&itype=NGPSID |work=The Salt Lake Tribune |access-date=February 12, 2020}} This declined to 61.2% in 2018{{Cite web|url=https://www.sltrib.com/religion/2018/12/09/salt-lake-county-is-now/|title=Salt Lake County is now minority Mormon, and the impacts are far reaching|website=The Salt Lake Tribune|language=en-US|access-date=December 29, 2019}} and to 60.7% in 2019.{{Cite web|url=https://www.sltrib.com/religion/2020/01/05/utah-sees-latter-day/|title=Utah sees Latter-day Saint slowdown and membership numbers drop in Salt Lake County|website=The Salt Lake Tribune|language=en-US|access-date=April 3, 2020}} Members of the LDS Church are 34%–41% of the people of Salt Lake City. Many of the other major population centers, such as Provo, Logan, Tooele, and St. George, are each mostly LDS, as are many suburban and rural areas. The LDS Church has the largest number of congregations, numbering 4,815 wards.{{cite web |url= https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/facts-and-statistics/country/united-states/state/utah |title= Facts and Statistics USA-Utah |website= Mormon newsroom |publisher= LDS |access-date= May 8, 2012 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20190630090051/https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/facts-and-statistics/country/united-states/state/utah |archive-date= June 30, 2019 |url-status= live }} According to results from the 2010 U.S. census, combined with official LDS Church membership statistics, church members represented 62.1% of Utah's total population. The Utah county with the lowest percentage of church members was Grand County, at 26.5%, while the county with the highest percentage was Morgan County, at 86.1%. In addition, the result for the most populated county, Salt Lake County, was 51.4%.

Though the LDS Church officially maintains a policy of neutrality in regard to political parties, the church's doctrine has a strong regional influence on politics.{{cite web|url=http://www.nd.edu/~dcampbe4/DRY%20KINDLING.pdf |title=Dry Kindling: A Political Profile of American Mormons |first1=David E |last1=Campbell |first2=J Quin |last2=Monson |website=From Pews to Polling Places: Faith and Politics in the American Religious Mosaic |publisher=Georgetown University Press |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121015092621/http://www.nd.edu/~dcampbe4/DRY%20KINDLING.pdf |archive-date=October 15, 2012 }} Another doctrine effect can be seen in Utah's high birth rate (25 percent higher than the national average; the highest for a state in the U.S.).{{Cite news |url= http://www.deseretnews.com/article/700251966/Utahs-birthrate-highest-in-US.html?pg=all |title= Utah's birthrate highest in US |last= Davidson |first= Lee |newspaper= Deseret News |date= August 19, 2008 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20141104181633/http://www.deseretnews.com/article/700251966/Utahs-birthrate-highest-in-US.html?pg=all |archive-date= November 4, 2014 |url-status=dead }} Mormons in Utah tend to have conservative views when it comes to most political issues and the majority of voter-age Utahns are unaffiliated voters (60%) who vote overwhelmingly Republican.{{cite news |url= http://www.deseretnews.com/article/695247764/Utah-voters-shun-labels.html?pg=all |newspaper= Deseret Morning News |title= Utah Voters Shun Labels |first= Lee |last= Davidson |date= January 28, 2008 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20141104181931/http://www.deseretnews.com/article/695247764/Utah-voters-shun-labels.html?pg=all |archive-date= November 4, 2014 |url-status=dead }} Mitt Romney received 72.8% of the Utahn votes in 2012, while John McCain polled 62.5% in the 2008 United States presidential election and 70.9% for George W. Bush in 2004. In 2010 the Association of Religion Data Archives (ARDA) reported that the three largest denominational groups in Utah are the LDS Church with 1,910,504 adherents; the Catholic Church with 160,125 adherents, and the Southern Baptist Convention with 12,593 adherents.{{cite web |url=http://www.thearda.com/rcms2010/r/s/49/rcms2010_49_state_adh_2010.asp |title=The Association of Religion Data Archives | State Membership Report |publisher=www.thearda.com |access-date=December 12, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140209201252/http://www.thearda.com/rcms2010/r/s/49/rcms2010_49_state_adh_2010.asp |archive-date=February 9, 2014 |url-status=dead }}

According to a Gallup poll, Utah had the third-highest number of people reporting as "Very Religious" in 2015, at 55% (trailing only Mississippi and Alabama). However, it was near the national average of people reporting as "Nonreligious" (31%), and featured the smallest percentage of people reporting as "Moderately Religious" (15%) of any state, being eight points lower than second-lowest state Vermont.{{Cite news | url = http://www.gallup.com/poll/125066/State-States.aspx?g_source=WWWV7HP&g_medium=topic&g_campaign=tiles | title = State of the States | work= Gallup | access-date = July 6, 2016 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160817013235/http://www.gallup.com/poll/125066/State-States.aspx?g_source=WWWV7HP&g_medium=topic&g_campaign=tiles | archive-date = August 17, 2016 | url-status = live }} In addition, it had the highest average weekly church attendance of any state, at 51%.{{Cite news| url = http://www.gallup.com/poll/181601/frequent-church-attendance-highest-utah-lowest-vermont.aspx?g_source=&g_medium=&g_campaign=tiles | title = Frequent Church Attendance Highest in Utah, Lowest in Vermont | work= Gallup | date = February 17, 2015 | access-date = July 6, 2016 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160817000419/http://www.gallup.com/poll/181601/frequent-church-attendance-highest-utah-lowest-vermont.aspx?g_source=&g_medium=&g_campaign=tiles | archive-date = August 17, 2016 | url-status = live }}

A 2023 paper challenged this perception (claiming only 42% of Utahns are Mormons) however most statistics still show a majority of Utah residents belong to the LDS church; estimates from the LDS church suggests 60.68% of Utah's population belongs to the church whilst some sources put the number as high as 68%.{{cite journal |last1=Cragun |first1=Ryan T. |author-link1= |last2=Gull |first2=Bethany |author-link2= |last3=Phillips |first3=Rick |author-link3= |display-authors= |author-mask= |name-list-style= |year=2023 |orig-date= |display-editors= |title=Mormons Are No Longer a Majority in Utah: Causes, Consequences, and Implications for the Sociology of Religion |format= |department= |journal=Journal of Religion and Demography |type= |series= |language= |edition= |volume=10 |issue=1–2 |pages=162–184 |doi=10.1163/2589742x-bja10019 |doi-access= |s2cid=267601458 |issn=2589-7411 |url=https://www.ryantcragun.com/mormons-are-no-longer-a-majority-in-utah-causes-consequences-and-implications-for-the-sociology-of-religion/ }} The paper replied that membership count done by the LDS Church is too high for several reasons.

{{See also|Native American languages of Utah|Utah dual language immersion}}

The official language in the state of Utah is English.{{cite web |url=https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title63G/Chapter1/63G-1-S201.html |title= Utah Code Section |last= |website= le.utah.gov |publisher= |access-date= 9 February 2023 |quote=}} Utah English is primarily a merger of Northern and Midland American dialects carried west by LDS Church members, whose original New York dialect later incorporated features from northeast Ohio and central Illinois. Conspicuous in the speech of some in the central valley, although less frequent now in Salt Lake City, is a cord-card merger, so that the vowels /ɑ/ an /ɔ/ are pronounced the same before an /ɹ/, such as in the words cord and card.{{Cite journal|last=Bowie|first=David|title=Acoustic Characteristics of Utah's Card-Cord Merger|date=February 1, 2008|journal=American Speech|language=en|volume=83|issue=1|pages=35–61|doi=10.1215/00031283-2008-002|issn=0003-1283}}

In 2000, 87.5% of all state residents five years of age or older spoke only English at home, a decrease from 92.2% in 1990. In 2011, one-third of Utah's workforce was reported to be bilingual, developed through a program of acquisition of second languages beginning in elementary school, and related to Mormonism's missionary goals for its young people.{{Cite journal|url=http://www.nationaljournal.com/thenextamerica/utah-an-economy-powered-by-multilingual-missionaries-20120723 |title=Utah: An Economy Powered by Multilingual Missionaries |last=Sterling |first=Terry |date=July 23, 2012 |website=The National Journal |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130415010658/http://www.nationaljournal.com/thenextamerica/utah-an-economy-powered-by-multilingual-missionaries-20120723 |archive-date=April 15, 2013 }}

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="margin-left:1em; float:center"

|+ Top 14 Non-English Languages Spoken in Utah

|-

! Language !! Percentage of population
({{as of|2010|lc=on}}){{cite web|url=http://www.city-data.com/states/Utah-Languages.html"|title=Utah—Languages|website=city-data.com|access-date=November 7, 2015}}

|-

| Spanish || 7.4%

|-

| German || 0.6%

|-

| Navajo || 0.5%

|-

| French || 0.4%

|-

| Pacific Island languages including Chamorro, Hawaiian, Ilocano, Tagalog, and Samoan || 0.4%

|-

| Chinese || 0.4%

|-

| Portuguese || 0.3%

|-

| Vietnamese || 0.3%

|-

| Japanese || 0.2%

|-

| Arapaho || 0.1%

|}

Utah has the highest total birth rate and accordingly, the youngest population of any U.S. state. In 2010, the state's population was 50.2% male and 49.8% female. The life expectancy is 79.3 years.

{{Main|Economy of Utah}}

{{See also|Utah locations by per capita income|List of Utah companies}}

File:City Creek Center - Richards Street south entrance - 12 September 2012.JPG region has seen large growth and development despite the economic downturn. Shown is the City Creek Center project, a development in downtown Salt Lake City with a price tag of $1.5–2.5 billion.]]

File:IM Flash exterior-11.jpg.{{cite news |url= http://www.deseretnews.com/article/765620136/Salt-Lake-metro-becoming-tech-hub.html |title= Salt Lake metro becoming tech hub |newspaper= Deseret News |first= Jasen |last= Lee |date= January 13, 2013 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20141104182202/http://www.deseretnews.com/article/765620136/Salt-Lake-metro-becoming-tech-hub.html |archive-date= November 4, 2014 |url-status=dead }}]]

File:Zion angels landing view.jpg in southern Utah is one of five national parks in the state.]]

File:Utah Horses.jpg

According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, the gross state product of Utah in 2012 was {{US$|130.5 billion|link=yes}}, or 0.87% of the total United States GDP of {{US$|14.991 trillion}} for the same year.{{cite web |title= GDP by State |url= https://www.bea.gov/iTable/iTable.cfm?reqid=70&step=1&isuri=1&acrdn=1#reqid=70&step=1&isuri=1 |publisher= Bureau of Economic Analysis |access-date= July 14, 2013 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130413130847/http://bea.gov/iTable/iTable.cfm?ReqID=70&step=1&isuri=1&acrdn=1#reqid=70&step=1&isuri=1 |archive-date= April 13, 2013 |url-status= live }} The per capita personal income was $45,700 in 2012. Major industries of Utah include mining, cattle ranching, salt production, and government services.

According to the 2007 State New Economy Index, Utah has ranked the top state in the nation for Economic Dynamism, determined by "the degree to which state economies are knowledge-based, globalized, entrepreneurial, information technology-driven and innovation-based". In 2014, Utah was ranked number one in Forbes' list of "Best States For Business".{{Cite journal |first= Kurt |last= Badenhausen |date= October 13, 2010 |url= https://www.forbes.com/2010/10/13/best-states-for-business-business-beltway-best-states.html |journal= Forbes |title= The Best States For Business And Careers |access-date= September 17, 2017 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20171004190923/https://www.forbes.com/2010/10/13/best-states-for-business-business-beltway-best-states.html |archive-date= October 4, 2017 |url-status= live }} A November 2010 article in Newsweek magazine highlighted Utah and particularly the Salt Lake City area's economic outlook, calling it "the new economic Zion", and examined how the area has been able to bring in high-paying jobs and attract high-tech corporations to the area during a recession.{{Cite journal | date = November 8, 2010 | url = http://www.newsweek.com/how-utah-became-economic-zion-69901 | journal = Newsweek | title = How Utah Became an Economic Zion | first = Tony | last = Dokoupil | access-date = November 4, 2014 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20141105002104/http://www.newsweek.com/how-utah-became-economic-zion-69901 | archive-date = November 5, 2014 | url-status = live }} {{As of|September 2014}}, the state's unemployment rate was 3.5%.{{citation |url= http://www.bls.gov/eag/eag.ut.htm |title= Economy at a Glance: Utah |publisher= Bureau of Labor Statistics, United States Department of Labor |access-date= November 4, 2014 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20141104155111/http://www.bls.gov/eag/eag.ut.htm |archive-date= November 4, 2014 |url-status=live }} In terms of "small business friendliness", in 2014 Utah emerged as number one, based on a study drawing upon data from more than 12,000 small business owners.{{cite web |url= http://www.thumbtack.com/survey#/2014/1/states |title= United States Small Business Friendliness: 2014 |website= Thumbtack.com |publisher= Thumbtack and the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation |access-date= November 4, 2014 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20141104155739/http://www.thumbtack.com/survey |archive-date= November 4, 2014 |url-status=live }}

In eastern Utah petroleum production is a major industry.{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20051114165622/http://www.ogm.utah.gov/oilgas/MAP_SEARCH/Utah_map.htm Utah oil & gas production]}} (map) as found at Utah.gov Near Salt Lake City, petroleum refining is done by several oil companies. In central Utah, coal production accounts for much of the mining activity.

According to Internal Revenue Service tax returns, Utahns rank first among all U.S. states in the proportion of income given to charity by the wealthy. This is due to the standard ten percent of all earnings that Mormons give to the LDS Church. According to the Corporation for National and Community Service, Utah had an average of 884,000 volunteers between 2008 and 2010, each of whom contributed 89.2 hours per volunteer. This figure equates to $3.8 billion of service contributed, ranking Utah number one for volunteerism in the nation.{{cite web|url=http://www.VolunteeringInAmerica.gov/state.cfm?state=UT |title=Volunteering in Utah—Volunteering in America |publisher=Volunteeringinamerica.gov |date=August 9, 2011 |access-date=November 15, 2011}}

Utah collects personal income tax; for tax year {{YEAR|2024}} the tax is a is a flat {{Percentage | 455 | 10000 | 2}} for all taxpayers. This rate has been steadily decreasing by {{Percentage | 5 | 10000 | 2}} points yearly since {{YEAR|2008}}, when it was at {{Percentage | 5 | 100 | 0}}.{{cite web |author= |date= |title=Utah Income Tax - Tax Rates |url=https://incometax.utah.gov/paying/tax-rates |website=utah.gov (Utah state official website) |access-date=2025-04-14}}

The state sales tax has a base rate of 6.45 percent,[http://www.tax.utah.gov/sales/rates.html Utah Sales and Use Tax Rates] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071016192429/http://www.tax.utah.gov/sales/rates.html |date=October 16, 2007 }}, from utah.gov (the State of Utah's official website). Retrieved March 20, 2008. with cities and counties levying additional local sales taxes that vary among the municipalities. Property taxes are assessed and collected locally. Utah does not charge intangible property taxes and does not impose an inheritance tax.

Tourism is a major industry in Utah. With five national parks (Arches, Bryce Canyon, Canyonlands, Capitol Reef, and Zion), Utah has the third most national parks of any state after Alaska and California. In addition, Utah features nine national monuments (Cedar Breaks, Dinosaur, Grand Staircase–Escalante, Hovenweep, Natural Bridges, Bears Ears, Rainbow Bridge, Timpanogos Cave), and Jurassic, two national recreation areas (Flaming Gorge and Glen Canyon), seven national forests (Ashley, Caribou-Targhee, Dixie, Fishlake, Manti-La Sal, Sawtooth, and Uinta-Wasatch-Cache), and numerous state parks and monuments.

The Moab area, in the southeastern part of the state, is known for its challenging mountain biking trails, including Slickrock. Moab also hosts the famous Moab Jeep Safari semiannually.

Utah has seen an increase in tourism since the 2002 Winter Olympics. Park City is home to the United States Ski Team. Utah's ski resorts are primarily located in northern Utah near Salt Lake City, Park City, Ogden, and Provo. Between 2007 and 2011 Deer Valley Park City, has been ranked the top ski resort in North America in a survey organized by Ski Magazine.{{cite news |last= Gorrell |first= Mike |date= October 5, 2010 |title= Deer Valley maintains Ski ranking through downturn |url= http://www.sltrib.com/50411844-79/valley-deer-resort-colo.html |newspaper= The Salt Lake Tribune |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20141104171414/http://www.sltrib.com/50411844-79/valley-deer-resort-colo.html |archive-date= November 4, 2014 |url-status=live }}

Utah has many significant ski resorts. The 2009 Ski Magazine reader survey concluded that six of the top ten resorts deemed most "accessible", and six of the top ten with the best snow conditions, were located in Utah.{{cite web |url=http://www.skinet.com/ski/node/101558/list |title=| SKI Magazine |access-date=September 17, 2009 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110924172212/http://www.skinet.com/ski/node/101558/list |archive-date=September 24, 2011 }} "Ski Magazine top 10 list: Reader Resort Survey In Southern Utah, Brian Head Ski Resort is located in the mountains near Cedar City. Former Olympic venues including Utah Olympic Park and Utah Olympic Oval are still in operation for training and competition and allow the public to participate in numerous activities including ski jumping, bobsleigh, and speed skating.

Utah features many cultural attractions such as Temple Square, the Sundance Film Festival, the Red Rock Film Festival, the DOCUTAH Film Festival, the Utah Data Center, and the Utah Shakespeare Festival. Temple Square is ranked as the 16th most visited tourist attraction in the United States by Forbes magazine, with more than five million annual visitors.{{cite news |url= https://www.deseret.com/2009/3/12/20306598/temple-square-ranks-16th-in-visitors/ |title= Temple Square ranks 16th in visitors |newspaper= Deseret News |first= Aaron |last= Falk |date= March 12, 2009 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20141104172240/http://www.deseretnews.com/article/705290247/Temple-Square-ranks-16th-in-visitors.html |archive-date= November 4, 2014 |url-status=live }}

Other attractions include Monument Valley, the Great Salt Lake, the Bonneville Salt Flats, and Lake Powell.

File:2005-12-27 GK USA BryceCanyon.jpg Amphitheater (winter view)]]

The state of Utah relies heavily on income from tourists and travelers visiting the state's parks and ski resorts, and thus the need to "brand" Utah and create an impression of the state throughout the world has led to several state slogans, the most famous of which is "The Greatest Snow on Earth", which has been in use in Utah officially since 1975 (although the slogan was in unofficial use as early as 1962) and now adorns nearly 50 percent of the state's license plates. In 2001, Utah Governor Mike Leavitt approved a new state slogan, "Utah! Where Ideas Connect", which lasted until March 10, 2006, when the Utah Travel Council and the office of Governor Jon Huntsman announced that "Life Elevated" would be the new state slogan.{{Cite web | url = http://www.visitutah.com/ | title = Visit Utah |website= Office of Tourism | access-date = November 7, 2015 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151107011407/http://www.visitutah.com/ | archive-date = November 7, 2015 | url-status = live }}

File:BinghamCanyon.jpg in Salt Lake County is one of the largest open pit mines in the world.]]

Beginning in the late 19th century with the state's mining boom (including the Bingham Canyon Mine, among the world's largest open pit mines), companies attracted large numbers of immigrants with job opportunities. Since the days of the Utah Territory mining has played a major role in Utah's economy. Historical mining towns include Mercur in Tooele County, Silver Reef in Washington County, Eureka in Juab County, Park City in Summit County and numerous coal mining camps throughout Carbon County such as Castle Gate, Spring Canyon, and Hiawatha.Utah Department of Community and Culture, Mining Heritage Alliance, [http://history.utah.gov/mining_heritage_alliance/highlights.html Highlights] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130117095118/http://history.utah.gov/mining_heritage_alliance/highlights.html |date=January 17, 2013 }} http://finance.utah.gov/highlights.html as found at Utah.gov http://finance.utah.gov/highlights.html

These settlements were characteristic of the boom and bust cycle that dominated mining towns of the American West. Park City, Utah, and Alta, Utah were boom towns in the early twentieth century. Rich silver mines in the mountains adjacent to the towns led to many people flocking to the towns in search of wealth. During the early part of the Cold War era, uranium was mined in eastern Utah. Today mining activity still plays a major role in the state's economy. Minerals mined in Utah include copper, gold, silver, molybdenum, zinc, lead, and beryllium. Fossil fuels including coal, petroleum, and natural gas continue to play a large role in Utah's economy, especially in the eastern part of the state in counties such as Carbon, Emery, Grand, and Uintah.

{{See also|List of power stations in Utah}}

Utah extracts more coal and generates more electricity than it consumes.{{cite web |url=https://www.eia.gov/state/analysis.php?sid=UT |title=Utah - State Energy Profile - Analysis |publisher=U.S. Energy Information Administration |access-date=February 28, 2021}} The state has the potential to generate 31.6 TWh/year from 13.1 GW of wind power, and 10,290 TWh/year from solar power using 4,048 GW of photovoltaic (PV), including 5.6 GW of rooftop photovoltaic, and 1,638 GW of concentrated solar power.{{cite web |url=http://www.nrel.gov/gis/re_potential.html |title=Renewable Energy Technical Potential |publisher=Nrel.gov |date=October 17, 2013 |access-date=December 31, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120915115931/http://www.nrel.gov/gis/re_potential.html |archive-date=September 15, 2012 }} The Blue Castle Project is working toward building the state's first nuclear power plant near Green River, Utah, originally projected to be completed in 2030.{{cite web |url=http://www.ecprogress.com/index.php?tier=1&article_id=19985 |title=Update on the Nuclear Power Plant for Green River |first=Patsy |last=Stoddard |date=January 24, 2017 |work=Emery County Progress |location=Castle Dale, Utah |access-date=February 9, 2017 |archive-date=February 11, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170211075715/http://www.ecprogress.com/index.php?tier=1&article_id=19985 |url-status=dead }}

Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems (UAMPS) is a subdivision of the State of Utah, providing non-profit wholesale electricity, transmission, and other energy services to community-owned power systems in the Intermountain West geographical area.{{cite web |url=https://www.uamps.com/About-us |title=About UAMPS |website=Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems |access-date=12 November 2023}}

File:Utah State Route 12 MC.jpg through Red Canyon in Dixie National Forest]]

{{See also|List of state highways in Utah}}

I-15 and I-80 are the main interstate highways in the state, where they intersect and briefly merge near downtown Salt Lake City. I-15 traverses the state north-to-south, entering from Arizona near St. George, paralleling the Wasatch Front, and crossing into Idaho near Portage. I-80 spans northern Utah east-to-west, entering from Nevada at Wendover, crossing the Wasatch Mountains east of Salt Lake City, and entering Wyoming near Evanston. I-84 West enters from Idaho near Snowville (from Boise) and merges with I-15 from Tremonton to Ogden, then heads southeast through the Wasatch Mountains before terminating at I-80 near Echo Junction.

I-70 splits from I-15 at Cove Fort in central Utah and heads east through mountains and rugged desert terrain, providing quick access to the many national parks and national monuments of southern Utah, and has been noted for its beauty. The {{convert|103|mi|abbr=on|adj=on}} stretch from Salina to Green River is the country's longest stretch of interstate without services and, when completed in 1970, was the longest stretch of entirely new highway constructed in the U.S. since the Alaska Highway was completed in 1943.

File:Frontrunner north temple station.jpg commuter rail runs between Ogden and Provo via Salt Lake City]]

File:Green line Trax at Gallivan Plaza.jpg light rail serves Salt Lake County]]

{{See also|List of Utah railroads}}

Utah's Class I freight railroads are the BNSF Railway and the Union Pacific Railway. Interstate passenger rail is provided by Amtrak's daily California Zephyr train, which runs between Chicago Union Station and Emeryville, California, with stops in Utah at {{amtk|Green River}}, {{amtk|Helper}}, {{amtk|Provo}}, and the Salt Lake City Intermodal Hub. The state was previously served by Amtrak's Pioneer and Desert Wind trains. Heritage railroads include the Heber Valley Railroad and the Wild Kingdom Train.

The Utah Transit Authority (UTA) operates public transport services throughout the Wasatch Front region. TRAX, the UTA's light rail system, consists of three lines. The Blue Line (formerly Salt Lake/Sandy Line) begins in the suburb of Draper and ends in Downtown Salt Lake City. The Red Line (Mid-Jordan/University Line) begins in the Daybreak Community of South Jordan, a southwestern valley suburb, and ends at the University of Utah. The Green Line begins in West Valley City, passes through downtown Salt Lake City, and ends at Salt Lake City International Airport. The UTA also operates FrontRunner, a commuter rail line running between Ogden and Provo via Salt Lake City.

The UTA's bus system stretches from the Salt Lake Valley west to Grantsville and east to Park City. Beyond UTA, the cities of Cedar City, Logan, Park City, and St. George are served by local bus operators. In the winter, the UTA and several private bus companies operate shuttle routes to Utah's ski resorts.

File:SLC airport, 2010.jpg is the largest airport in Utah]]

{{See also|List of airports in Utah}}

Salt Lake City International Airport is the only international airport in the state and serves as a hub for Delta Air Lines. The airport has consistently ranked first in on-time departures and had the fewest cancellations among U.S. airports.[http://www.transtats.bts.gov/airports.asp?pn=1 U.S. Department of Transportation Bureau of Statistics] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081012160433/http://www.transtats.bts.gov/airports.asp?pn=1 |date=October 12, 2008 }} Retrieved on March 5, 2008. The airport has non-stop service to more than a hundred destinations throughout the United States, Canada, and Mexico, as well as to Amsterdam, London and Paris. Canyonlands Field (near Moab), Cedar City Regional Airport, Ogden-Hinckley Airport, Provo Municipal Airport, St. George Regional Airport, and Vernal Regional Airport all provide limited commercial air service. A new regional airport at St. George opened on January 12, 2011. SkyWest Airlines is also headquartered in St. George and maintains a hub in Salt Lake City.

{{main|Government of Utah}}{{further|List of Utah Governors|List of Utah State Legislatures|Utah State Senate|Utah State House of Representatives}}

File:STS-51-D crew.jpg (top-right), former Senator of Utah (1974–1993), and astronaut on Space Shuttle flight STS-51-D]]

Utah government is divided into three branches: executive, legislative, and judicial. The governor is the chief executive of the state and elected for a four-year term; a lieutenant governor is concurrently elected on a joint ticket with the governor.{{Cite web|url=https://le.utah.gov/xcode/ArticleVII/Article_VII,_Section_2.html?v=UC_AVII_S2_1800010118000101|title=Article VII, Section 2, Utah Constitution|publisher=Utah Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel|access-date=February 13, 2024}}{{Cite web|url=https://le.utah.gov/xcode/ArticleVII/Article_VII,_Section_5.html?v=UC_AVII_S5_1800010118000101|title=Article VII, Section 5, Utah Constitution|publisher=Utah Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel|access-date=February 13, 2024}} The current governor of Utah is Spencer Cox,{{Cite web|url=https://www.deseret.com/utah/2020/11/3/21541344/election-results-governor-spencer-cox-replacing-gary-herbert-chris-peterson|title=Spencer Cox says he'll be governor for all of Utah as Peterson concedes race|first=Lisa Riley|last=Roche|date=November 3, 2020|website=Deseret News}} who was sworn in on January 4, 2021. In addition to the governor and lieutenant governor, Utah has three other independently elected executive officers: a state auditor, a state treasurer, and an attorney general.{{Cite web|url=https://le.utah.gov/xcode/ArticleVII/Article_VII,_Section_1.html?v=UC_AVII_S1_1800010118000101|title=Article VII, Section 1, Utah Constitution|publisher=Utah Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel|access-date=February 13, 2024}}{{Cite web|url=https://le.utah.gov/xcode/ArticleVII/Article_VII,_Section_15.html?v=UC_AVII_S15_1800010118000101|title=Article VII, Section 15, Utah Constitution|publisher=Utah Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel|access-date=February 13, 2024}}{{Cite web|url=https://le.utah.gov/xcode/ArticleVII/Article_VII,_Section_16.html?v=UC_AVII_S16_1800010118000101|title=Article VII, Section 16, Utah Constitution|publisher=Utah Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel|access-date=February 13, 2024}}

As of 2024, J. Bracken Lee (1949–1957) was the most recent of three Governors of Utah who was not a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), the other two being Simon Bamberger (1917–1921) and George Dern (1925–1933).

The Utah State Legislature consists of a Senate and a House of Representatives. State senators serve four-year terms and representatives two-year terms. The Utah Legislature meets each year in January for an annual 45-day session.

The Utah Supreme Court is the court of last resort in Utah. It consists of five justices, who are appointed by the governor, and then subject to retention election. The Utah Court of Appeals handles cases from the trial courts.Utah State Courts, [http://www.utcourts.gov/courts/appell/ Utah Court of Appeals] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090122050432/http://www.utcourts.gov/courts/appell/ |date=January 22, 2009 }} Trial level courts are the district courts and justice courts. All justices and judges, like those on the Utah Supreme Court, are subject to retention election after appointment.

In a 2020 study, Utah was ranked as the 3rd easiest state for citizens to vote in.{{cite journal |last1=J. Pomante II |first1=Michael |last2=Li |first2=Quan |title=Cost of Voting in the American States: 2020 |journal=Election Law Journal: Rules, Politics, and Policy |date=15 Dec 2020 |volume=19 |issue=4 |pages=503–509 |doi=10.1089/elj.2020.0666 |s2cid=225139517 |doi-access=free }}

{{Main|List of counties in Utah}}

Utah is divided into political jurisdictions designated as counties. Since 1918 there have been 29 counties in the state, ranging from {{convert|298|to|7819|sqmi|km2|sigfig=3}}.

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="margin:lem; margin-top:0;"

|-

!County name||County seat||Year founded||2020 U.S. census

!Largest city in county||Percent of total||Area||% of state

|-

|Beaver||Beaver||1856||7,072

|Beaver||0.22%||{{convert|2589|sqmi|km2|abbr=on}}||3.2%

|-

|Box Elder||Brigham City||1856||57,666

|Brigham City||1.76%||{{convert|5745|sqmi|km2|abbr=on}}|| 7.0%

|-

|Cache||Logan||1856||133,154

|Logan||4.07%||{{convert|1164|sqmi|km2|abbr=on}}||1.4%

|-

|Carbon||Price||1894||20,412

|Price||0.62%||{{convert|1478|sqmi|km2|abbr=on}}||1.8%

|-

|Daggett||Manila||1918||935

|Manila||0.03%||{{convert|696|sqmi|km2|abbr=on}}||0.8%

|-

|Davis||Farmington||1852||362,679

|Layton||11.09%||{{convert|298|sqmi|km2|abbr=on}}||0.4%

|-

|Duchesne||Duchesne||1915||19,596

|Roosevelt||0.60%||{{convert|3240|sqmi|km2|abbr=on}}||3.9%

|-

|Emery||Castle Dale||1880||9,825

|Huntington||0.30%||{{convert|4462|sqmi|km2|abbr=on}}||5.4%

|-

|Garfield||Panguitch||1882||5,051

|Panguitch||0.15%||{{convert|5175|sqmi|km2|abbr=on}}||6.3%

|-

|Grand||Moab||1890||9,669

|Moab||0.30%||{{convert|3671|sqmi|km2|abbr=on}}||4.5%

|-

|Iron||Parowan||1852||57,289

|Cedar City||1.75%||{{convert|3296|sqmi|km2|abbr=on}}||4.0%

|-

|Juab||Nephi||1852||11,786

|Nephi||0.36%||{{convert|3392|sqmi|km2|abbr=on}}||4.1%

|-

|Kane||Kanab||1864||7,667

|Kanab||0.23%||{{convert|3990|sqmi|km2|abbr=on}}||4.9%

|-

|Millard||Fillmore||1852||12,975

|Delta||0.40%||{{convert|6572|sqmi|km2|abbr=on}}||8.0%

|-

|Morgan||Morgan||1862||12,295

|Morgan||0.38%||{{convert|609|sqmi|km2|abbr=on}}||0.7%

|-

|Piute||Junction||1865||1,438

|Circleville||0.04%||{{convert|757|sqmi|km2|abbr=on}}||0.9%

|-

|Rich||Randolph||1868||2,510

|Garden City||0.08%||{{convert|1028|sqmi|km2|abbr=on}}||1.3%

|-

|Salt Lake||Salt Lake City||1852||1,185,238

|Salt Lake City||36.23%||{{convert|742|sqmi|km2|abbr=on}}||0.9%

|-

|San Juan||Monticello||1880||14,518

|Blanting||0.44%||{{convert|7819|sqmi|km2|abbr=on}}||9.5%

|-

|Sanpete||Manti||1852||28,437

|Ephraim||0.87%||{{convert|1590|sqmi|km2|abbr=on}}||1.9%

|-

|Sevier||Richfield||1865||21,522

|Richfield||0.66%||{{convert|1910|sqmi|km2|abbr=on}}||2.3%

|-

|Summit||Coalville||1854||42,357

|Park City||1.29%||{{convert|1871|sqmi|km2|abbr=on}}||2.3%

|-

|Tooele||Tooele||1852||72,698

|Tooele||2.22%||{{convert|6941|sqmi|km2|abbr=on}}||8.4%

|-

|Uintah||Vernal||1880||35,620

|Vernal||1.09%||{{convert|4479|sqmi|km2|abbr=on}}||5.5%

|-

|Utah||Provo||1852||659,399

|Provo||20.16%||{{convert|2003|sqmi|km2|abbr=on}}||2.4%

|-

|Wasatch||Heber||1862||34,788

|Heber||1.06%||{{convert|1175|sqmi|km2|abbr=on}}||1.4%

|-

|Washington||St. George||1852||180,279

|St. George||5.51%||{{convert|2426|sqmi|km2|abbr=on}}||3.0%

|-

|Wayne||Loa||1892||2,486

|Loa||0.08%||{{convert|2460|sqmi|km2|abbr=on}}||3.0%

|-

|Weber||Ogden||1852||262,223

|Ogden||8.02%||{{convert|576|sqmi|km2|abbr=on}}||0.7%

|}

• Total Counties: 29
• Total 2020 population: 3,271,616{{cite web|title=Resident Population Data: 2020 Census |publisher=US Census Bureau |access-date=January 18, 2022 |url=https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial/2020/data/apportionment/apportionment-2020-table02.pdf }}
• Total state area: {{convert|82154|sqmi|km2|abbr=on}}

{{Further|Women's suffrage in Utah}}

Utah granted full voting rights to women in 1870, 26 years before becoming a state. Among all U.S. states, only Wyoming granted suffrage to women earlier.National Constitution Center, [http://www.constitutioncenter.org/timeline/html/cw08_12159.html Map: States grant women the right to vote] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070814035603/http://www.constitutioncenter.org/timeline/html/cw08_12159.html |date=August 14, 2007 }} However, in 1887 the initial Edmunds-Tucker Act was passed by Congress to curtail Mormon influence in the territorial government. One of the provisions of the Act was the repeal of women's suffrage; full suffrage was not returned until Utah was admitted to the Union in 1896.

Utah is one of the 15 states that have not ratified the U.S. Equal Rights Amendment.{{cite web |url=http://www.equalrightsamendment.org/ratified.htm |title=Thirty-Five States Have Ratified the Equal Rights Amendment |website=equalrightsamendment.org |access-date=August 3, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120325173052/http://www.equalrightsamendment.org/ratified.htm |archive-date=March 25, 2012 }} Abortion in Utah is legal prior to the 18th week of pregnancy.{{cite web |title=Utah |url=https://reproductiverights.org/maps/state/utah |website=Center for Reproductive Rights |access-date=20 September 2024}}

In March 2018, Utah passed the United States' first "free-range parenting" bill. The bill was signed into law by Republican Governor Gary Herbert and states that parents who allow their children to engage in certain activities without supervision are not considered neglectful.{{Cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/utah-free-range-parenting-bill-legislation-law-neglect-independence-a8275051.html|title=Utah passes America's first 'free-range parenting' bill|work=The Independent|access-date=August 2, 2018|language=en-GB|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180802165541/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/utah-free-range-parenting-bill-legislation-law-neglect-independence-a8275051.html|archive-date=August 2, 2018|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|url=https://triblive.com/opinion/featuredcommentary/13851898-74/tom-purcell-time-to-return-to-free-range-parenting|title=Tom Purcell: Time to return to free-range parenting|last=Purcell|first=Tom|website=TribLIVE.com|language=en-US|access-date=August 2, 2018}}

{{Main|Constitution of Utah}}

The constitution of Utah was enacted on May 8, 1895.{{Cite web|title=Constitution of the State of Utah|url=https://archives.utah.gov/research/exhibits/Statehood/1896text.htm|access-date=August 13, 2021|website=archives.utah.gov|archive-date=August 13, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210813063744/https://archives.utah.gov/research/exhibits/Statehood/1896text.htm|url-status=dead}} Notably, the constitution outlawed polygamy, as requested by Congress when Utah had applied for statehood, and reestablished the territorial practice of women's suffrage. Utah's Constitution has been amended many times since its inception.{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20040821110158/http://elections.utah.gov/ConstitutionalAmendments.htm Constitutional Amendments, Initiatives & Referendums]}}. State of Utah Elections Office.

{{Main|Capital punishment in Utah}}

Under Utah law, aggravated murder is the only crime subject to the penalty of death.Utah Code § 76-5-202 Utah was the first state to resume executions after the 1972–1976 national moratorium on capital punishment ended with Gregg v. Georgia, when Gary Gilmore was executed by firing squad in 1977.{{Cite web|url=http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/executions.php|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080421124552/http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/executions.php|url-status=dead|title=Execution Database | Death Penalty Information Center|archivedate=April 21, 2008}} Utah is one of only two states to have ever carried out executions by firing squad, and the only one to do so after the moratorium ended.{{Cite web |date=2017-02-10 |title=Oklahoma one of only two states that still allows inmate death by firing squad, another state seeks to be the 3rd |url=https://kfor.com/news/oklahoma-one-of-only-two-states-that-still-allows-inmate-death-by-firing-squad-another-state-seeks-to-be-the-3rd/ |access-date=2023-03-20 |website=KFOR-TV |language=en-US |archive-date=March 20, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230320232926/https://kfor.com/news/oklahoma-one-of-only-two-states-that-still-allows-inmate-death-by-firing-squad-another-state-seeks-to-be-the-3rd/ |url-status=dead }}

{{see also|List of breweries, wineries, and distilleries in Utah|List of alcohol laws of the United States}}

Utah's laws regarding alcohol, tobacco and gambling are strict. Utah is an alcoholic beverage control state. The Utah Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control regulates the sale of alcohol; wine and spirituous liquors may be purchased only at state liquor stores, and local laws may prohibit the sale of beer and other alcoholic beverages on Sundays. The state bans the sale of fruity alcoholic drinks at grocery stores and convenience stores. The law states that such drinks must now have new state-approved labels on the front of the products that contain capitalized letters in bold type telling consumers the drinks contain alcohol and at what percentage. Utah is the only state that imposes a maximum blood alcohol content (BAC) of 0.05% for drivers, as opposed to the 0.08% limit in other states.{{cite web | title=Utah's New Law Against Drinking and Driving | website=LLU Institute for Health Policy Leadership | date=2021-02-25 | url=https://ihpl.llu.edu/blog/utah-s-new-law-against-drinking-and-driving | access-date=2021-04-03}} The Utah Indoor Clean Air Act is a statewide smoking ban that prohibits it in many public places.{{cite web |url=http://www.le.utah.gov/UtahCode/section.jsp?code=26-38 |title=Utah State Legislature |publisher=Le.utah.gov |access-date=December 31, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140209182105/http://www.le.utah.gov/UtahCode/section.jsp?code=26-38 |archive-date=February 9, 2014 |url-status=dead }} Utah and Hawaii are the only two states in the United States to outlaw all forms of gambling.

{{Main|Same-sex marriage in Utah}}

Same-sex marriage became legal in Utah on December 20, 2013, when U.S. District Court Judge Robert J. Shelby issued a ruling in Kitchen v. Herbert.{{cite news |url= https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/12/23/utah-gay-marriage/4173473/ |title= Federal judge rules that Utah gay marriages may continue |newspaper= USA Today |date= December 27, 2013 |access-date= December 31, 2013 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20131227071422/http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/12/23/utah-gay-marriage/4173473/ |archive-date= December 27, 2013 |url-status= live }}{{cite news |last= Meyers |first= Donald W. |url= http://www.sltrib.com/57302479-78/county-licenses-marriage-sex.html |title= Utah County refuses to issue same-sex marriage licenses |newspaper= The Salt Lake Tribune |date= December 23, 2013 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20141104170859/http://www.sltrib.com/57302479-78/county-licenses-marriage-sex.html |archive-date= November 4, 2014 |url-status=live }} As of close of business December 26, more than 1,225 marriage licenses were issued, with at least 74 percent, or 905 licenses, issued to gay and lesbian couples.{{cite news|title=Same-sex Couples Shatter Marriage Records In Utah|url=https://huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/28/samesex-couples-shatter-m_n_4511778.html?ncid=fcbklnkushpmg00000010|access-date=December 31, 2013|newspaper=The Huffington Post|date=December 28, 2013|author=Marissa Lang|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140101092602/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/28/samesex-couples-shatter-m_n_4511778.html?ncid=fcbklnkushpmg00000010|archive-date=January 1, 2014|url-status=live}} The Utah Attorney General's office was granted a stay of the ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court on January 6, 2014, while the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals considered the case.{{cite news | url=http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2014/01/06/22201874-us-supreme-court-puts-gay-marriage-in-utah-on-hold?lite | title=U.S. Supreme Court puts gay marriage in Utah on hold | date=January 6, 2014 | access-date=January 6, 2014 | author1=Williams, Pete | author2=Connor, Tracy | name-list-style=amp | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140106161822/http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2014/01/06/22201874-us-supreme-court-puts-gay-marriage-in-utah-on-hold?lite | archive-date=January 6, 2014 | url-status=live }} On October 6, 2014, the U.S. Supreme Court declined a writ of certiorari, and the 10th Circuit Court issued their mandate later that day, lifting their stay. Same-sex marriages commenced again in Utah that day.{{cite news | url=http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/oct/6/supreme-court-denies-gay-marriage-appeals/ | title=Supreme Court Denies Gay Marriage Appeals | date=October 6, 2014 | access-date=October 7, 2014 | author=Wetzstein, Cheryl | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006160321/http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/oct/6/supreme-court-denies-gay-marriage-appeals/ | archive-date=October 6, 2014 | url-status=live }}

{{excerpt|LGBT rights in Utah|files=0}}

{{further|Political party strength in Utah|United States presidential elections in Utah}}

{| class="wikitable floatright"

! colspan = 6 | Party registration in Utah
as of October 21, 2024{{cite web |title=Current Voter Registration Statistics|access-date=October 27, 2024 |url=https://voteinfo.utah.gov/current-voter-registration-statistics/}}

|-

! colspan = 2 | Party

! Total voters

! Percentage

|-

| {{party color cell|Republican Party (US)}}

| Republican

| align=center | 1,016,409

| align=center | 50.17%

|-

| {{party color cell|Independent politician}}

| Unaffiliated

| align=center | 587,128

| align=center | 28.98%

|-

| {{party color cell|Democratic Party (US)}}

| Democratic

| align=center | 286,990

| align=center | 14.17%

|-

| {{party color cell|Other parties (US)}}

|Other

| align=center | 135,227

| align=center | 6.68%

|-

! colspan = 2 | Total

! align=center | 2,025,754

! align=center | 100.00%

|}

File:Utah State Capitol Building.JPG, Salt Lake City]]

File:Mathesoncourthouse.jpg

In the late 19th century, the federal government took issue with polygamy in the LDS Church. The LDS Church discontinued plural marriage in 1890, and in 1896 Utah gained admission to the Union. Many new people settled in the area soon after the Mormon pioneers. Relations have often been strained between the LDS population and the non-LDS population.{{Citation | last = Allen | first = James B. | title = Utah History Encyclopedia | publisher = University of Utah Press | year = 1994 | chapter = The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints | chapter-url = https://www.uen.org/utah_history_encyclopedia/c/CHURCH_OF_JESUS_CHRIST_OF_LATTER-DAY_SAINTS.shtml | url = https://www.uen.org/utah_history_encyclopedia/ | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20231207195903/https://www.uen.org/utah_history_encyclopedia/c/CHURCH_OF_JESUS_CHRIST_OF_LATTER-DAY_SAINTS.shtml | archive-date = December 7, 2023 | isbn =9780874804256 | access-date = March 29, 2024}} These tensions have played a large part in Utah's history (Liberal Party vs. People's Party).

Utah votes predominantly Republican. Self-identified Latter-day Saints are more likely to vote for the Republican ticket than non-Mormons. Utah is one of the most Republican states in the nation.{{Cite news |title= Mormon, GOP Link Doomed Democrats: Religion statistics paint a bleak picture for party |last= Harrie |first= Dan |date= December 6, 2002 |newspaper= The Salt Lake Tribune |id= NewsBank Archive Article ID: 100DFA0561F7801E }}{{Cite news |title= Utah No. 1 in approval of Bush |url= https://www.deseret.com/2006/7/28/19965842/utah-no-1-in-approval-of-bush/ |last= Bernick |first= Bob Jr. |date= July 28, 2006 |newspaper= Deseret Morning News |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20141104173039/http://www.deseretnews.com/article/640198210/Utah-No-1-in-approval-of-Bush.html |archive-date= November 4, 2014 |url-status=live }} Utah was the single most Republican-leaning state in the country in every presidential election from 1976 to 2004, measured by the percentage point margin between the Republican and Democratic candidates. In 2008 Utah was only the third-most Republican state (after Wyoming and Oklahoma), but in 2012, with Mormon Mitt Romney atop the Republican ticket, Utah returned to its position as the most Republican state. However, the 2016 presidential election result saw Republican Donald Trump carry the state (marking the thirteenth consecutive win by the Republican presidential candidate) with only a plurality, the first time this happened since 1992.

Both of Utah's U.S. Senators, John Curtis and Mike Lee, are Republican, as are all four of its U.S. Representatives. Ben McAdams is the most recent Democrat to represent Utah in Congress, representing the 4th congressional district, based in Salt Lake City, from 2019 to 2021. He lost re-election to Burgess Owens, a Republican, in 2020. After Jon Huntsman Jr. resigned to serve as U.S. Ambassador to China in 2009, Gary Herbert was sworn in as governor on August 11, 2009. Herbert was elected to serve out the remainder of the term in a special election in 2010, defeating Democratic nominee Salt Lake County Mayor Peter Corroon with 64% of the vote. He won election to a full four-year term in 2012, defeating the Democrat Peter Cooke with 68% of the vote.

The LDS Church maintains an official policy of neutrality about political parties and candidates.{{cite web|url=https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/official-statement/political-neutrality|title=Political Neutrality|access-date=December 11, 2010|publisher=The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190627224935/https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/official-statement/political-neutrality|archive-date=June 27, 2019|url-status=live}}

In the 1970s, then-Apostle Ezra Taft Benson was quoted by the Associated Press that it would be difficult for a faithful Latter-day Saint to be a liberal Democrat.{{cite news|title= GOP Dominance Troubles Church; It hurts Utah, says general authority, disavowing any perceived Republican-LDS Link; LDS Official Calls for More Political Diversity |last=Harrie |first=Dan |date=May 3, 1998 |newspaper=Salt Lake Tribune}} Although the LDS Church has officially repudiated such statements on many occasions, Democratic candidates—including LDS Democrats—believe Republicans capitalize on the perception that the Republican Party is doctrinally superior.{{cite news|title=Utah's theocratic past colors church-state perceptions |url=http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4188/is_20030517/ai_n11388083 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110425032955/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4188/is_20030517/ai_n11388083/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=April 25, 2011 |last=Henetz |first=Patty |date=May 17, 2003 |newspaper=Deseret Morning News }} Political scientist and pollster Dan Jones explains this disparity by noting that the national Democratic Party is associated with liberal positions on gay marriage and abortion, both of which the LDS Church is against.{{cite news|title=Pollster: Demos share blame for GOP lock on Utah |last=Winters |first=Rosemary |date=August 14, 2006 |newspaper=Salt Lake Tribune}} The Republican Party in heavily Mormon Utah County presents itself as the superior choice for Latter-day Saints. Even though Utah Democratic candidates are predominantly LDS, socially conservative, and pro-life, no Democrat has won in Utah County since 1994.{{Cite news |title= A lonely place for Demos |url= http://www.deseretnews.com/article/650204528/A-lonely-place-for-Demos.html |last= Walsh |first= Tad |date= November 5, 2006 |newspaper= Deseret Morning News |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20141104173532/http://www.deseretnews.com/article/650204528/A-lonely-place-for-Demos.html |archive-date= November 4, 2014 |url-status=dead }}

David Magleby, dean of Social and Behavioral Sciences at Brigham Young University, a lifelong Democrat and a political analyst, asserts that the Republican Party has more conservative positions than the LDS Church. Magleby argues that the locally conservative Democrats are in better accord with LDS doctrine.{{cite news|title=Far Right Wing of Utah GOP at Odds With LDS Positions |last=Rolly |first=Paul |date=April 28, 2002 |newspaper=Salt Lake Tribune}} For example, the Republican Party of Utah opposes almost all abortions while Utah Democrats take a more liberal approach, although more conservative than their national counterparts. On Second Amendment issues, the state GOP has been at odds with the LDS Church's position opposing concealed firearms in places of worship and public spaces.

In 1998, the church expressed concern that Utahns perceived the Republican Party as an LDS institution and authorized lifelong Democrat and Seventy Marlin Jensen to promote LDS bipartisanship.

Utah is much more conservative than the United States as a whole, primarily on social issues. Compared to other Republican-dominated states in the Mountain West such as Idaho and Wyoming, Utah politics have a more moralistic and less libertarian character, according to David Magleby.{{Cite news |title= Utah conservatives put U.S. peers to shame |url= http://www.deseretnews.com/article/270020446/Utah-conservatives-put-US-peers-to-shame.html |last= Bernick |first= Bob Jr. |date= May 21, 2001 |newspaper= Deseret Morning News |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20141104173227/http://www.deseretnews.com/article/270020446/Utah-conservatives-put-US-peers-to-shame.html |archive-date= November 4, 2014 |url-status=dead }}

About 80% of Utah's Legislature are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,{{Cite news |title= Letter by LDS leaders cheers Utah Democrats |url= http://www.deseretnews.com/article/635191859/Letter-by-LDS-leaders-cheers-Utah-Democrats.html |last= Bernick |first= Bob Jr. |date= March 15, 2006 |newspaper= Deseret Morning News |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20141104173709/http://www.deseretnews.com/article/635191859/Letter-by-LDS-leaders-cheers-Utah-Democrats.html |archive-date= November 4, 2014 |url-status=dead }} while members account for 61 percent of the population.{{Cite news |url= http://www.sltrib.com/ci_7496034 |title= Utah less Mormon than ever |first= Matt |last= Canham |newspaper= Salt Lake Tribune |date= November 18, 2007 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20141104171722/http://www.sltrib.com/ci_7496034 |archive-date= November 4, 2014 |url-status=live }} Since becoming a state in 1896, Utah has had only two non-Mormon governors.{{cite web |title= The Church's Growth, Structure and Reach |url= https://www.pbs.org/mormons/faqs/structure.html#2 |publisher= PBS |year= 2007 |website= The Mormons |access-date= September 3, 2017 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20170904015637/https://www.pbs.org/mormons/faqs/structure.html#2 |archive-date= September 4, 2017 |url-status= live }}

In 2006, the legislature passed legislation aimed at banning joint custody for a non-biological parent of a child. The custody measure passed the legislature and was vetoed by the governor, a reciprocal benefits supporter.

Carbon County's Democrats are generally made up of members of the large Greek, Italian, and Southeastern European communities, whose ancestors migrated in the early 20th century to work in the extensive mining industry. The views common amongst this group are heavily influenced by labor politics, particularly of the New Deal Era.{{Citation | last = Powell | first = Allan Kent | title = Utah History Encyclopedia | publisher = University of Utah Press | year = 1994 | chapter = The United Mine Workers of America | chapter-url = https://www.uen.org/utah_history_encyclopedia/u/UNITED_MINE_WORKERS.shtml | url = https://www.uen.org/utah_history_encyclopedia/ | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20221103115823/https://www.uen.org/utah_history_encyclopedia/u/UNITED_MINE_WORKERS.shtml | archive-date = November 3, 2022 | isbn =9780874804256 | access-date = March 29, 2024}}

The state's most Republican areas tend to be Utah County, which is the home to Brigham Young University (BYU) in the city of Provo, and nearly all the rural counties.[http://www.le.state.ut.us/asp/roster/roster.asp Roster of Utah State Legislators] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061117065412/http://www.le.state.ut.us/asp/roster/roster.asp |date=November 17, 2006 }}, Utah State Legislature[http://www.le.state.ut.us/documents/redistricting/redist.htm 2001 Redistricting of Utah] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060924202331/http://www.le.state.ut.us/documents/redistricting/redist.htm |date=September 24, 2006 }}: Official maps of district boundaries, Utah State Legislature These areas generally hold socially conservative views in line with that of the national Religious Right. The most Democratic areas of the state lie currently in and around Salt Lake City proper.

The state has not voted for a Democrat for president since 1964. Historically, Republican presidential nominees score one of their best margins of victory here. Utah was the Republicans' best state in the 1976,Leip, David. [http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/data.php?year=1976&datatype=national&def=1&f=1&off=0&elect=0 1976 Presidential Election Data—National by State] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110917064533/http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/data.php?year=1976&datatype=national&def=1&f=1&off=0&elect=0 |date=September 17, 2011 }}, uselectionatlas.org ("David Leip's Atlas of Presidential Elections"). Retrieved March 20, 2008. 1980,{{cite web |url= http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/data.php?year=1980&datatype=national&def=1&f=1&off=0&elect=0 |title= 1980 Presidential Election Data—National by State |place= US |publisher= Election atlas |access-date= July 31, 2010 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090112162346/http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/data.php?year=1980&datatype=national&def=1&f=1&off=0&elect=0 |archive-date= January 12, 2009 |url-status= live }} 1984,{{cite web |url = http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/data.php?year=1984&datatype=national&def=1&f=1&off=0&elect=0 |title = 1984 Presidential Election Data—National by State |publisher = Uselectionatlas.org |access-date = July 31, 2010 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090112115621/http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/data.php?year=1984&datatype=national&def=1&f=1&off=0&elect=0 |archive-date = January 12, 2009 |url-status = live }} 1988,{{cite web | url = http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/data.php?year=1988&datatype=national&def=1&f=1&off=0&elect=0 | title = 1988 Presidential Election Data—National by State | place = US | publisher = Election atlas | access-date = July 31, 2010 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090112001840/http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/data.php?year=1988&datatype=national&def=1&f=1&off=0&elect=0 | archive-date = January 12, 2009 | url-status = live }} 1996,{{cite web |url=http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/data.php?year=1996&datatype=national&def=1&f=1&off=0&elect=0 |title=1996 Presidential Election Data—National by State |place=US |publisher=Election atlas |access-date=July 31, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090112115626/http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/data.php?year=1996&datatype=national&def=1&f=1&off=0&elect=0 |archive-date=January 12, 2009 |url-status=live }} 2000,{{cite web |url = http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/data.php?year=2000&datatype=national&def=1&f=1&off=0&elect=0 |title = 2000 Presidential Election Data—National by State |place = US |publisher = Election atlas |access-date = July 31, 2010 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090112113426/http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/data.php?year=2000&datatype=national&def=1&f=1&off=0&elect=0 |archive-date = January 12, 2009 |url-status = live }} 2004{{cite web | url = http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/data.php?year=2004&datatype=national&def=1&f=1&off=0&elect=0 | title = 2004 Presidential Election Data—National by State | place = US | publisher = Election atlas | access-date = July 31, 2010 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110914003136/http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/data.php?year=2004&datatype=national&def=1&f=1&off=0&elect=0 | archive-date = September 14, 2011 | url-status = live }} and 2012 elections. In 1992, Utah was the only state in the nation where Democratic candidate Bill Clinton finished behind both Republican candidate George HW Bush and Independent candidate Ross Perot.{{cite web | url = http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/data.php?year=1992&datatype=national&def=1&f=1&off=0&elect=0 | title = 1992 Presidential Election Data—National by State | place = US | publisher = Election atlas | access-date = July 31, 2010 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090112034439/http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/data.php?year=1992&datatype=national&def=1&f=1&off=0&elect=0 | archive-date = January 12, 2009 | url-status = live }} In 2004, Republican George W. Bush won every county in the state and Utah gave him his largest margin of victory of any state. He won the state's five electoral votes by a margin of 46 percentage points with 71.5% of the vote. In the 1996 Presidential elections the Republican candidate received a smaller 54% of the vote while the Democrat earned 34%.{{Cite web | last = Whitson | first = James R | url = http://www.presidentelect.org/e1996.html | title = Presidential Election 1996 | website= The Unofficial Homepage of the Electoral College | access-date = March 20, 2008 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080319061432/http://presidentelect.org/e1996.html | archive-date = March 19, 2008 | df = mdy-all }}

In 2020, the Associated Press wrote a piece profiling Utah's political culture during that year's presidential election. The article noted a more bipartisan and cooperative environment, along with conservative support of liberal causes such as LGBT rights and marijuana use, despite the Republican dominance in the state and the political polarization seen in other parts of the U.S. at the time.{{cite news|url=https://apnews.com/article/election-2020-race-and-ethnicity-utah-immigration-elections-c555c83c3439c8753502131e6ab63c9f|title=AP ROAD TRIP: Amid American rancor, a dash of Utah Nice|publisher=Associated Press|last=Sullivan|first=Tim|date=December 17, 2020|access-date=March 6, 2021}}

{{Main|List of municipalities in Utah}}

{{See also|Utah locations by per capita income}}

File:Utah population density 2020.png

Utah's population is concentrated in two areas, the Wasatch Front in the north-central part of the state, with over 2.6 million residents; and Washington County, in southwestern Utah, locally known as "Dixie", with more than 175,000 residents in the metropolitan area.

According to the 2010 census, Utah was the second fastest-growing state (at 23.8 percent) in the United States between 2000 and 2010 (behind Nevada). St. George, in the southwest, is the second fastest-growing metropolitan area in the United States, trailing Greeley, Colorado.

The three fastest-growing counties from 2000 to 2010 were Wasatch County (54.7%), Washington County (52.9%), and Tooele County (42.9%). However, Utah County added the most people (148,028). Between 2000 and 2010, Saratoga Springs (1,673%), Herriman (1,330%), Eagle Mountain (893%), Cedar Hills (217%), South Willard (168%), Nibley (166%), Syracuse (159%), West Haven (158%), Lehi (149%), Washington (129%), and Stansbury Park (116%) all at least doubled in population. West Jordan (35,376), Lehi (28,379), St. George (23,234), South Jordan (20,981), West Valley City (20,584), and Herriman (20,262) all added at least 20,000 people.{{cite web |title=QuickFacts: Sandy city, Utah; Orem city, Utah; West Jordan city, Utah; Provo city, Utah; West Valley City city, Utah; Salt Lake City city, Utah |url=https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/sandycityutah,oremcityutah,westjordancityutah,provocityutah,westvalleycitycityutah,saltlakecitycityutah/PST045217 |publisher=United States Census Bureau |access-date=September 24, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180922122041/https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/sandycityutah,oremcityutah,westjordancityutah,provocityutah,westvalleycitycityutah,saltlakecitycityutah/PST045217 |archive-date=September 22, 2018 |url-status=live }}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: left;"

|-

! Utah
Rank !! style="text-align:center;"|City !! Population
(2020)
within
city limits !! Land
area !! Population
density
(/mi²)!! Population
density
(/km²) !! County

|-

| 1 ||align=left|Salt Lake City || 199,723 || {{convert|109.1|sqmi|km2|0|abbr=on}} || 1,830.6 || 706||Salt Lake

|-

| 2 ||align=left|West Valley City || 140,230 || {{convert|35.4|sqmi|km2|0|abbr=on}} || 3,961.3 || 1,524||Salt Lake

|-

| 3 ||align=left|West Jordan || 116,961 || {{convert|30.9|sqmi|km2|0|abbr=on}} || 3,785.1 || 1,462||Salt Lake

|-

| 4 ||align=left|Provo || 115,162 || {{convert|39.6|sqmi|km2|0|abbr=on}} || 2,908.1 ||1,118|| Utah County

|-

| 5 ||align=left|Orem || 98,129 || {{convert|18.4|sqmi|km2|0|abbr=on}} || 5,333.1 ||2,044|| Utah County

|-

| 6 ||align=left|Sandy || 96,904 || {{convert|22.3|sqmi|km2|0|abbr=on}} || 4,345.5 || 1,671 || Salt Lake

|-

| 7 ||align=left|St. George || 95,342 || {{convert|64.4|sqmi|km2|0|abbr=on}} || 1,480.5 || 571 || Washington

|-

| 8 ||align=left|Ogden || 87,321 || {{convert|26.6|sqmi|km2|0|abbr=on}} || 3,282.7 || 1,266 || Weber

|-

| 9 ||align=left|Layton || 81,773 || {{convert|22.0|sqmi|km2|0|abbr=on}} || 3,717 || 1,434 || Davis

|-

| 10 ||align=left|South Jordan || 77,487 || {{convert|22.05|sqmi|km2|0|abbr=on}} || 3,514.1 || 1,359 || Salt Lake

|-

| 11 ||align=left|Lehi || 75,907 || {{convert|26.3|sqmi|km2|0|abbr=on}} || 2,886.2 || 1,116 || Utah

|-

| 12 ||align=left|Millcreek || 63,380 || {{convert|13.7|sqmi|km2|0|abbr=on}} || 4,626.3 || 1,811 || Salt Lake

|-

| 13 ||align=left|Taylorsville || 60,448 || {{convert|10.7|sqmi|km2|0|abbr=on}} || 5,649.3 || 2,159 || Salt Lake

|-

|}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: left;"

|-

! style="text-align:center;"|Combined statistical area !! Population
(2010)

|-

| style="text-align:left;"| Salt Lake City-Ogden-Clearfield
comprises:
Salt Lake City and Ogden-Clearfield Metropolitan Areas and
Brigham City and Heber Micropolitan Areas (as listed below)|| 1,744,886

|}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: left;"

|-

! Utah
Rank !! style="text-align:center;"|Metropolitan area !! Population
(2017) !! Counties

|-

| 1 ||align=left|Salt Lake City* || 1,203,105 || Salt Lake, Tooele, Summit

|-

| 2 ||align=left|Ogden-Clearfield* || 665,358 || Weber, Davis, Morgan

|-

| 3 ||align=left|Provo-Orem || 617,675 || Utah

|-

| 4 ||align=left|St. George || 165,662 || Washington

|-

| 5 ||align=left|Logan || 138,002 || Cache, Franklin (Idaho)

|}

• Until 2003, the Salt Lake City and Ogden-Clearfield metropolitan areas were considered as a single metropolitan area.{{citation needed|date=August 2012}}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: left;"

|-

! Utah
Rank !! style="text-align:center;"|Micropolitan area !! Population
(2010)

|-

| 1 ||align=left|Brigham City || 49,015

|-

| 2 ||align=left|Cedar City || 44,540

|-

| 3 ||align=left|Vernal || 29,885

|-

| 4 ||align=left|Heber || 21,066

|-

| 5 ||align=left|Price || 19,549

|-

| 6 ||align=left|Richfield || 18,382

|}

File:Salt Lake City - July 16, 2011.jpg|Salt Lake City

File:LoganUtahCourthouse.jpg|Logan

File:Downtown ogden.jpg|Ogden

File:Park City, Utah (2).jpg|Park City

File:Provo iv.jpg|Provo

File:Sandy, Utah city hall.jpg|Sandy

File:Dtn st george.jpg|St. George

File:Kays_Crossing_with_Train_Evening.jpg|Layton

{{Main|List of colleges and universities in Utah}}

File:Uofu huntsmancancerinstitute.jpg on the campus of the University of Utah (U of U) in Salt Lake City]]

File:ESC Eyring Science Center.jpg on the campus of Brigham Young University (BYU) in Provo, Utah]]

{{Div col|colwidth=40em}}

• Bridgerland Technical College in Logan
• Broadview College in West Jordan
• Brigham Young University in Provo (satellite campus in Salt Lake City)
• Davis Technical College in Kaysville
• Eagle Gate College in Murray and Layton
• Ensign College (formerly LDS Business College) in Salt Lake City
• Joyce University of Nursing and Health Sciences (formerly Ameritech College of Healthcare) in Draper
• Mountainland Technical College in Lehi
• Neumont College of Computer Science in South Jordan
• Noorda College of Osteopathic Medicine in Provo
• Ogden–Weber Technical College in Ogden
• Provo College in Provo
• Rocky Mountain University of Health Professions in Provo
• Roseman University in South Jordan, Utah
• Salt Lake Community College in Taylorsville
• Snow College in Ephraim and Richfield
• Southern Utah University in Cedar City
• Southwest Technical College in Cedar City
• Tooele Technical College in Tooele
• Uintah Basin Technical College in Roosevelt
• University of Phoenix at various locations statewide
• University of Utah in Salt Lake City
• Utah State University in Logan (satellite campuses at various state locations)
• Utah State University Eastern in Price
• Utah Tech University in St. George (formerly Dixie State University) as of May 2022, and legal effect in July 2022.{{Cite web|date=2021-11-15|title=Dixie State University is changing its name, but what about other 'Dixie' schools in Utah?|url=https://www.abc4.com/news/southern-utah/dixie-state-university-is-changing-its-name-but-what-about-other-dixie-schools-in-utah/|access-date=2021-11-16|website=ABC4 Utah|language=en-US|archive-date=November 16, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211116212333/https://www.abc4.com/news/southern-utah/dixie-state-university-is-changing-its-name-but-what-about-other-dixie-schools-in-utah/|url-status=dead}})
• Utah Valley University in Orem
• Weber State University in Ogden
• Western Governors University an online only university, headquartered in Salt Lake City
• Westminster College in Salt Lake City

{{div col end}}

{{see also|List of professional sports teams in Utah}}

File:2002 Winter Olympics flame.jpg' 1980 U.S. men's ice hockey team at the opening ceremony of the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City]]

File:Houston Rockets and Utah Jazz.jpg playing against the Houston Rockets]]

File:Robbie Russell Real Salt Lake.jpg playing for Real Salt Lake]]

Utah is the second-least populous U.S. state to have a major professional sports league franchise after the Vegas Golden Knights joined the National Hockey League in 2017. The Utah Jazz of the National Basketball Association play at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City.{{Cite news |last1= Speckman |first1= Stephen |last2= Smeath |first2= Doug |url= http://www.deseretnews.com/article/650209221/Whats-in-a-name-Bit-of-a-hassle.html |title= What's in a name? Bit of a hassle |newspaper= Deseret Morning News |date= November 22, 2006 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20141104174652/http://www.deseretnews.com/article/650209221/Whats-in-a-name-Bit-of-a-hassle.html |archive-date= November 4, 2014 |url-status=dead }} The team moved to the city from New Orleans in 1979 and has been one of the most consistently successful teams in the league (although they have yet to win a championship). The Salt Lake City Stars are the G League affiliate of the Jazz. The team moved from Idaho to Utah in 2016. Salt Lake City was previously host to the Utah Stars, who competed in the ABA from 1970 to 1976 and won one championship, and to the Utah Starzz of the WNBA from 1997 to 2003.

In 2024, the Utah Hockey Club was established, beginning play during the 2024–25 National Hockey League season. The team was established using the existing roster, staff and draft picks of the Arizona Coyotes, which were purchased by businessman and Jazz owner Ryan Smith. The Utah Hockey Club plays their home games at the Delta Center, sharing the facility with the Jazz.{{cite web | url=https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5818599/2024/10/08/utah-hockey-club-scramble-inaugural-season/ | title=Inside Utah Hockey Club's unprecedented five-month scramble to NHL opening night | work=The New York Times | last1=Lazerus | first1=Mark }} Utah also has one minor league hockey team, the Utah Grizzlies, who play at the Maverik Center and compete in the ECHL.

Real Salt Lake of Major League Soccer was founded in 2005 and plays their home matches at America First Field in Sandy. RSL remains the only Utah major league sports team to have won a national championship, having won the MLS Cup in 2009.{{cite web|url=http://www.deseretnews.com/article/705346496/Real-Salt-Lake-wins-dramatic-MLS-Cup-on-penalty-kicks.html|title=Real Salt Lake wins dramatic MLS Cup on penalty kicks|first=James|last=Edward|date=November 23, 2009|website=Deseret News|access-date=May 1, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170525095650/http://www.deseretnews.com/article/705346496/Real-Salt-Lake-wins-dramatic-MLS-Cup-on-penalty-kicks.html|archive-date=May 25, 2017|url-status=dead}} RSL currently operates two adult teams in addition to the MLS side. Real Monarchs, competing in the third-tier MLS Next Pro, is the official reserve side for RSL. The team began to play in the 2015 season at Rio Tinto Stadium, remaining there until moving to Zions Bank Stadium, located at RSL's training center in Herriman, for the 2018 season and beyond.{{cite web|title=Real Salt Lake announce that new USL PRO team will be called Real Monarchs|url=http://www.mlssoccer.com/news/article/2014/09/10/real-salt-lake-announce-new-usl-pro-team-will-be-called-real-monarchs|publisher=MLSsoccer.com|access-date=September 11, 2014|date=September 10, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140911051123/http://www.mlssoccer.com/news/article/2014/09/10/real-salt-lake-announce-new-usl-pro-team-will-be-called-real-monarchs|archive-date=September 11, 2014|url-status=live}}{{cite web|title=Zions Bank Real Academy new home for Real Salt Lake development pyramid|url=https://www.rsl.com/post/2017/05/24/zions-bank-real-academy-new-home-real-salt-lake-development-pyramid|publisher=Real Monarchs|access-date=November 17, 2017|date=May 24, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171117175017/https://www.rsl.com/post/2017/05/24/zions-bank-real-academy-new-home-real-salt-lake-development-pyramid|archive-date=November 17, 2017|url-status=live}} The Utah Royals returned to the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL), the top level of U.S. women's soccer, in 2024.{{Cite news |last=Linehan |first=Meg |title=Utah Royals return to NWSL for 'new era' with different investors |url=https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/4298180/2023/03/11/nwsl-utah-royals-new-era/ |access-date=2025-01-23 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}} The original team of that name, which shared ownership with RSL and also played at America First Field, started NWSL play in 2018.{{cite press release |url=https://www.rsl.com/post/2017/12/01/utah-royals-fc-unveils-name-identity-2018-nwsl-season |title=Utah Royals FC unveils name, identity for 2018 NWSL season |publisher=Real Salt Lake |date=December 1, 2017 |access-date=December 5, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171202203207/https://www.rsl.com/post/2017/12/01/utah-royals-fc-unveils-name-identity-2018-nwsl-season |archive-date=December 2, 2017 |url-status=live }} Due to fallout from controversies surrounding RSL's ownership, leading to the club's eventual sale, RSL shuttered the Royals after the 2020 season, selling its player-related assets to a new Kansas City franchise.{{cite news |title=Kansas City Returns to the NWSL as Expansion Team in 2021 |url=https://www.nwslsoccer.com/news/article/kansas-city-returns-to-the-nwsl-as-expansion-team-in-2021 |access-date=7 December 2020 |publisher=NWSL |date=December 7, 2020 |archive-date=November 22, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211122154711/https://www.nwslsoccer.com/news/article/kansas-city-returns-to-the-nwsl-as-expansion-team-in-2021 |url-status=dead }} Before the creation of the Royals, RSL's main women's side had been Real Salt Lake Women, which began play in the Women's Premier Soccer League in 2008 and moved to United Women's Soccer in 2016, before folding in 2019.

Utah's highest level Minor League Baseball team is the Triple-A Salt Lake Bees, as a part of the Pacific Coast League. The team previously played at Smith's Ballpark in Salt Lake City, but is set to move to Daybreak Field at America First Square in 2025.

Utah has seven universities that compete in Division I of the NCAA. Three of the schools have football programs that participate in the top-level Football Bowl Subdivision: BYU and Utah in the Big 12 Conference (with Utah moving from the Pac-12 Conference in 2024), and Utah State in the Mountain West Conference. In addition, Weber State and Southern Utah (SUU) compete in the Big Sky Conference of the FCS. Utah Tech, with an FCS football program, and Utah Valley, with no football program, are members of the Western Athletic Conference (WAC). Utah Tech football plays in the United Athletic Conference, a football-only partnership between the WAC and the Atlantic Sun Conference (ASUN). Most of these schools house select teams outside of their primary conferences; for example, BYU men's volleyball plays in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation and Utah plays men's lacrosse in the ASUN.

Salt Lake City hosted the 2002 Winter Olympics. After early financial struggles and scandals, the 2002 Olympics eventually became among the most successful Winter Olympics in history from a marketing and financial standpoint. Watched by more than two billion viewers, the Games ended up with a profit of $100 million.{{cite news |url=https://www.ksl.com/?sid=19155597|title=Economic impact of 2002 Olympics still felt|first=Jasen|last=Lee|date=February 8, 2012|publisher=KSL-TV|access-date=May 18, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170525083039/https://www.ksl.com/?sid=19155597|archive-date=May 25, 2017|url-status=live}}

Utah has hosted professional golf tournaments such as the Uniting Fore Care Classic, and currently hosts the Utah Championship.

Rugby has been growing quickly in the state of Utah, growing from 17 teams in 2009 to 70 {{as of|2013|lc=y}} with more than 3,000 players, and more than 55 high school varsity teams.[http://www.thisisamericanrugby.com/2014/10/utah-youth-enjoying-7s-season.html "Utah Youth Enjoying 7s Season, Continuing To Grow"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141014121849/http://www.thisisamericanrugby.com/2014/10/utah-youth-enjoying-7s-season.html |date=October 14, 2014 }}, This Is American Rugby, October 8, 2014.{{Cite news |work=KSL | title = 'Forever Strong' inspired change, growth for Utah rugby teams | date = March 8, 2013 | url = http://www.ksl.com/?sid=24325996&nid=148&title=forever-strong-inspired-change-growth-for-utah-rugby-teams&fm=home_page&s_cid=queue-8 | access-date = March 12, 2013 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130510171103/http://www.ksl.com/?sid=24325996&nid=148&title=forever-strong-inspired-change-growth-for-utah-rugby-teams&fm=home_page&s_cid=queue-8 | archive-date = May 10, 2013 | url-status = live }} The growth has been inspired in part by the 2008 movie Forever Strong. Utah fields two of the most competitive teams in the nation in college rugby—BYU and Utah. BYU has won the National Championship in 2009, 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015. Formed in 2017, the Utah Warriors are a Major League Rugby team based in Salt Lake City.{{cite web |title=Home |url=https://www.warriorsrugby.com/ |website=Utah Warriors Rugby |access-date=February 1, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190202020314/https://www.warriorsrugby.com/ |archive-date=February 2, 2019 |url-status=live }}

{{See also|List of appearances of Monument Valley in the media|Category:Films shot in Utah}}

Utah is the setting of or the filming location for many books, films,{{Cite web | publisher = Internet Movie Database (IMDb) | url = https://www.imdb.com/search/title?locations=Utah&ref_=ttloc_loc_1 | title = Filming Locations | access-date = July 21, 2018 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170525081852/http://www.imdb.com/search/title?locations=Utah&ref_=ttloc_loc_1 | archive-date = May 25, 2017 | url-status = live }} television series, music videos, and video games. Southern Utah is the site of many westerns, including Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and Gunsmoke, along with modern movies like Thelma and Louise and Forrest Gump. The Bonneville Salt Flats are also a popular location, seen in films such as Independence Day and Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End. Utah's capital Salt Lake City is the final location in the video game The Last of Us.{{cite web |title=Real World Architecture and Locations in The Last of Us |date=July 30, 2013 |url=http://www.realityisagame.com/archives/2070/real-world-architecture-and-locations-in-the-last-of-us/ |publisher=Reality is a Game |access-date=September 24, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181127021718/http://www.realityisagame.com/archives/2070/real-world-architecture-and-locations-in-the-last-of-us/ |archive-date=November 27, 2018 |url-status=live }}

The Sundance Film Festival was founded in 1978, and takes place every January in Park City. It is considered one of the "big five" film festivals, and is the largest independent film festival in the United States.{{Cite web |last=Miller |first=Nick |date=2024-02-02 |title=Reely Big: The Largest Film Festivals in the World |url=https://www.discoveryuk.com/building-big/reely-big-the-largest-film-festivals-in-the-world/ |access-date=2025-01-23 |website=Discovery UK |language=en-US}}

File:Monumentvalley.jpg|Monument Valley in southeastern Utah. This area was used to film many Hollywood Westerns.

File:Saltph26.jpg|The otherworldly look of the Bonneville Salt Flats has been used in many movies and commercials.

{{portal|Utah|United States|Latter Day Saint movement}}

• Index of Utah-related articles
• Outline of Utah

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{{Reflist}}

{{refbegin}}

• Brown, Adam R. Utah politics and government: American democracy among a unique electorate (U of Nebraska Press, 2018).
• Ching, Jacqueline. Utah: Past and Present (Rosen, 2010).
• May, Dean L. Utah: A people's history (U of Utah Press, 1987).
• Peterson, Charles S. and Brian Q. Cannon. The Awkward State of Utah: Coming of Age in the Nation, 1896–1945. Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press, 2015. {{ISBN|978-1-60781-421-4}}
• {{citation |url= http://www.uen.org/utah_history_encyclopedia/ |editor-last= Powell |editor-first= Allan Kent |year= 1994 |title= Utah History Encyclopedia |location= Salt Lake City, Utah |publisher= University of Utah Press |isbn= 0874804256 |oclc= 30473917}}

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{{Sister project links|collapsible=true|voy=Utah}}

• {{cite EB9 |wstitle = Utah |volume= XXIV |last= Gannett |first= Henry |author-link= Henry Gannett| page= |short=1 }}

• {{cite web|url=http://www.utah.gov/|title=State of Utah|type=official Web site}}
• {{Cite web|url=http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/state/state_energy_profiles.cfm?sid=UT|title=Energy Data & Statistics for Utah|publisher=DoE|place=US|access-date=June 27, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080620004903/http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/state/state_energy_profiles.cfm?sid=UT|archive-date=June 20, 2008|url-status=dead|df=mdy-all}}

• [https://guides.loc.gov/utah-state-guide Utah: State Resource Guide, from the Library of Congress]

• {{Cite web|url=http://www.ut.ngb.army.mil/html/|place=UT|publisher=Army|title=National Guard|access-date=June 11, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110620144756/http://www.ut.ngb.army.mil/html/|archive-date=June 20, 2011|url-status=dead|df=mdy-all}}
• {{Cite web|url=https://www.151wg.af.mil/|place=UT|title=Air National Guard|publisher=Air Force|access-date=November 7, 2015}}
• {{Cite web|url=https://www.hill.af.mil/|place=UT|title=Hill Air Force Base|publisher=Air Force|access-date=May 4, 2017}}

• {{Cite map|url = http://collections.swco.ttu.edu/handle/10605/11464 | year = 1875 | publisher = Texas Tech University |title=County map of Utah and Nevada | last1 = Gamble | first1 = W. H. | last2 = Mitchell | first2 = S. Augustus }}{{Cite web|url=http://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/state-fact-sheets/state-data.aspx?StateFIPS=49&StateName=Utah#.U8BO2vldUeo|title=Utah State Facts|publisher=USDA|access-date=November 7, 2015|archive-date=October 21, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151021183302/http://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/state-fact-sheets/state-data.aspx?StateFIPS=49&StateName=Utah#.U8BO2vldUeo|url-status=dead}}
• {{Cite web|url=http://www.usgs.gov/state/state.asp?State=UT|url-status=dead|publisher=USGS|title=Real-time, geographic, and other scientific resources of Utah|access-date=November 7, 2015|archive-date=October 21, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151021183250/http://www.usgs.gov/state/state.asp?State=UT}}
• {{Cite web|url=http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/49000.html|title=QuickFacts|place=The US|publisher=Census Bureau|access-date=November 7, 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151104074948/http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/49000.html|archive-date=November 4, 2015|df=mdy-all}}.
• {{osmrelation-inline |161993}}

• [https://www.visitutah.com/ Utah Office of Tourism Official Website] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210212222357/https://visitutah.com/ |date=February 12, 2021 }}
• [http://travel.utah.gov/ Office of Tourism] (requires Adobe Flash)
• [http://stateparks.utah.gov/ Utah State Parks]
• [http://commuterlink.utah.gov/ Utah Traffic and Road Conditions] {{Webarchive|url=http://archive.wikiwix.com/cache/20151108020239/http://commuterlink.utah.gov/ |date=November 8, 2015 }}

• [http://www.utahstatechamber.org/ Utah State Chamber of Commerce] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200624223236/https://utahstatechamber.org/ |date=June 24, 2020 }}

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