Utah's Population Continues To Grow Thanks To Transplants

The rest of the U.S. can't resist the beauty of the Beehive States.

While births in the state are down, Utah's population continues to grow because of transplants. Research from the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute at the University of Utah found that the state's population is nearing 3.3 million people. Utah grew by 509,000 people since 2010.

Transplants are responsible for 48% of state's population growth in the last year.

“The Wasatch Front and southwestern Utah continue to expand and bring migrants from other regions,” according to a brief from the Institute.

Instead of Salt Lake County, these newbies are moving to Utah County, which had the “highest net migration in the state," demographer Emily Harris told the Associated Press. Harris believes the lower cost of housing is one of the reasons why people are moving to Utah County.

Just like the rest of the country, Utah has seen a drop in births since 2008.

“We had 46,500 births this year, which is the lowest we’ve had since 1999,” said Harris. She explained that part of this is due to people having their first child later in life.

Demographers say Utah is experiencing strong population growth, but it's too early to tell how much it has been impacted by the pandemic.

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