Utah returns to the Top 5 in growth as US population soared in 2024
Dec 19, 2024, 8:00 PM
Construction work on the Cottage Homes development in Sandy on Monday. Utah's population is now over 3.5 million after another big population increase over the past year, the U.S. Census Bureau reported on Thursday. (Scott G Winterton/Deseret News)
(Scott G Winterton/Deseret News)
SALT LAKE CITY — Utah is once again one of the five fastest-growing states in the country this year, while the U.S. experienced its largest population spike in two decades, according to new federal data.
Related: Nation’s college age population expected to decline
Utah is believed to have gained a little more than 60,000 new residents between July 1, 2023, and July 1 of this year, surpassing 3.5 million residents along the way, the Census Bureau reported on Thursday. It represents a growth of 1.8%, tying Texas for third among all U.S. states, districts and territories.
“We’re really fortunate to live in a state where people want to live here … because we have the best economy in the nation,” said Gov. Spencer Cox, touting the state’s ranking.
Meanwhile, the U.S. population grew by 3.3 million people from mid-2023 to mid-2024. Its 1% growth is the country’s biggest leap since 2001, surpassing 340 million this year as a result of two key forces.
How Utah grew in 2024
The Census Bureau’s annual population estimates don’t explain exactly why growth occurs, why certain states grow faster than others, or why some states decline. The agency instead publishes data from a wealth of sources to estimate natural increase — number of births over deaths — and migration patterns.
Related: The youngest state in the nation is getting older — is Utah prepared for an aging population?
Net migration — primarily from other states — has been a large driver for Utah in recent years. It’s one reason why it led the nation in percentage growth between the 2010 and 2020 censuses. However, the Beehive State’s percentage growth ranking has tumbled a bit in recent years. It fell to ninth in the Census Bureau’s 2023 estimates after a projected 1.1% growth between 2022 and 2023.
Overall trends remained about the same in 2024, as net migration accounted for about 60% of the state’s year-to-year growth. Yet, International migration accounted for a little over 90% of that migration, according to the Census Bureau data.
Christine Hartley, assistant division chief for estimates and projections for the Census Bureau, said the bureau made some changes to improve data collected from agencies that closely track immigration since last year’s population estimates.
Read the full story at KSL.com.
