Gardner report: No. Utah mean centers of population & employment fall in SLC

The mean center of population and employment in Northern Utah both fall in Salt Lake City, according to a new analysis from the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute at the University of Utah. This reflects the strong influence Utah’s Greater Salt Lake economic region, namely Salt Lake City and County, plays as the state’s cultural, economic and political heart, the institute said. The region encompasses 86.7 percent of the state’s population and includes nearly 90 percent of the state’s employment.

“The mean center is a unique metric that shows the balancing point of population and employment,” said Gardner Institute analyst Eric Albers. “If each person and job are weighted equally, the mean center would be the point where you could balance a state, region or county on a hypothetical plane.”

Key findings from the data summary include:

Greater Salt Lake Economic Region. The Greater Salt Lake Economic Region is home to the majority of Utahns and nine of 10 jobs in the state. The broader region includes 12 counties. However, the core population and employment fall within Salt Lake County.

Mean Center of Population and Employment. The mean center of population and employment for the Greater Salt Lake Region both fall within Salt Lake City. The region’s population center is at 2100 South and Main Street in the southern portion of the Ballpark neighborhood. The employment center lies just a few blocks north, in Liberty Wells, pulled by the gravity of downtown Salt Lake’s employment.

Salt Lake County. Within the Greater Salt Lake Economic Region, Salt Lake County includes an outsize share of population and employment. Over one-third (36.2 percent) of Utah residents live in Salt Lake County, followed by Utah (20.2 percent), Davis (11.1 percent) and Weber (8 percent) counties. In addition to being the most populous county in the state, Salt Lake County is the epicenter of employment in Utah, contributing nearly half of the state’s employment, followed by Utah (17.4 percent), Davis (8 percent) and Washington (4.5 percent) counties.

Statewide Center of Population and Employment. The statewide centers of population and employment are both located near Point of the Mountain. The population center can be found in Saratoga Springs, while the employment center is seven miles north, in Bluffdale.

Statewide Economic Regions. The population and employment centers for the state’s five other economic regions also provide context for where people live and work. In addition to the Greater Salt Lake Economic Region, the data fact sheet also includes centers of population and employment for the Uintah Basin, East Central, West Central, Southwest and Southeast economic regions of Utah.

The full report can be accessed through the Gardner Institute website at gardner.edu.utah.