Utah population, driven mostly by in-migration, reaches 3.46M

July 1 estimates produced by the Utah Population Committee indicate a total Utah population of 3,456,482, adding 55,989 residents to the state since July 1, 2022. The midyear reference date of these estimates reflects a post COVID-19 era, with rising inflation, increasing interest rates and a moderation of high growth from the past few years.

“Statewide population growth in 2023 is high but slowed after an intense start to the decade,” said Emily Harris, senior demographer at the Kem C. Garder Policy Institute. “Net migration continues to drive population growth in the state, but natural increase went up for the first time since 2013 as deaths sharply declined due to the end of the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Key findings from the research include the following:

• State-Level Results: In 2023, Utah experienced a slight decline in population growth, from 1.7 percent in 2022 to 1.6 percent in 2023.
• Net-Migration vs. Natural Increase: This year’s state-level growth was primarily driven by net migration, accounting for 56 percent of new residents. Deaths declined sharply for the first time since the start of the pandemic; however, births also declined this year after increasing in 2022. These dynamics caused an increase in natural increase for the first time since 2013, totaling 24,431 and 44 percent of annual population growth.
• County-Level Results: Twenty-seven counties grew in 2023, with approximately two-thirds of those counties driven by net migration. For the second year in a row, Iron County experienced the fastest population growth (3.7 percent) for a county with a resident population of over 5,000. Utah, Piute, Daggett, Rich, Juab, Kane, Washington, Wasatch and Tooele counties grew by over 2 percent. Utah County added the most population, totaling 22,063 new residents, over 39 percent of the state’s population growth.

“We appreciate the opportunity to share locally informed estimates with the state and county each year,” said Mallory Bateman, director of demographic research at the Gardner Institute. “Our data partners provide great context and insights into how our population is continuing to grow and change.”

The full policy brief is available at the Gardener Institute website at https://gardner.utah.edu/.