Report showcases Utah’s population and employment centers by region

SALT LAKE CITY — The Greater Salt Lake region is the cultural, economic and political heart of the state, according to a new report. While some may have suspected — or not suspected — this to be the case, there are now numbers to back it up.

The Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute says it looked at mean centers of population and employment in Utah’s economic regions to create the report. But what is meant by “mean center” when it comes to population and employment?

“The mean center is a unique metric that shows the balancing point of population and employment,” explained Eric Albers, a research analyst at the Gardner Institute. “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.”

The Greater Salt Lake region is home to 2.8 million people, making up 86.7% of the Beehive State’s population, and boasts nearly 90% of its employment, according to the report. While the region includes 12 counties, Salt Lake City and county takes the title as the mean center of population and employment for the Greater Salt Lake region, with an outsize share of population and employment.

“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,” said the report.

As the top employment hub in the state, Utah’s capital city boasts a job per capita rate of 1.3 — higher than any city in the state — with 199,723 residents to 265,852 jobs, according to 2020 data.

And even though Salt Lake City is home to just over 1 in 20 state residents, it accounts for nearly 1 in 5 jobs in the state, a significantly higher share than anywhere else.

Other population and employment centers

In addition to the Greater Salt Lake region, the state is home to five other economic regions where people work and reside.

Southwest

The biggest of these regions is the Southwest region. Its population and employment centers are located approximately 20 miles northeast of St. George, just north of Leeds and west of I-15.

The Southwest region makes up 7.9% of Utah’s population and 6.3% of its employment.

West Central

Coming in behind it is the West Central region, with its population and employment centers situated northwest of Salina, in the Valley Mountains of Sevier County. This region hosts 2% of Utah’s population and 1.5% of its jobs.

Uinta Basin

Following closely in third place is the Uintah Basin. Its population and employment centers are basically on top of each other, north of U.S. 40 between Roosevelt and Vernal. This region is home to 1.7% of the state’s population and 1.3% of the state’s employment.

West Central

Significantly smaller than the West Central region in both population and employment, the East Central region’s population and employment centers are positioned just off state Route 10 between Price and Huntington. Its population of just over 30,000 is good for 0.9% of Utah’s population and the area is home to 0.7% of the state’s employment.

Southeast

Rounding out the six regions is the Southeast, which showcases the the greatest geographic distance between the population center (west of Monticello) and employment center (20 miles north of Monticello). With only 24,187 residents, the Southeast economic region makes up 0.7% of Utah’s population and 0.6% of the state’s employment.

Taking a bird’s eye view of Utah, the mean population and employment centers for the entire state are each located near the Point of the Mountain, with the population center in Saratoga Springs and the employment center 7 miles north, in Bluffdale.