Utah County, Utah
Location in the state of Utah
Utah's location in the U.S.
Founded	1852
Named for	The Ute Native Americans
Seat	Provo
Largest city	Provo
Area  - Total  - Land  - Water	2,141 sq mi (5,545 km²) 1,998 sq mi (5,176 km²) 143 sq mi (369 km²), 6.66%
PopulationEst.  - (2011)  - Density	530,499 258.5/sq mi (100/km²)
Time zone	Mountain: UTC-7/-6
Website	www.utahcountyonline.org

Utah County is a county in the US state of Utah. As of the 2010 census, the population was 516,564.^[1] It was named for the Spanish name (Yuta) for the Ute Indians. The county seat and largest city is Provo. The center of population for the State of Utah is located in Utah County, in the city of Lehi.^[2] Utah County is part of the Provo-Orem Metropolitan Statistical Area.

It is one of seven US counties to share its name with its state (the others are Arkansas County, Hawaii County, Idaho County, Iowa County, New York County, and Oklahoma County).

  Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 2,141 square miles (5,550 km²), of which 1,998 square miles (5,170 km²) is land and 143 square miles (370 km²) (6.66%) is water. Utah Valley lies at the center of the county, lined by the mountains of the Wasatch Range on the east. Utah Lake occupies a large part of the valley. The elevation ranges from 4,487 feet (1,368 m) above sea level at the lake to 11,928 feet (3,636 m) at the peak of Mount Nebo.

  Adjacent counties

• Salt Lake – (north)
• Tooele – (west)
• Wasatch – (east)
• Juab – (south and west)
• Sanpete – (south central)
• Carbon – (south on east)
• Duchesne – (southeast)

  A partial view of Utah Valley seen here from outside of Salem

  National protected areas

• Ashley National Forest (part)
• Manti-La Sal National Forest (part)
• Timpanogos Cave National Monument
• Uinta National Forest (part)
• Wasatch-Cache National Forest (part)

  Government

The government is an elected county commission made up of three commissioners. Other elected officials include the county sheriff, the county clerk, and the county attorney. As of 2011, the three county commissioners are Gary Anderson, Doug Witney, and Larry Ellertson. Commissioner Ellertson's position will be up for election in 2012, with the other two seats decided in 2014.

Utah County's growth was recognized by the state legislature in 2011 by adding one new state Senate seat and two House district seats.^[3]

Utah County saw 43 of the state's 100 cases of West Nile virus in 2006. Following two deaths from the disease and requests from residents, the Utah County Health Department hired additional staff for their mosquito abatement program. Despite their efforts, 20% of the mosquito species that carry the virus in the county are infected.^[4]

  Infrastructure

  I-15 CORE

The I-15 CORE project is an expansion project that is adding multiple lanes on Interstate 15 through all of Utah County. This expands 24 miles (39 km) of freeway and is scheduled for completion in December 2012, but with a major protion by June 2012.^[5]

  Politics

Utah County has been referred to as "the most Republican county in the most Republican state in the United States."^[6] In the 1992 presidential election, George H. W. Bush received the most votes and Bill Clinton was third in votes received. In the 2004 presidential election, 85.99% voted for George W. Bush.^[7] In the 2008 U.S. presidential election, the county voted for John McCain by a 58.9% margin over Barack Obama, with McCain winning by 28.1% statewide.^[8] Eight other Utah counties voted more strongly in favor of McCain.^[9]

  Demographics

As of the census of 2010, there were 516,564 people, 140,602 households, and 114,350 families residing in the county. The population density was 259 people per square mile (100/km²). There were 148,350 housing units, at an average density of 74 per square mile (29/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 89.4% White, 0.5% Black or African American, 0.6% American Indian or Alaska Native, 1.4% Asian, 0.8% Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander, 4.6% some other race, and 2.7% from two or more races. 10.8% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.^[1]

There were 140,602 households, out of which 47.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 69.9% were headed by married couples living together, 8.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 18.7% were non-families. 11.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 4.4% were someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.57, and the average family size was 3.88.^[1]

In the county, the population was spread out with 35.2% under the age of 18, 15.8% from 18 to 24, 28% from 25 to 44, 14.5% from 45 to 64, and 6.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 24.6 years. For every 100 females there were 100.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.7 males.^[1]

At the 2000 census, the median income for a household in the county was $45,833, and the median income for a family was $50,196. Males had a median income of $37,878 versus $22,656 for females. The per capita income for the county was $15,557. About 6.80% of families and 12.00% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.40% of those under age 18 and 4.80% of those age 65 or over.

The top 5 reported ancestries^[10] in Utah County are:^[11]

• English-30%
• German-10%
• Danish-7%
• Mexican-5%
• Scottish-4%

Religion
88.1% Mormon
10.1% Non Religious
1.8% Other
^[12]

  Schools

Utah County has three school districts, Alpine, Provo, and Nebo.^[13] It also has two universities: Brigham Young University and Utah Valley University.

  In popular culture

• The 2003 book Under the Banner of Heaven written by Jon Krakauer discusses locations throughout Utah County.
• The 2007 film American Fork (later known as Humble Pie) was filmed in that city.^[14]
• The film Brigham City was filmed in Mapleton. Despite the name of the film, Richard Dutcher had Mapleton, not Brigham City, in mind in making the film.
• The 1984 film Footloose was filmed at various locations in Utah County: American Fork, Lehi, Orem, Payson, and Provo.
• The 1985 film Fletch is set in part in Provo. The dialogue makes frequent reference to the city.^[15]
• The 2008 documentary Happy Valley is about drug abuse in Utah County.^[16]
• The book Social Welfare: Politics and Public Policy, by Diana DiNitto, mentions Utah County as one of the three most generous counties in philanthropic donations in the U.S., based on an article in Giving USA 2003 (the other two were San Juan County, Utah and Madison County, Idaho).^[17]

  Cities and towns

  Utah Valley, Utah County as seen from Traverse Ridge in Lehi

  Mount Timpanogos in the Wasatch Range is visible from much of Utah County.

• Alpine, incorporated in 1855
• American Fork, incorporated in 1853
• Cedar Fort, incorporated in 1965
• Cedar Hills, incorporated in 1976
• Draper, incorporated in 1978 and annexed land in Utah County in 2004
• Eagle Mountain, incorporated in 1996
• Elk Ridge, incorporated in 1976
• Fairfield, incorporated in 2004
• Genola, incorporated in 1935
• Goshen, incorporated in 1910
• Highland, incorporated in 1977
• Lehi, incorporated in 1852
• Lindon, incorporated in 1924
• Mapleton, incorporated in 1948
• Orem, incorporated in 1919
• Payson, incorporated in 1853
• Pleasant Grove, incorporated in 1855
• Provo, incorporated in 1849
• Salem, incorporated in 1920
• Santaquin, incorporated in 1932
• Saratoga Springs, incorporated in 1997
• Spanish Fork, incorporated in 1855
• Springville, incorporated in 1853
• Vineyard, incorporated in 1989
• Woodland Hills

  Census-designated places

• Benjamin
• Elberta
• Lake Shore
• Palmyra
• Spring Lake
• West Mountain

  Unincorporated communities

• Vivian Park

  See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Utah County, Utah

  References

This article uses bare URLs for citations. Please consider adding full citations so that the article remains verifiable. Several templates and the Reflinks tool are available to assist in formatting. (Reflinks documentation) (October 2011)

  External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Utah County, Utah

• Utah County official website
• Utah County Sheriff's Office

		Salt Lake County	Wasatch County
	Tooele County		Duchesne County
		Utah County, Utah
	Juab County	Sanpete County	Carbon County

Municipalities and communities of Utah County, Utah, United States County seat: Provo Cities Alpine American Fork Cedar Hills Draper Eagle Mountain Elk Ridge Highland Lehi Lindon Mapleton Orem Payson Pleasant Grove Provo Salem Santaquin Saratoga Springs Spanish Fork Springville Woodland Hills Towns Cedar Fort Fairfield Genola Goshen Vineyard CDPs Benjamin Elberta Lake Shore Palmyra Spring Lake West Mountain Unincorporated communities Birdseye Vivian Park Indian reservation Uintah and Ouray Indian Reservation Ghost towns Colton Forest City Mill Fork Mosida Thistle Tucker

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Coordinates: 40°07′N 111°40′W / 40.12°N 111.67°W / 40.12; -111.67