The 2020 census is out and Sanpete County, along with its neighbors in the Six Counties Association of Governments—Juab, Millard, Piute, Sevier and Wayne—is lagging behind in growth.
While Utah as a whole grew 18.4 percent from 2,763,885 in 2010 to 3,271,616 residents in 2020, Sanpete County’s population grew just 615 residents in the last 10 years.
Sanpete County’s population went from 27,822 in 2010 to 28,437 in 2020, meaning the population only grew about two percent over 10 years.
However, in the last 20 years, since the 2000 census, Sanpete’s population has grown from 22,763 to 28,437—a 5,674-person difference.
According to the census, several cities in Sanpete had a reduction in population, while many had small gains.
Sanpete County Economic Director Kevin Christensen was expecting larger growth. Even the census’ own 2019 estimates projected that Sanpete County would grow to about 31,000 people, or an 11 percent growth rate in 10 years.
But that didn’t happen, and the low number has Christensen thinking that because the census was conducted right in the middle of the COVID outbreak, the count was diminished.
“It doesn’t feel accurate,” he said, referring to the census. I don’t know if people didn’t take the census because of COVID or if the Census Bureau overestimated the projected growth. “I think that most people would question that number.”
Christensen thinks actual growth is probably closer to the higher number of the 2019 estimate. Look at the building permits, and you can see the number of new projects going in, he said.
“I think we will see modest growth for the next 10 years,” he said. The Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute projected that Sanpete County will grow 1.36 percent in 2021.
Yearly Population
| Location | 2000 | 2010 | 2020 |
| Ephraim | 4,532 | 6,135 | 5,611* |
| Mt. Pleasant | 2,766 | 3,259 | 3,655 |
| Gunnison | 2,404 | 3,285 | 3,509 |
| Manti | 3,091 | 3,437 | 3,429 |
| Moroni | 1,251 | 1,427 | 1,544 |
| Centerfield | 1,054 | 1,367 | 1,341 |
| Fairview | 1,237 | 1,247 | 1,203 |
| Fountain Green | 931 | 1,069 | 1,197 |
| Spring City | 938 | 991 | 949 |
| Mayfield | 467 | 510 | 556 |
| Wales | 248 | 345 | 338 |
| Sterling | 269 | 295 | 274 |
| Fayette | 201 | 242 | 245 |
| Unincorporated | 3,374 | 4,213 | 4,586 |
| Sanpete County Population Total | 22,763 | 27,822 | 28,437 |
Sanpete’s neighbors in the Six Counties region didn’t grow a great deal either, according to the 2020 census. Juab grew from 10,246 in 2010 to 11,786 in 2020; Millard went from 12,503 to 12,975; Piute lost people, going from 1,566 to 1,438; Sevier grew from 20,802 to 21,522; and Wayne reduced its population from 2,778 to 2,486.
Of all the cities in Sanpete County, Ephraim lost the most people. According to the census, 524 people left Ephraim in the last 10 years, going from 6,135 in 2010 to 5611 in 2020.
But Ephraim City Recorder Leigh Ann Warnock said families haven’t been moving out of the city. The negative number in the census might be attributed to the tally of Snow College students, who might have been absent because of COVID.
Other cities in Sanpete with a loss of residents included Centerfield, 1367 to 1341; Fairview, 1247 to 1203; and Spring City, 988 to 949.
Cities with positive growth were Gunnison, Manti, Mt. Pleasant, Moroni, Fountain Green, Mayfield, Sterling, Wales and Fayette.
Compared to other areas of the state, Sanpete’s growth rate was meager. Wasatch County was the fastest-growing county at 47.9 percent, growing from 23,530 to 34,788.
Vineyard, once the site of a Geneva Steel mill, swelled from 139 residents to more than 12,500 in the course of a decade as it transformed into subdivisions. South Jordan is also among the fastest-growing cities of its size in the nation as Utah’s urban areas swelled and many of its rural southeastern communities shrunk.
Nearly one in four Utahns is a racial or ethnic minority, new census numbers show, up from about one in five a decade earlier.
Despite the change, the data shows white remains the prevalent race within 28 of 29 Utah counties. The lone exception is San Juan County, where residents most reported themselves as American Indian.
Across the state, just over 15 percent of Utahns are now Hispanic or Latino, making up the second-largest ethnic group.
Additionally, Utah remains young. It has the largest share of total population under age 18, at 29 percent.
In all, 22 of Utah’s 29 counties grew over the past decade and 14 of those experienced double-digit growth, according to a news article from KSL.
Washington (30.5 percent), Morgan (29.8 percent), Utah (27.7 percent) and Tooele (24.9 percent) counties rounded out the top five behind Wasatch County. Iron County came in at 24.1 percent growth rate. Each of those counties placed in the top 100 nationally.
Seven Utah counties dropped in population since 2010, which didn’t happen at all in the previous 10 years, between 2000 and 2010. All seven of those are in the central and eastern parts of the state.
Daggett County experienced the biggest drop in terms of percentage. With a loss of 124 residents, it fell 11.7 percent from the 2010 count. Emery and Wayne (-10.5 percent each), Piute (-7.6 percent), Carbon (-4.6 percent), Garfield (-1.7 percent) and San Juan (-1.5 percent) were the other counties that lost residents over the past decade. Emery County experienced the biggest drop in total population, losing 1,151 residents between 2010 and 2020. It now has 9,825 residents.
Some interesting Sanpete County facts, according to the census, are: The per capita income over the past 12 months (in 2019 dollars) was $20,056; 14 percent of the people in Sanpete County live in poverty. Most households have a computer (92 percent), and most households have a broadband internet subscription (82 percent). Most residents have graduated from high school (90 percent), and some (21 percent) have earned a bachelor’s degree or higher.
For more census info, visit https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/sanpetecountyutah,US/SBO020212#SBO020212.
