Utahns identifying as minorities made up most of the state’s growth in 2023, and offset some of the population losses in several counties, federal data shows.
The Beehive State grew by more than 36,000 people between July 1, 2022, and July 1, 2023, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau.
Nearly 73% of that growth was because of people identifying as something other than non-Hispanic white, based on a Salt Lake Tribune analysis of the data, backed up by a fact sheet from the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute.
But the minority population dropped in three counties — including the most diverse of Utah’s 29 counties.
Each year the Census Bureau estimates population at varying levels of geography.
That includes county and city-level estimates, and estimates showing age, sex, race and Hispanic origin at the national, state and county levels.
The latest estimates show diversity increasing across the United States, and that Utah as a whole continues to become more racially and ethnically diverse.
In 2022, 23.8% of Utahns identified as a race or ethnicity other than non-Hispanic white. In 2023, that share increased slightly, to 24.3%.
That’s because between 2022 and 2023, Utah’s minority population increased by 3.3%, from 803,804 to 830,197.
Utahns identifying as a minority varied as part of the population from 5.4% in Morgan County to 53.6% in San Juan County, where nearly 45% of residents are Native American.
Salt Lake County has the second-largest minority population by proportion, at 32.3% and the largest population of Utahns identifying as a minority at almost 383,000.
But while the minority population increased overall, it decreased in three counties — including San Juan County.
In two of those three counties — Emery and San Juan — the population of non-Hispanic white Utahns increased as minority populations decreased. Beaver County had an overall population decrease, including Utahns identifying as white.
Elsewhere in the state, increases in minority population either completely or partially offset a decrease in the non-Hispanic white population.
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Megan Banta is The Salt Lake Tribune’s data enterprise reporter, a philanthropically supported position. The Tribune retains control over all editorial decisions.