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SALT LAKE CITY — While it’s no secret Utah's population is growing at a rate little seen elsewhere, San Juan County has taken an unprecedented lead, growing faster than any other county in the nation.
According to U.S. Census Bureau data released early Thursday morning, San Juan County nabbed the top spot while Wasatch County came in as the fourth-fastest growing county and Juab County as the ninth.
San Juan County grew by a rate of 7.6 percent from 2015 to 2016, gaining over 1,000 newcomers for a total population of nearly 17,000, beating out Kendall County and Hays County in Texas, both ranking second and third, respectively.
"I'm really happy to see some news about San Juan County that's not politically charged, it's welcome news... it makes people pay a little bit of attention to this corner of the state, which makes me happy," San Juan County commissioner Phil Lyman said.
Located in the remote southeastern corner of the state, San Juan County has seen its share of controversy lately when Bears Ears was designated a national monument, but the data does not shed light on why it’s seen such staggering growth.
"The healthcare sector has expanded quite a bit, the tourism has expanded quite a bit and there's construction taking place," Lyman said. "I think it's just broad — not one specific thing — just people moving back home and families growing."
However, because San Juan County’s population is fairly modest, even small influxes of people can make a significant difference. The census data does not include counties with less than 10,000 people.
Not to be outdone, St. George, the Provo-Orem area, and Logan (in both Utah and Idaho) cracked the top 20 fastest-growing metropolitan areas in the country. Based on population growth by percentage, St. George ranked sixth, the Provo-Orem area ranked seventh and Logan ranked 20th.
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Census: Utah is nation's fastest-growing state
According to estimates released Tuesday, Utah's population increased 2.03 percent from July 2015 to July 2016, surpassing the 3 million mark.Utah was ranked the fastest-growing state in the nation between 2015 and 2016, so the area’s growth doesn’t come as a huge surprise, but Utah is seeing a shift in growth from the center of the state in Salt Lake County to Utah County.
Utah County saw a net gain of 17,668 residents — the biggest increase in the state from 2015 to 2016 — and Salt Lake County was second with a net gain of 14,223.
Utah’s population is expected to continue growing at rapid rates, thanks in part to the growing tech industry and the high birth rate.
Liesl is a reporter at KSL.com, section editor of KSL Tech and a student at Brigham Young University. You can email her at lnielsen@ksl.com and follow her on Twitter at @liesl_nielsen.
