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SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- Salt Lake City's population increases by 72.2 percent during the work day, according to U.S. Census Bureau estimates.
That makes it second in the nation for daytime population growth among cities with 100,000 or more residents.
On work days, 131,180 workers commute to Utah's capital city, bringing the population to 312,923.
"I think it's a strong indication that people continue to like to work in Salt Lake City," said city Councilman Carlton Christensen.
Only Irvine, Calif., at 73.8 percent, had a larger percent increase in daytime population. Washington, D.C., was slightly behind Salt Lake City with 71.8 percent.
A total of 221,367 individuals work in Salt Lake City, the report said, and 90,187 live there.
Christensen, a lifelong resident of the city, hopes some of the commuters can be enticed to live in Salt Lake City.
"We have to probably invest more in our public transportation system, including commuter rail and TRAX," he said. "If we can't keep the flow of people moving, it doesn't take very long before they decide to go elsewhere."
According to the most recent data from Commerce CRG real estate company, vacancy rates in Salt Lake City remain relatively low. Office vacancy is at nearly 14 percent. Retail vacancy is at 8 percent, and industrial vacancy is at 7.6 percent.
(Copyright 2005 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
