Population Change and Trends
In 1950 Salt Lake County had a population of 274,895 people; according to the census in 2010 Salt Lake County now has a population of 1,029,655, which is an increase of 754,760 people over the course of 60 years. I was unable to find demographic data from the census bureau for 1950. Currently Salt Lake County is predominantly white, at 81.2%. The percentage of one ethnicity, white people, is 63.7%.
Currently the population in Salt Lake County is pretty young. The average age of people in Salt lake county is 31, and 32.1% of the population is under the age of 20. The average age of people in the nation is 36.8, which makes Utah’s average age younger than that of the nation as a whole. Only 20.2% of the national population is under the age of 14.
I was able to find some information from the state health department for 1997. As of July 1997 the population of Salt Lake County was 830,627, the birth rate was 20.1%, the death rate was 5.8%, which would indicate a quickly growing population. In 2012 the birth rate was 16.8% and the death rate was 5.6%. The infant mortality rate in 1997 was 6.4%, in 2012 the infant mortality rate dropped to 4.9%. The decrease in both infant mortality rates and death rates could be due to new medical technology, and ability to seek and receive healthcare. The drop in birth rates could be due to the younger population focusing on other aspects of life, and education about contraceptives and the ability to procure said contraceptives. I then compared these statistics to those in for the entire country to see how we compared to national average. The national average birth rate is 13%, which makes Salt Lake County’s birth rates almost 4% higher, this could be due to the fact that sex education is not as good in Utah, because the LDS preaches abstinence rather than teaching about safe sex. Also LDS families tend to have more children at a younger age. The infant mortality rate for the nation is 6.2%, which makes Salt Lake County’s rate lower than the national average; this may be because certain areas in the US don’t have access to good pediatric care, or if the nation has a higher infant population is higher therefore there are more infants that could die. The national death rate is 7.9% which is, Utah is well below the national average. This could be because certain states have a higher elderly population which would increase the death rate and certain environments are harsher to live in therefore there is a higher natural death rate, and maybe an increase in suicides.
In 1950 Salt Lake County had a population of 274,895 people; according to the census in 2010 Salt Lake County now has a population of 1,029,655, which is an increase of 754,760 people over the course of 60 years. I was unable to find demographic data from the census bureau for 1950. Currently Salt Lake County is predominantly white, at 81.2%. The percentage of one ethnicity, white people, is 63.7%.
Currently the population in Salt Lake County is pretty young. The average age of people in Salt lake county is 31, and 32.1% of the population is under the age of 20. The average age of people in the nation is 36.8, which makes Utah’s average age younger than that of the nation as a whole. Only 20.2% of the national population is under the age of 14.
I was able to find some information from the state health department for 1997. As of July 1997 the population of Salt Lake County was 830,627, the birth rate was 20.1%, the death rate was 5.8%, which would indicate a quickly growing population. In 2012 the birth rate was 16.8% and the death rate was 5.6%. The infant mortality rate in 1997 was 6.4%, in 2012 the infant mortality rate dropped to 4.9%. The decrease in both infant mortality rates and death rates could be due to new medical technology, and ability to seek and receive healthcare. The drop in birth rates could be due to the younger population focusing on other aspects of life, and education about contraceptives and the ability to procure said contraceptives. I then compared these statistics to those in for the entire country to see how we compared to national average. The national average birth rate is 13%, which makes Salt Lake County’s birth rates almost 4% higher, this could be due to the fact that sex education is not as good in Utah, because the LDS preaches abstinence rather than teaching about safe sex. Also LDS families tend to have more children at a younger age. The infant mortality rate for the nation is 6.2%, which makes Salt Lake County’s rate lower than the national average; this may be because certain areas in the US don’t have access to good pediatric care, or if the nation has a higher infant population is higher therefore there are more infants that could die. The national death rate is 7.9% which is, Utah is well below the national average. This could be because certain states have a higher elderly population which would increase the death rate and certain environments are harsher to live in therefore there is a higher natural death rate, and maybe an increase in suicides.
Reflection:
I learned that Salt Lake County has high birth rates and low death rates. I believe this is because we have access to some of the best health care in the nation. I had a few misconceptions before starting this project. I didn't realize that I lived in a city of more than one million people; I knew the population was high, but because I grew in a small town I sometimes have issues conceptualizing millions of living in a single small city. I also thought our births rates would be much higher than national average. I thought because no matter where you go in Salt Lake there are tons of young children, if you go to the mall there are young women, like early twenties, pushing around children, as in multiple children.
I learned that Salt Lake County has high birth rates and low death rates. I believe this is because we have access to some of the best health care in the nation. I had a few misconceptions before starting this project. I didn't realize that I lived in a city of more than one million people; I knew the population was high, but because I grew in a small town I sometimes have issues conceptualizing millions of living in a single small city. I also thought our births rates would be much higher than national average. I thought because no matter where you go in Salt Lake there are tons of young children, if you go to the mall there are young women, like early twenties, pushing around children, as in multiple children.