Carbon County, Utah


Carbon County is a county in the U.S. state of Utah. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 20,412. Its county seat and largest city is Price.
The Price, UT Micropolitan Statistical Area includes all of Carbon County.
WWW Official Site

History

Carbon County was part of Emery County, founded in 1880. The demographics along the Price River changed with the construction of the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad in 1883 and the development of coal mines, largely in upper Emery, to fuel the railroad. The Utah Territory Legislature was petitioned to split off the north part, and thus it established Carbon County effective March 8, 1894. It was named for the element Carbon, to emphasize the industrial nature of the area.
Carbon County is the second-largest natural gas producer in Utah, with 94 billion cubic feet produced in 2008.

Geography

The Green River flows south-southeastward along the county's eastern border. The lower central part of Carbon County is a continuation of Castle Valley in Emery County, but in Carbon, the valley is ringed with mountains - the Wasatch Range to the west and northwest, and the Book Cliffs to the north and northeast. The county generally slopes to the south and east; its highest point is Monument Peak on the crest of the Wasatch Mountains near the midpoint of the county's western border, at ASL. The county has a total area of, of which is land and is water.

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Demographics

2020 census

According to the 2020 United States census and 2020 American Community Survey, there were 20,412 people in Carbon County with a population density of 13.8 people per square mile. Among non-Latino Americans|Hispanic or Latino] people, the racial makeup was 16,645 White, 50 African American, 199 Native American, 63 Asian, 29 Pacific Islander, 58 from other races, and 691 from two or more races. 2,677 people were Hispanic or Latino.
There were 10,228 males and 10,184 females, and the population distribution by age was 5,227 under the age of 18, 11,372 from 18 to 64, and 3,813 who were at least 65 years old. The median age was 38.6 years.
There were 7,950 households in Carbon County with an average size of 2.57 of which 5,279 were families and 2,671 were non-families. Among all families, 3,994 were married couples, 433 were male householders with no spouse, and 852 were female householders with no spouse. Among all non-families, 2,231 were a single person living alone and 440 were two or more people living together. 2,500 of all households had children under the age of 18. 5,665 of households were owner-occupied while 2,285 were renter-occupied.
The median income for a Carbon County household was $50,328 and the median family income was $63,902, with a per-capita income of $23,613. The median income for males that were full-time employees was $54,063 and for females $32,545. 15.9% of the population and 13.1% of families were below the poverty line.
In terms of education attainment, out of the 13,262 people in Carbon County 25 years or older, 1,040 had not completed high school, 3,897 had a high school diploma or equivalency, 6,102 had some college or associate degree, 1,471 had a bachelor's degree, and 752 had a graduate or professional degree.

2010 census

As of the 2010 United States census, there were 21,403 people, 7,978 households, and 5,587 families in the county. The population density was. There were 9,551 housing units, with an average density of. The racial makeup of the county was 92.31% White, 0.43% Black or African American, 1.18% Native American, 0.58% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 3.03% from other races, and 2.36% from two or more races. 12.42% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 7,978 households, of which 30.16% had children under 18. 54.50% were married couples living together, 10.65% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.97% were non-families. 25.50% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.07% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.61, and the average family size was 3.14.
The population contained 30.41% under the age of 20, 6.82% aged 20 to 24, 23.73% aged 25 to 44, 25.48% aged 45 to 64, and 13.56% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34.4. For every 100 females, there were 98.40 males. For every 100 females aged 18 and over, there were 96.88 males.

Ancestry

As of 2015 the largest self-reported ancestry groups in Carbon County, Utah are:
Largest ancestries Percent
English22.7%
German11.9%
Italian11.1%
Irish6.6%
Danish5.9%
Scottish4.1%
Swedish3.3%
Welsh1.9%
Dutch1.9%
Polish1.4%
Norwegian1.4%

Politics and government

Carbon County historically was the base of Democratic Party support in strongly Republican Utah with its sizable unionized mining population. In 1964, Lyndon Johnson carried 72.7% of votes in the county. Notably, however, Ronald Reagan won just three votes more than did Jimmy Carter in 1980. Nonetheless, it voted for Bill Clinton in 1992 and 1996 by wide margins. At the state level, it was no less Democratic; in the 1992 gubernatorial election, it was one of two counties that voted for Democrat Stewart Hanson over Republican Michael Leavitt.
Since the turn of the millennium, however, Carbon County has trended Republican. It voted for George W. Bush in 2000 and 2004 while voting for the Democratic gubernatorial candidates. In 2008, John McCain won Carbon County with 52.60% of the vote, versus 44.59% for Barack Obama, making him the last Democratic nominee to win more than forty percent of the county's vote. In 2012, the county's Democratic vote fell further as Mitt Romney carried 67.3% over Obama's 30.1%. In 2016, despite Utah's strong swing against the Republicans due to the presence of conservative independent Evan McMullin, Carbon County was the only county in the state to swing more Republican, as Donald Trump won 66% to Hillary Clinton's 21.5% percent. In 2020, Trump again carried the county with the largest percentage of any Republican to date. Despite its rightward shift, Carbon County supported 2018 Utah Proposition 4, a ballot measure to create an independent redistricting commission in the state.
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Education

There are five public elementary schools in Carbon County ; two middle schools ; one high school. It is also the location of the charter Pinnacle Canyon Academy, which serves grades K-12, as well as the Castle Valley Center for disabled children.
Price is the location of Utah State University Eastern, which has an enrollment of approximately 1,525.