Garfield County, Utah
Garfield County | |
---|---|
Coordinates: 37°52′N 111°26′W / 37.87°N 111.44°W | |
Country | United States |
State | Utah |
Founded | March 9, 1882 |
Named for | James A. Garfield |
Seat | Panguitch |
Largest city | Panguitch |
Area | |
• Total | 5,208 sq mi (13,490 km2) |
• Land | 5,175 sq mi (13,400 km2) |
• Water | 33 sq mi (90 km2) 0.6% |
Population (2020) | |
• Total | 5,083 |
• Density | 0.98/sq mi (0.38/km2) |
Time zone | UTC−7 (Mountain) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC−6 (MDT) |
Congressional district | 2nd |
Website | garfield |
Garfield County is a county in south central Utah, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census the population was 5,083,[1] making it the fifth-least populous county in Utah; with about one inhabitant per square mile, it is also the least densely populated county in Utah. Its county seat and largest city is Panguitch.[2]
History
[edit]The Utah Territory legislature created the county on March 9, 1882, with areas partitioned from Iron County. It was named for James A. Garfield, the twentieth President of the United States, who had died six months earlier.[3] The border with Iron County was adjusted in 1884, and Garfield County's boundaries have remained intact since then.[4]
Geography
[edit]The Colorado River, flowing southwestward through a deep gorge, forms the eastern boundary. The Dirty Devil River flows southward through the east end of the county to discharge into Colorado at the county's border. Westward, the cliffs of tributary canyons give way to the barren stretches of the San Rafael Desert, beyond which a variety of mountains, plateaus, and canyons make up the terrain. Most of Bryce Canyon National Park lies in the southwestern part of the county, and the northern half of the Grand Staircase–Escalante National Monument occupies the middle of the county. A large portion of Capitol Reef National Park lies in the east-central part of the county. A very small part of Canyonlands National Park lies in the northeast corner of the county. The terrain of Garfield County is arid, rough, and carved with erosion.[5] The county terrain generally slopes to the south and to the east. The county's highest point is Mount Ellen, in the Henry Mountains,[6] near the county's north border, at 11,522 ft (3,512 m) ASL.[7] The county has a total area of 5,208 square miles (13,490 km2), of which 5,175 square miles (13,400 km2) is land and 33 square miles (85 km2) (0.6%) is water.[8] It is the fifth-largest county in Utah by area, and is about the same size as the state of Connecticut.
Airports
[edit]Source:[5]
- Bryce Canyon Airport (BCE)
Major highways
[edit]Source:[5]
Adjacent counties
[edit]- Wayne County - northeast
- San Juan County - east
- Kane County - south
- Iron County - west
- Beaver County - northwest
- Piute County - north
Protected areas
[edit]Source:[5]
- Bryce Canyon National Park (part)
- Canyonlands National Park (part)
- Capitol Reef National Park (part)
- Carcass Canyon Wilderness Study Area
- Dixie National Forest (part)
- Escalante Petrified Forest State Park
- Fishlake National Forest (part)
- Glen Canyon National Recreation Area (part)
- Grand Staircase–Escalante National Monument (part)
- Mammoth Cave (US Forest Service)
Lakes
[edit]Source:[5]
- Lake Powell (part)
- Panguitch Lake
- Wide Hollow Reservoir
Demographics
[edit]Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
---|---|---|---|
1890 | 2,457 | — | |
1900 | 3,400 | 38.4% | |
1910 | 3,660 | 7.6% | |
1920 | 4,768 | 30.3% | |
1930 | 4,642 | −2.6% | |
1940 | 5,253 | 13.2% | |
1950 | 4,151 | −21.0% | |
1960 | 3,577 | −13.8% | |
1970 | 3,157 | −11.7% | |
1980 | 3,673 | 16.3% | |
1990 | 3,980 | 8.4% | |
2000 | 4,735 | 19.0% | |
2010 | 5,172 | 9.2% | |
2020 | 5,083 | −1.7% | |
US Decennial Census[9] 1790–1960[10] 1900–1990[11] 1990–2000[12] 2010[13] 2020[14] |
2020 census
[edit]According to the 2020 United States census[15] and 2020 American Community Survey,[16] there were 5,083 people in Garfield County with a population density of 1.0 people per square mile (0.4/km2). Among non-Hispanic or Latino people, the racial makeup was 4,446 (87.5%) White, 5 (0.1%) African American, 90 (1.8%) Native American, 30 (0.6%) Asian, 7 (0.1%) Pacific Islander, 3 (0.1%) from other races, and 118 (2.3%) from two or more races. 384 (7.6%) people were Hispanic or Latino.
There were 2,619 (51.52%) males and 2,464 (48.48%) females, and the population distribution by age was 1,202 (23.6%) under the age of 18, 2,682 (52.8%) from 18 to 64, and 1,199 (23.6%) who were at least 65 years old. The median age was 43.3 years.
There were 1,881 households in Garfield County with an average size of 2.70 of which 1,323 (70.3%) were families and 558 (29.7%) were non-families. Among all families, 1,100 (58.5%) were married couples, 83 (4.4%) were male householders with no spouse, and 140 (7.4%) were female householders with no spouse. Among all non-families, 479 (25.5%) were a single person living alone and 79 (4.2%) were two or more people living together. 528 (28.1%) of all households had children under the age of 18. 1,504 (80.0%) of households were owner-occupied while 377 (20.0%) were renter-occupied.
The median income for a Garfield County household was $44,279 and the median family income was $65,266, with a per-capita income of $23,926. The median income for males that were full-time employees was $49,904 and for females $34,773. 16.4% of the population and 11.3% of families were below the poverty line.
In terms of education attainment, out of the 3,484 people in Garfield County 25 years or older, 221 (6.3%) had not completed high school, 1,067 (30.6%) had a high school diploma or equivalency, 1,312 (37.7%) had some college or associate degree, 648 (18.6%) had a bachelor's degree, and 236 (6.8%) had a graduate or professional degree.
Ancestry
[edit]As of 2010[update] the largest self-identified ancestry groups in Garfield County are:
- English - 46.2%
- German - 14.8%
- Irish - 10.1%
- Danish - 6.6%
- Scottish - 4.9%
- Welsh - 3.9%
- Scotch-Irish - 2.5%
- Swedish - 2.3%
- Norwegian - 2.2%[17]
Politics and government
[edit]Garfield County has traditionally voted Republican. In no national election since 1936 has the county selected the Democratic Party candidate (as of 2024).
Position | District | Name | Affiliation | First elected | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Senate | 24 | Derrin Owens | Republican | 2020[18] | |
House of Representatives | 73 | Phil Lyman | Republican | 2018[19] | |
Board of Education | 14 | Mark Huntsman | Nonpartisan | 2014[20] |
Year | Republican | Democratic | Third party(ies) | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
No. | % | No. | % | No. | % | |
2024 | 2,211 | 78.18% | 541 | 19.13% | 76 | 2.69% |
2020 | 2,158 | 78.99% | 514 | 18.81% | 60 | 2.20% |
2016 | 1,606 | 67.96% | 358 | 15.15% | 399 | 16.89% |
2012 | 1,832 | 83.96% | 308 | 14.12% | 42 | 1.92% |
2008 | 1,710 | 78.37% | 405 | 18.56% | 67 | 3.07% |
2004 | 1,848 | 85.48% | 264 | 12.21% | 50 | 2.31% |
2000 | 1,719 | 87.35% | 178 | 9.04% | 71 | 3.61% |
1996 | 1,330 | 72.01% | 283 | 15.32% | 234 | 12.67% |
1992 | 1,235 | 62.28% | 309 | 15.58% | 439 | 22.14% |
1988 | 1,470 | 79.25% | 370 | 19.95% | 15 | 0.81% |
1984 | 1,609 | 83.15% | 315 | 16.28% | 11 | 0.57% |
1980 | 1,578 | 78.31% | 375 | 18.61% | 62 | 3.08% |
1976 | 1,163 | 65.48% | 539 | 30.35% | 74 | 4.17% |
1972 | 1,290 | 80.47% | 242 | 15.10% | 71 | 4.43% |
1968 | 1,033 | 69.47% | 314 | 21.12% | 140 | 9.41% |
1964 | 821 | 55.51% | 658 | 44.49% | 0 | 0.00% |
1960 | 1,083 | 69.69% | 471 | 30.31% | 0 | 0.00% |
1956 | 1,115 | 75.95% | 353 | 24.05% | 0 | 0.00% |
1952 | 1,065 | 69.07% | 477 | 30.93% | 0 | 0.00% |
1948 | 924 | 58.97% | 642 | 40.97% | 1 | 0.06% |
1944 | 842 | 60.06% | 559 | 39.87% | 1 | 0.07% |
1940 | 1,030 | 55.86% | 814 | 44.14% | 0 | 0.00% |
1936 | 842 | 47.52% | 928 | 52.37% | 2 | 0.11% |
1932 | 1,125 | 68.43% | 493 | 29.99% | 26 | 1.58% |
1928 | 1,024 | 75.63% | 325 | 24.00% | 5 | 0.37% |
1924 | 823 | 69.57% | 308 | 26.04% | 52 | 4.40% |
1920 | 1,023 | 71.49% | 393 | 27.46% | 15 | 1.05% |
1916 | 516 | 37.50% | 843 | 61.26% | 17 | 1.24% |
1912 | 673 | 62.60% | 249 | 23.16% | 153 | 14.23% |
1908 | 722 | 68.50% | 290 | 27.51% | 42 | 3.98% |
1904 | 679 | 70.14% | 252 | 26.03% | 37 | 3.82% |
1900 | 649 | 62.16% | 395 | 37.84% | 0 | 0.00% |
1896 | 249 | 28.82% | 615 | 71.18% | 0 | 0.00% |
Communities
[edit]Source:[5]
Cities
[edit]Towns
[edit]Unincorporated communities
[edit]Education
[edit]All portions of the county are in the Garfield School District.[22]
See also
[edit]- Utah portal
- List of counties in Utah
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Garfield County, Utah
References
[edit]- ^ "Garfield County, Utah". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved June 30, 2023.
- ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Archived from the original on May 31, 2011. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
- ^ Gannett, Henry (1905). The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States. Govt. Print. Off. p. 134.
- ^ "[[Newberry Library]] - Individual County Chronologies/Garfield County UT (accessed March 28, 2019)". Archived from the original on March 6, 2016. Retrieved March 28, 2019.
- ^ a b c d e f Garfield County UT Google Maps (accessed 28 March 2019)
- ^ Mount Ellen Peak Google Maps (accessed 28 March 2019)
- ^ "Utah County High Points/Garfield County. Peakbagger (accessed 29 March 2019)". Archived from the original on March 27, 2019. Retrieved March 30, 2019.
- ^ "2010 Census Gazetteer Files". US Census Bureau. August 22, 2012. Retrieved March 27, 2015.
- ^ "US Decennial Census". US Census Bureau. Retrieved March 27, 2015.
- ^ "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. Retrieved March 27, 2015.
- ^ Forstall, Richard L., ed. (March 27, 1995). "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". US Census Bureau. Retrieved March 27, 2015.
- ^ "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000" (PDF). US Census Bureau. April 2, 2001. Retrieved March 27, 2015.
- ^ "State & County QuickFacts". US Census Bureau. Archived from the original on June 6, 2011. Retrieved December 29, 2013.
- ^ 2020 Population and Housing State Data | Utah
- ^ United States Census Bureau. "2020 Census Demographic and Housing Characteristics File (DHC)". Retrieved November 3, 2024.
- ^ United States Census Bureau. "American Community Survey 5-Year Data (2009-2022)". Retrieved November 3, 2024.
- ^ "American FactFinder - Results". factfinder.census.gov. Archived from the original on February 13, 2020. Retrieved March 31, 2018.
- ^ "Senator Owens Utah Senate". senate.utah.gov. Retrieved November 16, 2021.
- ^ "Rep. Lyman, Phil". Utah House of Representatives. Archived from the original on November 15, 2021. Retrieved November 15, 2021.
- ^ "Mark Huntsman". www.schools.utah.gov. Archived from the original on November 15, 2021. Retrieved November 15, 2021.
- ^ Leip, David. "Atlas of US Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved March 31, 2018.
- ^ "2020 CENSUS - SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP: Garfield County, UT" (PDF). U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved September 28, 2024. - Text list
Further reading
[edit]- (1994) "Garfield County" article in the Utah History Encyclopedia. The article was written by Miriam B. Murphy and the Encyclopedia was published by the University of Utah Press. ISBN 9780874804256. Archived from the original on February 7, 2024, and retrieved on April 25, 2024.
External links
[edit]- Media related to Garfield County, Utah at Wikimedia Commons
- Official website