Rapid Changes in Population Prompt New Census Survey

None by KCPW

(KCPW News) The last ten years have brought enormous growth and change to Utah's population. As a result, much of the most recent Census data from 2000 is no longer relevant.

"What we've found is that after many, many decades of the minority population being two percent, we now have a minority population in Utah approaching 20 percent," says
U of U demographer Pam Perlich.

And ethnicity is only one major change, says Perlich. New data shows the Beehive State is no longer as homogenous, with large families and a very young, white population.

The U.S. Census Bureau now recognizes that collecting data once every ten years is not enough to keep pace with the changing face of states like Utah. Census Bureau Deputy Director Preston Jay Waite says the government is moving to a monthly sampling of surveys that will provide more up-to-date data:

"The American Community Survey going month after month after month all through the decade changes the paradigm of the detailed social demographic information," says Waite.

Data from the first American Community Survey has identified Utah as the sixth fastest growing state in the nation, with one of the shortest commute times and one of the highest percentages of high school graduates.

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