Summit County, Utah | |
|---|---|
 Summit County Courthouse in Coalville | |
 Location within the U.S. state ofUtah | |
| Coordinates:40°53′N110°58′W / 40.88°N 110.97°W /40.88; -110.97 | |
| Country |  United States |
| State |  Utah |
| Founded | 1854 (created) 1861 (organized) |
| Named after | Thesummits of the mountains |
| Seat | Coalville |
| Largest city | Park City |
| Area | |
• Total | 1,882 sq mi (4,870 km2) |
| • Land | 1,872 sq mi (4,850 km2) |
| • Water | 10 sq mi (26 km2) 0.5% |
| Population (2020) | |
• Total | 42,357 |
• Estimate (2024) | 43,109 |
| • Density | 22.63/sq mi (8.736/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC−7 (Mountain) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−6 (MDT) |
| Congressional district | 1st |
| Website | www |
Summit County is acounty in the U.S. state ofUtah, occupying a rugged and mountainous area. As of the2020 United States census, the population was 42,357.[1] Itscounty seat isCoalville,[2] and the largest city isPark City.
The county was created by theUtah Territory legislature on January 13, 1854, with its description containing a portion of the future state ofWyoming. It was not organized then but was attached to Great Salt Lake County for administrative and judicial purposes. The county government was completed by March 4, 1861, so its attachment to the other county was terminated. The county boundaries were altered in 1856 and in 1862. In 1868 theWyoming Territory was created by the US government, effectively de-annexing all Summit County areas falling within the new territory. The boundaries were further altered in 1872 and 1880. Its final alteration occurred on January 7, 1918, whenDaggett's creation took a portion of its eastern territory. Its boundary has remained unchanged since that creation.[3] It is so named because it includes 39 of the highest mountain peaks in Utah.
The county's mean elevation is 8,388 feet (2,557 m) above sea level, which is the second-highest (afterTaos County, New Mexico) of any county outsideColorado.[4] Owing to its proximity to Salt Lake City, Park City has acquired a reputation as an upscale getaway, bringing new development to the area.
Summit County is part of theHeber, UTMicropolitan Statistical Area, which is also included in theSalt Lake City-Provo-Orem, UTCombined Statistical Area.
Summit County lies on the upper east side of Utah. Its northeast borders abutWyoming's southern and western borders. Its central and eastern portion consists largely of the east–west orientedUinta Mountains, while its western portion runs to the east slopes of the north–south orientedWasatch Mountains.[5] The county's highest point isGilbert Peak, on the border withDuchesne County, at 13,448 ft (4,099 m) ASL.[6] The county has an area of 1,882 square miles (4,870 km2), of which 1,872 square miles (4,850 km2) is land and 10 square miles (26 km2) (0.5%) is water.[7]
| Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1860 | 198 | — | |
| 1870 | 2,512 | 1,168.7% | |
| 1880 | 4,921 | 95.9% | |
| 1890 | 7,733 | 57.1% | |
| 1900 | 9,439 | 22.1% | |
| 1910 | 8,200 | −13.1% | |
| 1920 | 7,862 | −4.1% | |
| 1930 | 9,527 | 21.2% | |
| 1940 | 8,714 | −8.5% | |
| 1950 | 6,745 | −22.6% | |
| 1960 | 5,673 | −15.9% | |
| 1970 | 5,879 | 3.6% | |
| 1980 | 10,198 | 73.5% | |
| 1990 | 15,518 | 52.2% | |
| 2000 | 29,736 | 91.6% | |
| 2010 | 36,324 | 22.2% | |
| 2020 | 42,357 | 16.6% | |
| US Decennial Census[8] 1790–1960[9] 1900–1990[10] 1990–2000[11] 2010–2020[12] | |||
According to the2020 United States census[13] and2020 American Community Survey,[14] there were 42,357 people in Summit County with apopulation density of 22.6 people per square mile (8.7/km2). Among non-Hispanic or Latino people, the racial makeup was 35,108 (82.9%)White, 163 (0.4%)African American, 67 (0.2%)Native American, 723 (1.7%)Asian, 42 (0.1%)Pacific Islander, 155 (0.4%) fromother races, and 1,362 (3.2%) fromtwo or more races. 4,737 (11.2%) people were Hispanic or Latino.
| Race / Ethnicity(NH = Non-Hispanic) | Pop 2000[15] | Pop 2010[16] | Pop 2020[17] | % 2000 | % 2010 | % 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| White alone (NH) | 26,608 | 31,012 | 35,108 | 89.48% | 85.38% | 82.89% |
| Black or African American alone (NH) | 54 | 110 | 163 | 0.18% | 0.30% | 0.38% |
| Native American orAlaska Native alone (NH) | 76 | 89 | 67 | 0.26% | 0.25% | 0.16% |
| Asian alone (NH) | 283 | 440 | 723 | 0.95% | 1.21% | 1.71% |
| Pacific Islander alone (NH) | 13 | 31 | 42 | 0.04% | 0.09% | 0.10% |
| Other race alone (NH) | 28 | 60 | 155 | 0.09% | 0.17% | 0.37% |
| Mixed race or Multiracial (NH) | 268 | 392 | 1,362 | 0.90% | 1.08% | 3.22% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 2,406 | 4,190 | 4,737 | 8.09% | 11.54% | 11.18% |
| Total | 29,736 | 36,324 | 42,357 | 100.00% | 100.00% | 100.00% |
There were 21,578 (50.94%) males and 20,779 (49.06%) females, and the population distribution by age was 10,351 (24.4%) under the age of 18, 26,149 (61.7%) from 18 to 64, and 5,857 (13.8%) who were at least 65 years old. The median age was 40.8 years.
There were 15,688 households in Summit County with an average size of 2.70 of which 11,419 (72.8%) were families and 4,269 (27.2%) were non-families. Among all families, 9,553 (60.9%) weremarried couples, 671 (4.3%) were male householders with no spouse, and 1,195 (7.6%) were female householders with no spouse. Among all non-families, 3,171 (20.2%) were a single person living alone and 1,098 (7.0%) were two or more people living together. 5,424 (34.6%) of all households had children under the age of 18. 12,186 (77.7%) of households wereowner-occupied while 3,502 (22.3%) wererenter-occupied.
The median income for a Summit County household was $106,973 and the median family income was $119,592, with aper-capita income of $57,308. The median income for males that werefull-time employees was $69,357 and for females $50,147. 4.5% of the population and 2.7% of families were below thepoverty line.
In terms of education attainment, out of the 27,924 people in Summit County 25 years or older, 1,332 (4.8%) hadnot completed high school, 4,476 (16.0%) had ahigh school diploma or equivalency, 6,446 (23.1%) had some college orassociate degree, 9,841 (35.2%) had abachelor's degree, and 5,829 (20.9%) had agraduate orprofessional degree.
According to a 2000 survey by the Association of Statisticians of American Religious Bodies, Summit County is more religiously diverse than the rest of Utah. Roughly two-in-five people (44.2%) of the population claim no religion at all. 36.8% are members ofthe Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) (compared with some 66% statewide) and 10.6% areCatholic.[citation needed]
Summit County was a Republican stronghold in the decades followingWorld War II. Beginning in the 1990s, it became more competitive due to the influence of Democratic-leaning Park City, with Democrats sometimes winning a plurality or majority of the countywide vote. In1996,Bill Clinton became the first Democratic presidential nominee to win the county sinceLyndon Johnson's 44-state landslide in 1964 and only the second Democrat to carry it sinceFranklin D. Roosevelt.George W. Bush carried the county in 2000 and 2004, but his performance there was worst in the state. In the 2006 Senate race, Summit County was the only county carried by DemocratPete Ashdown even as the Republican incumbentOrrin Hatch carried the state as a whole by a 2 to 1 margin. Likewise, in the2008 U.S. presidential election,Barack Obama carried the county by a 15.3% margin overJohn McCain, while McCain carried Utah by 28.1%.[18] In the 2012 presidential election, RepublicanMitt Romney defeated Obama in the county, 50% to 46%.[19] In 2016, DemocratHillary Clinton defeated RepublicanDonald Trump, 50% to 35%,[18] andJoe Biden increased her margin by 3% in2020, solidifying the county as a safe Democratic region.
| Position | District | Name | Affiliation | First elected | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Senate | 19 | John D. Johnson | Republican | 2020[20] | |
| Senate | 26 | Ronald Winterton | Republican | 2018[21] | |
| House of Representatives | 28 | Brian King | Democrat | 2008[22] | |
| House of Representatives | 53 | Kera Birkeland | Republican | 2020[23] | |
| House of Representatives | 54 | Mike Kohler | Republican | 2020[24] | |
| Board of Education | 7 | Carol Lear | Democrat | 2016[25] | |
| Board of Education | 12 | James Moss Jr. | Republican | 2020[26] | |
| Year | Republican | Democratic | Third party(ies) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | % | No. | % | No. | % | |
| 1896 | 245 | 6.72% | 3,402 | 93.28% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1900 | 1,555 | 46.64% | 1,763 | 52.88% | 16 | 0.48% |
| 1904 | 2,232 | 57.87% | 1,358 | 35.21% | 267 | 6.92% |
| 1908 | 1,614 | 50.87% | 1,402 | 44.19% | 157 | 4.95% |
| 1912 | 1,290 | 44.06% | 983 | 33.57% | 655 | 22.37% |
| 1916 | 1,195 | 40.69% | 1,495 | 50.90% | 247 | 8.41% |
| 1920 | 1,503 | 59.79% | 874 | 34.77% | 137 | 5.45% |
| 1924 | 1,597 | 57.16% | 825 | 29.53% | 372 | 13.31% |
| 1928 | 1,748 | 57.65% | 1,260 | 41.56% | 24 | 0.79% |
| 1932 | 1,434 | 40.55% | 2,028 | 57.35% | 74 | 2.09% |
| 1936 | 1,422 | 37.58% | 2,344 | 61.95% | 18 | 0.48% |
| 1940 | 1,730 | 43.82% | 2,215 | 56.10% | 3 | 0.08% |
| 1944 | 1,479 | 45.62% | 1,761 | 54.32% | 2 | 0.06% |
| 1948 | 1,617 | 50.44% | 1,556 | 48.53% | 33 | 1.03% |
| 1952 | 1,955 | 60.75% | 1,263 | 39.25% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1956 | 2,031 | 69.77% | 880 | 30.23% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1960 | 1,607 | 56.91% | 1,217 | 43.09% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1964 | 1,335 | 47.14% | 1,497 | 52.86% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1968 | 1,782 | 62.37% | 961 | 33.64% | 114 | 3.99% |
| 1972 | 2,209 | 69.95% | 836 | 26.47% | 113 | 3.58% |
| 1976 | 2,316 | 61.55% | 1,282 | 34.07% | 165 | 4.38% |
| 1980 | 3,330 | 65.38% | 1,184 | 23.25% | 579 | 11.37% |
| 1984 | 4,093 | 71.79% | 1,539 | 27.00% | 69 | 1.21% |
| 1988 | 3,881 | 59.68% | 2,536 | 39.00% | 86 | 1.32% |
| 1992 | 3,133 | 33.33% | 3,013 | 32.06% | 3,253 | 34.61% |
| 1996 | 3,867 | 41.50% | 4,177 | 44.82% | 1,275 | 13.68% |
| 2000 | 6,168 | 50.89% | 4,601 | 37.96% | 1,352 | 11.15% |
| 2004 | 7,936 | 51.83% | 6,977 | 45.57% | 399 | 2.61% |
| 2008 | 6,956 | 41.11% | 9,532 | 56.34% | 432 | 2.55% |
| 2012 | 8,884 | 50.49% | 8,072 | 45.87% | 641 | 3.64% |
| 2016 | 7,333 | 35.11% | 10,503 | 50.29% | 3,049 | 14.60% |
| 2020 | 10,252 | 39.00% | 15,244 | 57.99% | 793 | 3.02% |
| 2024 | 10,783 | 41.12% | 14,612 | 55.72% | 829 | 3.16% |
In the 2016 Senate race, Summit County was the only county in Utah where a plurality voted for Democratic nomineeMisty Snow against Republican incumbentMike Lee. Snow was the first major-party transgender Senate candidate in United States history, making the county the first in the nation to vote for a transgender candidate for the Senate.
On the county level, most of the elected offices are held by Democrats, including four of the five seats on the newly createdSummit County Council.[28] John Hanrahan, D; Claudia McMullin, D; Sally Elliott, D; Chris Robinson, D; David Ure, R.
Summit County was one of only two counties (along withGrand County) to vote against Utah's same-sex marriage ban in 2004. In June 2010, Summit County became the sixth local government of Utah to prohibit discrimination in employment orhousing based on a person'ssexual orientation orgender identity.[29]
There are threeschool districts covering sections of the county:[30]
Summit County also includes a local campus ofUtah State University in Park City.[31]
Places adjacent to Summit County, Utah | |
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Municipalities and communities ofSummit County, Utah,United States | ||
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| Cities |  | |
| Towns | ||
| CDPs | ||
| Unincorporated communities | ||
| Ghost towns | ||
| Footnotes | ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties | |
| International | |
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| National | |
| Geographic | |
| Other | |
