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West Jordan Utah Eport question 2.pdf Size : 203.696 Kb Type : pdf |
Population Change West Jordan
West Jordan Utah was first settled by the Mormon pioneers in 1849, and was the site of the first saw mill, built by Archibald and Robert Gardner. The community was settled around the flowing Jordan River. Lumber was hauled from the Oquirrh Mountain on the west side of the Salt Lake valley some 14 miles to the saw mill. Shortly after the mill was built a black shop, tanner and wool mill opened in 1851, by 1852, the first school in West Jordan opened as the population grew. The first mining carried out in Utah was at the Bingham Canyon Mines; when the copper was discover eastern investment money flowed into the community. Agriculture was sugar beets in 1861; by 1961 a factory was built and producing fifteen hundred thousand tons of beets every 24 hours. By 1970, the factory closed due to a down turn in the market.
West Jordan, Utah was incorporated in January 1941; the first census count done was in 1950, with a population of 2,107. In the late 1970’s West Jordan was still largely rural area and by 1973-1979, a building boom increased the city population by 500%. By the 2010 census the city population had increased to 103,712, a 49% increase. By comparison Salt Lake City, Utah had only a 3% growth. West Jordan still has a majority of vacant former farm land available for future Salt Lake County growth in the valley.
(graph on file)
Today West Jordan is the third largest city in Salt Lake County and the fourth largest city in the state of Utah. Traditionally a farming district in 1950, agricultural land has been replacement by growing commercial and residential areas as Salt Lake County housing needs increase. The ethnic distribution has had little change with the majority of citizens White/Caucasian, with the greatest increasing minority of the Hispanic community.
The city of West Jordan has an employment rate for the 16 + population of 71.9%, compared to the state average of 63.8%. Families with children ages 6 to 17 years with both parents employed are 72.4%, with 13.01% of households having no health insurance. West Jordan has 6.9% of families with income below the poverty level as opposed to 8.9% for Utah overall.
Population estimates for the future of West Jordan of a 2.7% yearly increased based on factors such as building permits an historical projected population data.
The average age is 28.2 years old an increase since the 2008, census of 25 years old. Of these citizens 22.4 % having received a bachelor’s degree. The average household income reported in 2009, was 50,000 to 74,999, slightly higher that Salt Lake County as a whole. The housing market boom of the 1990’s, increased home building in the West Jordan area 28.3%, compared to Utah building increase of 18.9%. The area saw not only new homes built, but a new Elementary, Junior and Senior High Schools built with an increase in commerce. Homeowner ship is 77.3% and renter occupied households at 22.7%.
(graph on file)
US Citizenship in West Jordan City out of the 103,712 population 89.9% are native, with 10.1% Foreign born. Of the Foreign born 69.0% are Latin America, 14.4 % Asia, 6.8 % Europe, 5.0% Oceania and 2.1 % Africa. Of the population 5 years and older 82.5% speak English only at home.
Of the 103,712 population English was the majority of family ancestry at 21.8% next to German at 11.8% and Irish 6.1%, American 6.6%, with Danish, French and Scottish running at 5 and 2% respectively.
http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/49/4982950.html
http://factfinder2.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?src=bkmk
http://www.wjordan.com/Government.aspx?pgID=8.1
Reflection:
I was not surprised by the information I found regarding the population growth of the city of West Jordan. Having been part of the first wave of major population growth in the 1978’s, I have watched my city grow. As a child first starting school the city built a new Elementary school, of which I was the first class. By the time I was moving into Junior High, again the city built a new school and I was the first class. The West Jordan High school was only 4 years old when I first attended it. So there was not much information I was unaware of for this project, other than the history of the founding of the city.
