Carbon County, Utah Explained

County:Carbon County
State:Utah
Ex Image:Caron Power Plant - Utah (corrected).png
Ex Image Size:300px
Ex Image Cap:Carbon Power Plant at Castle Gate, Utah demolished in 2016
Founded Year:1894
Founded Date:March 8
Seat Wl:Price
Largest City Wl:Price
Area Total Sq Mi:1485
Area Land Sq Mi:1478
Area Water Sq Mi:6.1
Area Percentage:0.4
Coordinates:39.64°N -110.58°W
Population As Of:2020
Population Total:20412
Population Density Sq Mi:auto
Time Zone:Mountain
Web:www.carbon.utah.gov
Named For:Abundant coal deposits
District:3rd

Carbon County is a county in the U.S. state of Utah. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 20,412.[1] Its county seat and largest city is Price.[2]

The Price, UT Micropolitan Statistical Area includes all of Carbon County.

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.[3] It was named for the element Carbon, to emphasize the industrial nature of the area.[4]

Carbon County is the second-largest natural gas producer in Utah (after Uintah County), with 94 billion cubic feet produced in 2008.[5]

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.[6] 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,[6] at 10452feet ASL.[7] The county has a total area of, of which is land and (0.4%) is water.[8]

Airports

Major highways

Adjacent counties

Protected areas

Lakes

Demographics

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 14.48/mi2. There were 9,551 housing units, with an average density of 6.46/mi2. 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 (one person), 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.

2015

As of 2015 the largest self-reported ancestry groups in Carbon County, Utah are:[9]

Largest ancestries (2015) Percent
22.7%
11.9%
11.1%
6.6%
5.9%
4.1%
3.3%
1.9%
1.9%
1.4%
1.4%

Politics and government

Carbon County historically was the base of Democratic Party support in strongly Republican Utah with its sizable unionized mining population. It voted for Bill Clinton in 1992 and 1996 by wide margins. In 1964 Lyndon Johnson carried 72.7% of votes in the county. At the state level, it was no less Democratic; in the 1992 gubernatorial election, it was one of two counties (the other being Summit County) that voted for Democratic candidate 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. In 2012, the county's Democratic vote fell further as Mitt Romney carried 67.3% to 30.1% for Obama. 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 (71.4%) of any Republican to date.

Position!District! style="text-align:center;"
NameAffiliationFirst elected
 Senate27David HinkinsRepublican2008[10]
 House of Representatives69Christine WatkinsRepublican2016[11]
 Board of Education14Mark HuntsmanNonpartisan2014[12]

Notes:

Communities

Cities

Town

Census-designated places

Unincorporated community

Ghost towns

Education

There are five public elementary schools in Carbon County (Bruin Point, Castle Heights, Creekview, Sally Mauro, and Wellington); two middle schools (Helper and Mont Harmon); one high school (Carbon 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.

See also

Further reading

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Carbon County, Utah. United States Census Bureau. June 30, 2023.
  2. Web site: Find a County. June 7, 2011. National Association of Counties. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20110531210815/http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx. May 31, 2011.
  3. Web site: Individual County Chronologies/Carbon County UT. [[Newberry Library]] (accessed March 30, 2019) . March 30, 2019 . March 6, 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160306153326/http://publications.newberry.org/ahcbp/documents/UT_Individual_County_Chronologies.htm . dead .
  4. Web site: Carbon County. I Love Utah History. Utah.gov. February 10, 2017.
  5. Web site: Annual natural gas production in MCF by the top 7 producing counties in Utah . September 12, 2010 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20101107170742/http://www.carbon.utah.gov/commission/news/Natural%20Gas%20Production%20Facts%20%26%20Information%20Packet%200809.pdf . November 7, 2010 .
  6. https://www.google.com/maps/place/Carbon+County,+UT/@39.5684503,-111.096442,10.75z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x874e916568ebaa0b:0xf4eec1ffc2df4110!8m2!3d39.6479807!4d-110.6168921 Carbon County UT Google Maps (accessed 30 March 2019)
  7. Web site: Utah County High Points/Carbon County. Peakbaggers (accessed 30 March 2019) . March 30, 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190327090116/https://www.peakbagger.com/list.aspx?lid=13209 . March 27, 2019 . dead .
  8. Web site: 2010 Census Gazetteer Files. US Census Bureau. March 27, 2015. August 22, 2012.
  9. Web site: American FactFinder - Results. factfinder.census.govn. March 30, 2018. https://archive.today/20200213035408/https://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ACS/15_5YR/DP02/0500000US49007. February 13, 2020. dead.
  10. Web site: Senator Hinkins Utah Senate. November 16, 2021. senate.utah.gov.
  11. Web site: Rep. Watkins, Christine F.. November 17, 2021. Utah House of Representatives. en-US. November 17, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20211117180745/https://house.utah.gov/rep/WATKICF/. dead.
  12. Web site: Mark Huntsman. November 15, 2021. www.schools.utah.gov. November 15, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20211115183003/https://www.schools.utah.gov/board/members/utah/markhuntsman. dead.