| County: | Grand County |
| State: | Utah |
| Seal: | Grand County Seal (Utah).jpg |
| Founded Year: | 1890 |
| Founded Date: | March 13 |
| Seat Wl: | Moab |
| Largest City Wl: | Moab |
| Area Total Sq Mi: | 3684 |
| Area Land Sq Mi: | 3672 |
| Area Water Sq Mi: | 12 |
| Area Percentage: | 0.3 |
| Coordinates: | 38.99°N -109.56°W |
| Population As Of: | 2020 |
| Population Total: | 9669 |
| Pop Est As Of: | 2023 |
| Population Est: | 9706 |
| Population Density Sq Mi: | auto |
| Time Zone: | Mountain |
| Web: | www.grandcountyutah.net |
| Named For: | Grand River (now the Colorado River) |
| District: | 3rd |
| Ex Image: | GrandCountyUTCourthouse.jpg |
| Ex Image Cap: | Grand County Courthouse, June 2014 |
Grand County is a county on the east central edge of the U.S. state of Utah, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 9,669.[1] Its county seat and largest city is Moab.[2]
Grand County is home to one of the nine statewide regional campuses of Utah State University (located in the city of Moab) and serves as a gateway to both Arches and Canyonlands National Parks.
Evidence of indigenous occupation up to 10,000 BCE has been previously discovered in Grand County. The present city of Moab is the site of pueblo farming communities of the 11th and 12th centuries. These groups had already vanished from the area when the first European explorers entered the country, with nomadic Ute tribes inhabiting the area at the time of contact.
The European-based settlement of the area began with the arrival of Mormon pioneers in 1847. By 1855 they had sent missionary settlers into eastern Utah Territory. An Elk Mountain Mission was established but closed after a few months due to Indian raids. For several decades after that, the future Moab area (known as "Spanish Valley") was visited only by trappers and prospectors. Permanent settlement began in 1877. These early settlers, coming in from the north, encountered the deep canyon walls of the Grand River and could not take wagons over or around the steep canyon walls.
They unloaded their supplies, dismantled the wagons, and lowered them by rope to the river valley. They then drove their oxen over a canyon rim, down deep sand dunes. After the wagons were reassembled and supplies reloaded, they made their way through the deep sand to the river. They found a place to ford the river below the present bridge in north Moab. They later established a ferry at the crossing site, which remained in use until the first bridge was built in 1921.
In 1881 the area was known as Grand Valley, and Moab was a "wild west" town. A 1991 visitor to Moab later said it was the toughest town in Utah because the area and surrounding country have many deep canyons, rivers, mountains, and wilderness areas, becoming a hideout for outlaws. The local economy was initially based on farming and livestock. Mining came in at the end of the 19th century, and the railroad arrived. The first school in the county was started in 1881. Mormon settlers began planting fruit trees by 1879, and by 1910 Moab was a significant fruit-production center.
Due to the distances involved, the settlers of eastern Emery County found it difficult to conduct county business in that county's seat. By March 13, 1890, their petitions caused the Utah Territory legislature to designate the eastern portion of the county as a separate entity, to be named Grand County, named for the Grand River (whose name was changed to Colorado River in 1921). The county boundaries were adjusted in 1892 and in 2003.
Exploration for deep petroleum deposits began in the 1920s, and this industry has significantly contributed to the economy since that time. Other significant industries include uranium mining and filmmaking.[3]
Grand County lies on the east side of Utah. Its east border abuts the west border of the state of Colorado. The Green River flows southward through the eastern part of central Utah, and its meandering course defines the western border of Grand County. The Colorado River enters the east side of Grand County from Colorado, flowing southwestward toward its confluence with the Green in San Juan County, south of Grand. The Dolores River also enters Grand County from Colorado, flowing westward to its confluence with the Colorado River near Dewey.
Grand County terrain is arid, rough, and spectacularly carved by water and wind erosion, exposing red rock formations that have created a solid tourist industry. The area is little used for agriculture unless irrigation is available.[4] The terrain is filled with hills and protuberances, but generally slopes to the south and to the west. Its highest point is Mount Waas in the SE part of the county, at 12336feet ASL.[5] The county has a total area of, of which is land and (0.3%) is water.[6] Deserts, cliffs and plateaus make up the scenery, with few settlements apart from the city of Moab, a Colorado River oasis. Arches National Park lies in the southern part of the county, just north of Moab. A northern portion of Canyonlands National Park lies in the southwest corner of the county.
According to the 2020 United States census[10] and 2020 American Community Survey,[11] there were 9,669 people in Grand County with a population density of 2.6 people per square mile (1.0/km2). Among non-Hispanic or Latino people, the racial makeup was 7,481 (77.4%) White, 65 (0.7%) African American, 330 (3.4%) Native American, 80 (0.8%) Asian, 11 (0.1%) Pacific Islander, 62 (0.6%) from other races, and 414 (4.3%) from two or more races. 1,226 (12.7%) people were Hispanic or Latino.
There were 4,810 (49.75%) males and 4,859 (50.25%) females, and the population distribution by age was 2,047 (21.2%) under the age of 18, 5,823 (60.2%) from 18 to 64, and 1,799 (18.6%) who were at least 65 years old. The median age was 40.5 years.
There were 4,006 households in Grand County with an average size of 2.41 of which 2,416 (60.3%) were families and 1,590 (39.7%) were non-families. Among all families, 1,676 (41.8%) were married couples, 260 (6.5%) were male householders with no spouse, and 480 (12.0%) were female householders with no spouse. Among all non-families, 1,206 (30.1%) were a single person living alone and 384 (9.6%) were two or more people living together. 1,123 (28.0%) of all households had children under the age of 18. 2,632 (65.7%) of households were owner-occupied while 1,374 (34.3%) were renter-occupied.
The median income for a Grand County household was $56,639 and the median family income was $68,216, with a per-capita income of $30,948. The median income for males that were full-time employees was $47,736 and for females $36,180. 14.0% of the population and 11.5% of families were below the poverty line.
In terms of education attainment, out of the 7,137 people in Grand County 25 years or older, 442 (6.2%) had not completed high school, 1,931 (27.1%) had a high school diploma or equivalency, 2,576 (36.1%) had some college or associate degree, 1,233 (17.3%) had a bachelor's degree, and 955 (13.4%) had a graduate or professional degree.
Grand County has the lowest percentage of members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) among all Utah counties. About 26% of Grand County residents identify as Latter-day Saints, significantly lower than the 62% of Utah as a whole.[12]
Historically, following the period of William Jennings Bryan and Woodrow Wilson, Grand County has generally voted Republican. Between 1920 and 1988 (inclusive), it voted Democratic only four times: thrice for Franklin Roosevelt, and once for Lyndon Johnson. However, it has become a swing county recent years, voting Democratic thrice in the last nine presidential elections (for Bill Clinton in 1992, Barack Obama in 2008, Joe Biden in 2020, and Kamala Harris in 2024). The highest vote share any Republican has received in the county in the last nine elections was 51.1% (by George W. Bush in 2004); Joe Biden's 53.9% was the highest vote share for any nominee of either party since 1988, as well as the highest for a Democrat in the county since 1936. In 2024, Kamala Harris became the first Democratic presidential nominee to win Grand County despite losing the presidential election since 1900.
Grand County is one of only thirteen counties to have voted for Obama in 2008, Romney in 2012, Trump in 2016, and Biden in 2020.
| Name | Affiliation | First elected | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Senate | 27 | David Hinkins | Republican | 2008[13] | |
| House of Representatives | 69 | Christine Watkins | Republican | 2016[14] | |
| House of Representatives | 70 | Carl Albrecht | Republican | 2016[15] | |
| Board of Education | 14 | Mark Huntsman | Nonpartisan | 2014[16] | |
Moab has a significant environmentalist population due to nearby Arches National Park and Canyonlands National Park.[17]
Grand County was an epicenter of the Sagebrush Rebellion, which took place during the late 1970s and early 1980s when residents protested what they saw as overreaching Federal control of Western US land.
An early event in the Rebellion was July 4, 1980, when 300 Grand County residents gathered behind a flag-decorated bulldozer in protest of the inclusion of Mill Creek Canyon as part of a Bureau of Land Management wilderness study area. Despite plowing nearly 200 yards up the canyon, the group did not reach the study area's boundary.
The Denver Museum of Natural History opened a small Cedar Mountain Formation quarry that has produced diverse dinosaur fossils including theropod, sauropod and ornithopod. An adult sauropod was designated the type specimen of the genus Venenosaurus.[18]