Utah is one of the fastest growing states in the country

Kari Barker checks out a U-Hual truck Mountain Toppers in Logan. She generally comes to work on the busiest days of the week to help check in the trucks and trailers.

Utah is one of the fastest growing states in the union according to two different organizations, using two different methods.

Roy Bower puts a nail in a Smithfield home he is working on. His company, Western States Construction, has built an entire subdivision in the east side of Smithfield which is one of the fastest growing areas in Cache Valley.

One unscientific way to measure population growth in Utah may come from one of the country’s largest do-it-yourself moving companies, U-Haul.

In a recent study, U-Haul ranked Utah fourth in the number of one-way rentals that end in the Beehive State, as opposed to one-way trucks leaving.

The Beehive state jumped 17 spots from last year’s No. 21 spot, and in 2017 Utah ranked 38th for growth by the same standard.

The migration data comes from analyzing some two million one-way moves country wide. They measure moves entering the state versus the number leaving.

The company said Utah was beat out of the top spot by the southern states of Texas (first), Florida (second), and South Carolina took the third among the 50 states. Idaho landed the fifth spot.

The top three states people were moving away from were Illinois first, Michigan, second and California, third.

The U.S. Census Bureau gave different numbers. Utah scored one point higher than the rental company’s numbers, ranking a little higher for growth.

The Census Bureau said Utah was ranked third for population growth with a 1.9 percent growth rate. The Census had Nevada as the top growth state with Idaho in second place.

Jim Hart, the owner of Mountain Toppers and a U-Haul dealer, said he has a lot more equipment coming than going out.

“Most of what we have coming in is 6′ x 12′ trailers,” he said, “which is what you would expect for young married couples or small families.”

He said that may be an indication of the type people that are moving into the area.

You can see trends by paying attention to what is coming and going,” Hart said.

Cache County has also grown at a rate of 1.17 percent the past year, said the most recent U.S. Census data. Cache County is the sixth largest county in Utah, with an estimated population of 124,438.

Last year there were 316 building permits issued in Cache County according to officials. That didn’t include town homes or multi-family housing units. The Smithfield area was the fastest growing area and Hyrum was just behind it. Some cities do not use county inspectors.

Construction is booming in Cache Valley and Smithfield is one of the fastest growing areas in the valley.

Roy Bower, a construction worker building homes in Smithfield, said he is working on the second of five homes in the process of being built.

St. George, Hurricane and Ogden are the fastest growing cities in the state, according to U-Haul. U-Haul has locations in all 50 states and 10 Canadian provinces.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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