SALT LAKE CITY — To inform local decision-makers and community partners, the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute is launching “Northwest Valley Datapoints,” a series of fact sheets designed to provide important data about Northwest Salt Lake County. The first installment highlights key population and land-use characteristics of the region, which includes West Valley City, Kearns, Magna, Taylorsville, and Salt Lake City west of I-15.
“Northwest Salt Lake County stands out as a unique and vibrant part of our state,” said Heidi Prior, public policy analyst at the Gardner Institute and lead author of the research. “This initial report provides a foundational understanding of the region’s geography, land use, and key assets. Future reports will dig into the area’s demographic, economic, and housing characteristics, informing community stakeholders and supporting societal impact initiatives surrounding the creation of the new Eccles Hospital and Health Campus.”
Key Findings from the research include the following:
Population – Northwest Salt Lake County is home to more than 330,000 Utahns— a population larger than Ogden, Provo, and St. George combined.
Key Population Center – 1 in 10 Utahns lives in northwest Salt Lake County, which includes West Valley City—the second-largest city in the state.
Land Use – Approximately one-quarter of the land in Northwest Salt Lake County is zoned for residential housing. The remaining land serves a wide variety of commercial, industrial, manufacturing, recreational, and agricultural purposes.
Key Assets – The region is home to key statewide assets, including the Salt Lake City International Airport, the Utah Olympic Oval, and the future Eccles Hospital and Health Campus.
The fact sheet is now available online.
ABOUT THE KEM C. GARDNER POLICY INSTITUTE
The Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute serves Utah by preparing economic, demographic, and public policy research that helps the state prosper. We are Utah’s demographic experts, leaders on the Utah economy, and specialists on public policy and survey research. We are an honest broker of INFORMED RESEARCH, which guides INFORMED DISCUSSIONS, and leads to INFORMED DECISIONS. For more information, please visit gardner.utah.edu or call 801-587-3717.
ABOUT THE DAVID ECCLES SCHOOL OF BUSINESS
The Eccles School is synonymous with ‘doing.’ The Eccles experience provides a world-class business education with a unique, entrepreneurial focus on real-world scenarios where students put what they learn into practice long before graduation. Founded in 1917 and educating more than 6,000 students annually, the University of Utah David Eccles School of Business offers nine undergraduate majors, four MBAs, nine other graduate programs, a Ph.D. in seven areas, and executive education curricula. The School is also home to more than 20 institutes, centers, and initiatives, which deliver academic research and support an ecosystem of entrepreneurship and innovation. For more information, visit Eccles.Utah.edu or call 801-581-7676.
