"We've come to love Layton, but it was never on my radar to beat out Ogden," Handy said.

Layton Councilman Renny Knowlton, a lifelong resident, said he also never dreamed years ago that Layton would ever top Ogden.

"Layton only had one traffic light back in 1975," he said, and just a few restaurants. Now Layton, with its "Restaurant Row," has probably surpassed Ogden in eating establishments.

Layton had a population of 26,393 in 1980 when it was the second-largest city in Davis County, behind Bountiful. But it became a regional shopping hub shortly after the Layton Hills Mall arrived in the early 1980s. Its close proximity to Salt Lake City and housing affordability also fueled its growth.

Meanwhile, Ogden's population growth has slowed considerably in recent decades. As "Junction City," once the state's crucial railroad hub, Ogden flourished as Utah's second-largest city during the territory's first 100 years.

Salt Lake newspapers in the 19th and much of the 20th century gave Ogden an entire page of news, second only to Salt Lake.

It lost that ranking in the 1970s when Ogden lost more than 5,000 in population and Provo increased by 21,000 residents to become No. 2.

Even Hill Force Base didn't help Ogden's growth and development as much as leaders hoped. Ogden led the strong effort that landed the Air Force base in the early 1940s. However, once the base was developed, the two main gates to the base — south and west — ended up in Davis County, not Weber County, as Ogden leaders were expecting.

By 1990, Ogden had fallen to No. 4 in Utah city population, also surpassed by Sandy. By 2000, Orem also passed Ogden, and "Junction City" fell to fifth place.

It's also likely that someday not only will Layton surpass Ogden in population, but so will West Jordan and St. George — meaning Ogden will drop to No. 10.

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E-mail: lynn@desnews.com