Growth changing face of Utah County

PROVO — No, they don't have a 3-year-old or a 10-year-old. Yes, they go to church, just not the one their neighbors go to. And they live in Utah County — Eagle Mountain, to be specific.

To be sure, George and Sue Hillicker aren't part of the "old" Utah County demographic. The couple is retirement age, don't have young children, aren't university students or members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

But when they learned George's company had transferred him to Utah, they picked Utah County, not Salt Lake, Davis or Weber counties, as their home.

The Hillickers are part of the new era of newcomers to Utah County — a representation of a new demographic, if you will.

In short, with this population surge, the face of Utah County is changing.

Sue Hillicker said they were happy to move to Utah from Huntington, Ala. After all, they lived in Sandy for four years during the 1970s and think Utah is the most beautiful place they've lived, but they decided they didn't want to settle in Salt Lake County.

"Salt Lake has grown so much, we wanted to get out a bit, and it's extremely peaceful up here, and we have a view of the whole valley and the lake," Sue said.

The Utah Population Estimates Committee last month announced that Utah County is home to almost 500,000 people. And the county's demographics are swiftly changing, too, according to the estimates committee.

The committee uses several groups of numbers to estimate the state's population for each county and the state as a whole: LDS church membership, school enrollment, housing data and federal income tax information.

Along with residents like the Hillickers, other emigrants are changing the face of Utah County. Hispanic males are also moving heavily into the county.

"(We've) got all the construction jobs, and there's a high amount of (male) Hispanics that are coming without their families to fill those jobs," said Shawn Eliot, transportation planner for the Mountainland Association of Governments.

Officials can only estimate the number of Hispanics in the state.

The actual numbers are "harder to get a feel for because they typically don't answer census and do things that we get data from," Eliot said.

Poor economies in other states spurred the influx to Utah, which still has a good economy.

"The growth is incredible, our economy's still strong," said Gary Anderson, a Utah County commissioner. "We're still hot. It's not the boom it was a year ago, but it's still booming."

In-migration from other states, especially California, means more diversity for Utah — and Utah County.