Deseret News | Utah has nation's youngest population

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Utah has nation's youngest population

Less Kids in USA generally | 2:29 a.m. May 1, 2008

It may be the youngest state NOW but there was a lot more kids on my street in Cali when I was a kid than in my family neighborhood here in Utah.

just the facts please | 6:05 a.m. May 1, 2008

Nice fact checking for this story. The name of the school is NOT Oakridge, it is Oakcrest. It is named correctly in the photo attached.

opinon | 7:51 a.m. May 1, 2008

Too bad most of the adult pop. in UT is still out-pricing their children from being able to LIVE in UT--it's great to be so reproductive--but this former UT child couldn't afford to stay in UT--and I'm one of MANY.

Comments continue below

short_n_sexi | 8:32 a.m. May 1, 2008

It is true in some ways some neighborhoods might have more younger kids than others. In my neighborhood their are more kids than teens or adults.

tstu | 8:35 a.m. May 1, 2008

Yeah so maybe we should build more highschools? Hire more teachers?? Read the facts!!!

that explains it | 8:54 a.m. May 1, 2008

so that's why nothing get's done here in Utah. We have kids doing the work.

Overpopulating | 9:52 a.m. May 1, 2008

It's irresponsible for families to have more than 3 children. There are limited resources on this planet. Why do you people need to have so many kids?

Anonymous | 10:01 a.m. May 1, 2008

These neighborhoods are disposable. Soon the latest fad development will be a few miles out from the one pictured, where the kids who attended Oakcrest be furiously reproducing their own families. A vicious cycle of over population and suburban sprawl.

JAC | 11:22 a.m. May 1, 2008

Excellent trend! With an overall negative birthrate in the United States, the only thing causing actual population growth is immigration. Utah is one of the few states that is actually replacing its population through birth. The days of unchecked immigration are coming to a close. We'll need respectable, positive birthrates in order to maintain economic growth and a competetive position in the world. Having two, three, four or more children is very much in the national interest. As for being responsible, that's about people; how they act and interact. It has nothing to do with whether they have no children or five children.

Say What? | 12:01 p.m. May 1, 2008

"We'll need respectable, positive birthrates in order to maintain economic growth and a competetive (sic) position in the world. Having two, three, four or more children is very much in the national interest."

Say what? Having more children to maintain economic growth and a competitive position in the world is the ultimate Ponzi scheme. Ultimately it will collapse under its own weight.

SLC'er | 12:30 p.m. May 1, 2008

Hey Jac,

How are you going to provide enough water for your 4+ children? Where are they going to be able to live? How are we going to pay for them to go to school? Overpopulation is killing this planet.

Anonymous | 12:42 p.m. May 1, 2008

Overpopulation is a joke.

Humans occupy what maybe 2% of the total land available?

Anonymous at 12:42 PM | 1:44 p.m. May 1, 2008

You need to crawl out from your rock and open your eyes. Instead of citing dubious statistics, you ought to consult publications from outside the state of Utah. If that effort proves too much, consider your own recent experiences at purchasing commodities such as gasoline, rice or milk.

The adverse impact the human population is placing upon the ecosystem and earth's resources is undeniable. Perhaps technology will one day yield a solution, but one thing clearly will not: denial.

Finally, if it is true that humans occupy 2% of the total available land, doesn't that suggest that a large percentage of the earth is uninhabitable?

Anonymous | 2:23 p.m. May 1, 2008

i am a utah native that can not afford to live in the community pictured. i doubt even if i could come home i could live anywhere along the wasatch front the housing prices are too high.

utah is young but they are pricing thier future right out the door. i hope the home bubble in utah bursts so if i wanted to come back home i could.

Anonymous | 2:57 p.m. May 1, 2008

Tell ya what anonymous 12:42 -
Move out to the West Desert, find a way to make a living, find water, etc. and then come back and fill us in on your 2% theory.

ill logic | 3:38 p.m. May 1, 2008

We need to have way more kids in order to reduce the national debt per citizen! With the debt Bush has put us in, each and every citizen will have to pay approximatly $31,000. The more kids we have, the less everyone owes!

Human Capital | 3:48 p.m. May 1, 2008

Most economists agree that 75% of all wealth in this world is "human capital" i.e. the skills and intelligence and talents of the humans on this earth.

Doomsayers were crying about "over-population" three hundred years ago, prophesying that everyone would starve. Standards of living have improved greatly over the past three hundred years thanks almost entirely to human capital.

Anonymous | 3:51 p.m. May 1, 2008

All major social problems stem from overpopulation.
Just spend some time in any large city with a notebook.

Query | 4:59 p.m. May 1, 2008

If Utahns are goping to have lots of kids, will they think of the future of those kids and take the issue of the environment more seriously? Will they be willing to pay more for education? Will they pull the plug on the Bush killing machine in Iraq so that money can be spent on our future?

CougarKeith | 5:32 p.m. May 1, 2008

"Overpopulation"? Give me a break, look at most of Utah, Montana, Wyoming, Nevada, Arizona, ND, SD, there is no OVERPOPULATION problem! There might one day be a "Human Congestion" problem, but not overpopulation problem, the Lord said, Multiply and Replenish the Earth, give me a break! My wife and I love children, and we are going to have as many as we can "AFFORD" and can have, 3-5 probably! Children are our future, and they bring innovation and future technology. They need a good education for that! Teach them young supply them a good education BEYOND WHAT SCHOOL TEACHES THEM, and teach them to save for their college education, YOU DON'T HAVE TO PAY THEIR WAY, and Shouldn't have had you're way paid either unless you EARNED A SCHOLARSHIP! This teaches responsibility, which is half the reason everybody wants a $275,000 home! Half the reason nobody can afford to live here anymore! We just found a home up North, buy now, FRONTRUNNER may up the values there as well! ARM's will cause a lot of foreclosures soon, so prepare, if the government doesn't bale out these idiots who bought above their heads! THEY SHOULDN'T!

Retired | 6:03 p.m. May 1, 2008

I am on a Utah retirement pension. Keep those kids coming!. They've got a lot to pay for... me.

Anonymous | 10:47 p.m. May 1, 2008

"Not all these folks work," Perlich said. "So we have to import labor to meet the demand for workers.
Immigrants continue to fill much of this demand...

I'm have been having one interview after another and I haven't gotten a job - I have the experience that the company is looking for but the thing I lack is youth - I'm over 40.

As long as the young people 16 to 35 keep getting the jobs those of us who are older will be seen as obsolete. I trained a young lady a few years ago - the week after she was left on her own she was calling in sick and missing work. I was called in to fill in for her.

Attention Employers: Hire someone who isn't going to need time off to have kids, who actually needs the money(I know I need it- I have bills too). I also have maturity something that a 20something lacks.

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Jason Olson, Deseret News

Jan Brown substitute teaches a fourth-grade class at Oakcrest Elementary School on Wednesday. Due to overcrowding, the class is taught on a stage. The school also has 12 portable classrooms.

Gallery (2 photos)