Who we are in 2010

[David Lifferth]

We’re #1. Well at least at some things.

For comparative review, you can look at this blog that I wrote 7 ½ years ago that was based on the 2000 Census titled “Who we are”: http://davidlifferth.ning.com/profiles/blogs/demographic-analysis-o.... That blog describes the demographics of Lehi, Saratoga Springs, and Eagle Mountain.  I have long since lost the analytics on that blog but I think that it was my most viewed blog up to that date.

I got a “Demographic Profile for House District 2” from the Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel. It is a very thorough analysis of the 2010 Census for the state of Utah and House District 2 which is Saratoga Springs and Eagle Mountain. I named this new blog “Who we are in 2010”

This analysis shows that we in Saratoga Springs and Eagle Mountain stand out from the rest of Utah in many ways that are important to me. In this blog, I will report on the 12 ways that we lead the state and the 11 ways that we are at the very bottom of the charts. There are dozens of other ways that we are in the top 10 or in the bottom 10. Each of these superlatives indicates our unique nature and why we are who we are.
There are 150 categories that the various House Districts are compared to each other. Of those categories Eagle Mountain and Saratoga Springs lead in 12 categories. This is the 2^nd most 1^st place finishes for any house district. The House District with the most first place rankings is District 63 which is in Provo in the area around BYU. Their unique demographics lead the state in24 categories and are last in 27. District 63 leads in categories such as most people that moved to that district from another country, another state, most renters, and most people that live in apartments with 5-19 and 20 to 49 unit apartments, and the bottom of most of the income categories.

 

It is also interesting to note that in many of our 1^st place rankings that our neighbors to the east (Lehi, Dist 6), and North (Herriman, Dist 52) frequently came in 2^nd and 3^rd in these same rankings.  I got to talk to John Notwell of District 52 and Jake Andregg of District 6 about these rankings. We each saw similarities of our demographics.

 

House District 2, which comprises most of Saratoga Springs and most of Eagle Mountain leads the state in the following categories:

• We lead the state in the percentage of our population that is aged 0-4 at 18%. This means that we have a lot of young children and babies. This is also indicative as to why the primary and nurseries in our LDS ward has close to 300 children.  Interesting to note that we are also 2^nd in the state in the category of children aged 5-17.
• Percentage of Married couples with children under the age of 18 at 69%. This means that we have lots of young married couples with children in the home. The 2^nd ranking was 60% so we are almost 10% higher than the next district of Herriman. A super majority of us in this district are married with children in the home.
• Percentage of households with 7 or more persons with 11%. This means that we have large families also indicative of the educational needs of our residents. This also indicates the need to be supportive of families. It also shows the importance that we place on families.
• 88% of us live in households that are “Married Spouse Present”. 2^nd in this category is the Pleasant Grove District 27 with 86%. You don’t have to be married to live in Saratoga Springs and Eagle Mountain, but if you are you will fit right in. You will see me use all of my power and influence to support married couples’ and families’ interests.
• District 2 leads the state in the category “Living with 2 Parents with One in the Labor Force” at 58%. This means that we have lots traditional families with working fathers and stay at home moms. Once again, this is the demographic that I will defend and support.  This demographic is under attack and has declined precariously since the 1960’s. But it hasn’t gone out of fashion in District 2.
• District 2 leads the state of Utah with some college at 33% and is 2^nd with the highest percentage with an Associate’s degree at 13%. We are in the middle of the above average with a Bachelor’s Degree and just below average with Master’s Doctorate, or Professional Degree
• District 2 leads the state in percent that have a travel to work time of 45-59 minutes at 21% and are 2^nd in the 30-44 minutes travel time. It is no surprise that we are bedroom communities and travel to where the work is. This is why transportation is so important to us and why I requested and was assigned to work on the Legislature’s transportation committee.
• District 2 leads the state in the two income levels of $45-60k (21%) and $60k-75k (20%). And are #6 in the income category of $75-100k.  We are at the tops of these middle income categories.
• Despite the above income category, we are #1 in the number of married couples that are defined “in Poverty” at 69%.
• Since Eagle Mountain and Saratoga Springs were incorporated in the late 1990’s it is no surprise that we lead the state in population that has moved in after 1999 at 82%. I would actually challenge that number and think that it should be higher than 82%.
• In a strange statistic that I don’t quite understand, but if I do understand it I challenge the number that District 2 has the highest percentage of Veterans older than 75 Years. If I understand that correctly, then we have the most WWII and Korean War veterans in the state.

The corollary to these top rankings is that we must be in the bottom of related categories. Saratoga Springs and Eagle Mountain are in the bottom of the state in the following categories.

• District 2 of Saratoga Springs and Eagle Mountain have the fewest percentage (2%) of residents older than 65 years and are 2^nd from the bottom with 8% residents aged 45-64.  I find myself in that group.
• Since most of us live in a family, that leaves us with the fewest number as a percentage of residents that live alone at 4%.
• This is the same as the fewest in the state with a single person living in the home at that same 4%.
• We are 2^nd from the bottom with fewest with no children present in the home with 20%. And 2^nd from the bottom with only 2 persons in a home at 1%. Only Lehi’s 6^th district is lower than us at 0%.
• District 2 is the lowest in the state with both Widowed (1%) or Divorced (4%) residents
• District 2 has the lowest percentage in the state with residents on Social Security benefits at a mere 2%. This must be somehow related to the few people that are older than age 65.
• On an income category, District 2 has the fewest people in the state with annual income of less than $15k at 2%.
• Not surprisingly, District 2 has the fewest number of household that reside in a Mobile home at 0%.
• At only 6%, District 2 has the fewest number of households that don’t have a mortgage.
• Also since both Saratoga Springs and Eagle Mountain incorporated in the late 1990s, District 2 residents have the fewest number of residents that moved in prior to 1990 at 0%.

It is interesting that despite our young demographics were are average for the state for categories such as race, language spoken, birthplaces and citizenships to foreign countries, and what was shocking to me is that we are average in women given birth. I thought that we would have been tops in the state in that category.

 

We are in the top 10 in the following categories:

• #7 in residents aged 25-44 at 34%
• Just outside the top 10 at #13 for Pacific Islanders with 2%
• #7 of non-Latino ethnicity at 96%
• 6^th in English only language spoken in the home at 94%
• 2^nd with families of 2-4 members at 39%
• 3^rd with families of 5-6 members at 27%
• 11^th of residents employed in the construction industry at 11%
• 11^th of residents employed in the information industry at 11%
• 7^th (tied for 3^rd) of residents that work at home at 8%
• 6^th of residents that commute an hour or more at 8%
• 3^rd from the top with residents whose income comes from wages or salary at 89%. Ensuring that a functioning economy that is creating and supportive of jobs is important to me.
• 3^rd from top (tied for 2^nd) of owner occupied homes at 91%
• 3^rd from top in homes with only 1 mortgage at 65%
• 2^nd from top in homes with 1^st and 2^nd mortgage at 15%
• 8^th from the top with residents that moved from another county in Utah at 6%

We are in the Bottom 10 in the following categories:

• 4^th from bottom of residents aged 18-24 at 7%
• 4^th from the bottom with American Indian at 0%
• 7^th from the bottom with Latino ethnicity at 4%
• 4^th from the bottom with Spanish spoken in the home at 3%
• 7^th from the bottom with naturalized citizens at 1%
• 2^nd from the bottom with no children in the home aged less than 18 in the home at 20%
• 6^th from the bottom with 2 or more people not related to each other in the same home at 2%
• 2^nd from the bottom with 2 people in a household at 17%
• 2^nd from the bottom with 2 people that are not part of a family living in the same home at 1%
• 2^nd from the bottom of adults that have never been married at 4%
• 6^th from the bottom with both parents in the work force at 34%
• 2^nd from the bottom in single parent household with that parent in the work force at 6%
• 10^th from the bottom in single parent household that is not in the workforce at 1%
• 9^th from the bottom of adult residents without a High School Diploma at 4%
• 5^th from bottom of females aged 45-65 that don’t have a Bachelor’s degree or higher at 15%
• 7^th from the bottom of residents aged 65-74 who are veterans
• 10^th from the bottom of residents employed in transportation and warehousing at 3%
• 4^th from the bottom of residents that walk or bike to work at 1%
• 3^rd from the bottom of residents that have a commute of less than 14 minutes at 13%
• 8^th from the bottom of residents that make $15k-30k at 7%
• 9^th from the bottom of residents that receive food stamps at 3%
• 9^th from the bottom of residents that live in a 2-4 unit apartment at 1%
• 4^th from the bottom of residents that live in a 50+ unit apartment at 0%
• 3^rd from the bottom of renter occupied homes at 9%
• 4^th from bottom in moved in from 1990-1999 at 7%, tied for last at moved before 1990 with 0%, and 6^th from the bottom with those moved after 1999 at 10%

 

To summarize, we in District 2 are fairly young, practice traditional marriage, have lots of young kids, are fairly well educated, while some of us earn enough to provide for our families others are below the poverty line, travel long distances to get to work, have fairly diverse ethnic population, don’t rely on government assistance, most of us have a mortgage or two, and none of us live in a mobile home.

 

I am putting together a PowerPoint presentation so that I can describe the residents of Saratoga Springs and Eagle Mountain from a statistics and demographics standpoint.

 

Enjoy and be proud of who we are. Embrace our demographics. I will do my best to understand us and our needs and look out for our interests at the state capital.

[David Lifferth]

I will post a link to the .PDF file that contains this information when it is available.

[Bryan F]

Thanks for sharing this information! It is great to have a representative who keeps in touch with his constituents and lets us in on the conversations you are having. The article was very interesting and informative.