| OCR Text |
Show Population Density Table 5. Population Density by Land Area 1996 Population Area in Estimated Density Land Area Square Population per Square and County Miles 7/01/96 Mile Utah Total 82,170 2,002,362 24.4 Frontier1 57,301 143,468 2.5 Garfield 5,175 4,386 0.8 Wayne 2,461 2,398 1.0 Daggett 698 803 1.2 Kane 3,992 5,956 1.5 San Juan 7,821 13,188 1.7 Rich 1,029 1,822 1.8 Millard 6,590 11,958 1.8 Juab 3,392 7,445 2.2 Piute 758 10,801 2.0 Grand 3,682 8,798 2.4 Beaver 2,590 5,606 2.2 Emery 4,452 10,810 2.4 Tooele 6,946 30,492 4.4 Duchesne 3,238 14,032 4.3 Uintah 4,477 24,275 5.4 Rural2 21,253 324,442 15.3 Box Elder 5,724 39,484 6.9 Iron 3,299 28,030 8.5 Sevier 1,910 17,683 9.3 Summit 1,871 23,562 12.6 Wasatch 1,181 12,585 10.7 Morgan 609 6,693 11.0 Sanpete 1,588 19,999 12.6 Carbon 1,479 21,420 14.5 Washington 2,427 72,888 30.0 Cache 1,165 82,098 70.5 Urban3 3,616 1,534,452 424.4 Utah 1,998 317,879 159.1 Weber 576 178,069 309.1 Davis 305 219,644 720.1 Salt Lake 737 818,860 1,111.1 1 Frontier counties have <6 residents per square mile. 2 Rural counties have 6-99 residents per square mile. 3 Urban counties have 100+ residents per square mile. Table 5. Sources: Utah Department of Health, Bureau of Vital Records Utah's Vital Statistics Annual Report: 1996. Salt Lake City, p. 10. Population density is another way to view geographic distribution, especially viewing by counties. Counties with at least 100 residents per square mile are considered urban. Rural counties have less than 100 but more than six residents per square mile. Frontier counties are those with six residents or fewer per square mile. Delineating by county can be somewhat problematic in that within a single county there can be urban, rural, and frontier areas. Utah's frontier and rural counties cover 96% of the state's land surface area, yet hold only 22% of its population. Fifteen of Utah's 29 counties are frontier, 10 are rural, and only four are urban. Population density has implications for access to health care. It is difficult for less populated areas to recruit and retain health care providers. Geographic conditions such as poor proximity, rugged terrain and secondary roads can inhibit access to available health care services. There are also the demographics of Utah's rural and frontier counties to consider. According to "Utah's Vision for Rural Health Care," rural populations have disproportionately large populations of the very young and the elderly because working age people leave the area to seek employment opportunities. The very young and the elderly tend to require more health care than the working age population. Rural Utahns also tend to be poorer and are less likely than their urban counterparts to be insured. These factors point to the challenges facing Utah's rural and frontier communities to provide affordable, accessible health care for their residents. 71 |
