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Iron County, Utah

Coordinates: 37°52′N 113°17′W / 37.86°N 113.28°W / 37.86; -113.28
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For counties in other U.S. states with the same name, see Iron County (disambiguation).

Iron County
County
The Parowan Gap petroglyphs, a well-known landmark in Iron County, July 2007
The Parowan Gap petroglyphs, a well-known landmark in Iron County, July 2007
Map of Utah highlighting Iron County
Location within the U.S. state of Utah
Map of the United States highlighting Utah
Utah's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 37°52′N 113°17′W / 37.86°N 113.28°W / 37.86; -113.28
Country United States
State Utah
FoundedJanuary 31, 1850 (created)
January 17, 1851 (organized)
Named forIron mines
SeatParowan
Largest cityCedar City
Area
 • Total
3,301 sq mi (8,550 km2)
 • Land3,297 sq mi (8,540 km2)
 • Water4.4 sq mi (11 km2)  0.1%
Population
 (2020)
 • Total
57,289
 • Estimate 
(2023)[1]
64,211
 • Density17/sq mi (6.7/km2)
Time zoneUTC−7 (Mountain)
 • Summer (DST)UTC−6 (MDT)
Congressional district2nd
Websitewww.ironcounty.net

Iron County is a county in southwestern Utah, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 57,289.[2] Its county seat is Parowan,[3] and the largest city is Cedar City.

The Cedar City, UT Micropolitan Statistical Area includes all of Iron County.

History

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Evidence of Fremont culture habitation ranging from 750 to 1250 AD exists in present Iron County. Petroglyphs of differing periods were carved into the walls of Parowan Gap NW of Parowan. Paiutes roamed the Parowan Valley in the centuries before Euro-American exploration; their descendants are now represented by the Southern Paiute Indian Reservation, which is headquartered in Cedar City.

The Domínguez–Escalante expedition traveled through the Iron County area on October 12, 1776. Fur trapper Jedediah Smith is the first recorded Anglo-American to pass through the area (1826). Settlement of the area began in 1851, when LDS President Brigham Young directed members from the northern colonies to move into the area.[4] A settlement, Coal Creek,[4] sprang up in 1851; it later became Cedar City.[5] To provide a local government structure, the State of Deseret legislature created the county on January 31, 1850, although it was not organized until January 17, 1851, with description stretching from the future Colorado, across Utah, and into the future Nevada. It was named "Little Salt Lake County" at creation, but on December 3, 1850, a legislative act changed its name to Iron County. Its borders were altered in 1850, 1852, 1854, 1856, and 1861. Also, in 1861, the federal government created the Colorado Territory, which administratively removed Iron County areas east of 109 degrees longitude.

The county borders were altered in 1862. Also, in 1862, the federal government created the Nevada Territory, which administratively removed Iron County areas west of 114 degrees longitude. Further boundary adjustments were passed in 1866, 1880, 1882, 1883, and 1884. The final adjustment was made in 1892; the county borders have remained in their current arrangement.[6]

Geography

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Iron County lies on the west edge of Utah. Its west border abuts the east border of the state of Nevada. The Iron County terrain is a study in contrast to its arid western reaches of the Escalante Desert and Great Basin ranges to the meadows and forests of the High Plateau on the east. The Markagunt Plateau is creased by the colorful formations of Cedar Breaks National Monument. Brian Head is the county's highest point, at 11,307 feet (3,446 m) ASL.[5] The county has a total area of 3,301 square miles (8,550 km2), of which 3,297 square miles (8,540 km2) is land and 4.4 square miles (11 km2) (0.1%) is water.[7]

Major highways

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Adjacent counties

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Protected areas

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Lakes

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Valleys

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Demographics

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Historical population
CensusPop.Note%±
1850360—
18601,010180.6%
18702,277125.4%
18804,01376.2%
18902,683−33.1%
19003,54632.2%
19103,93310.9%
19205,78747.1%
19307,22724.9%
19408,33115.3%
19509,64215.7%
196010,79512.0%
197012,17712.8%
198017,34942.5%
199020,78919.8%
200033,77962.5%
201046,16336.7%
202057,28924.1%
2023 (est.)64,211[1]12.1%
US Decennial Census[9]
1790–1960[10] 1900–1990[11]
1990–2000[12] 2010[13] 2020[14]

2020 census

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According to the 2020 United States census[15] and 2020 American Community Survey,[16] there were 57,289 people in Iron County with a population density of 17.4 people per square mile (6.7/km2). Among non-Hispanic or Latino people, the racial makeup was 47,620 (83.1%) White, 375 (0.7%) African American, 948 (1.7%) Native American, 621 (1.1%) Asian, 237 (0.4%) Pacific Islander, 154 (0.3%) from other races, and 1,852 (3.2%) from two or more races. 5,482 (9.6%) people were Hispanic or Latino.

There were 28,404 (49.58%) males and 28,885 (50.42%) females, and the population distribution by age was 16,259 (28.4%) under the age of 18, 33,214 (58.0%) from 18 to 64, and 7,816 (13.6%) who were at least 65 years old. The median age was 28.9 years.

There were 18,731 households in Iron County with an average size of 3.06 of which 13,596 (72.6%) were families and 5,135 (27.4%) were non-families. Among all families, 10,799 (57.7%) were married couples, 978 (5.2%) were male householders with no spouse, and 1,819 (9.7%) were female householders with no spouse. Among all non-families, 3,592 (19.2%) were a single person living alone and 1,543 (8.2%) were two or more people living together. 6,906 (36.9%) of all households had children under the age of 18. 12,133 (64.8%) of households were owner-occupied while 6,598 (35.2%) were renter-occupied.

The median income for a Iron County household was $52,045 and the median family income was $63,633, with a per-capita income of $22,409. The median income for males that were full-time employees was $45,178 and for females $33,841. 16.4% of the population and 10.2% of families were below the poverty line.

In terms of education attainment, out of the 29,881 people in Iron County 25 years or older, 1,977 (6.6%) had not completed high school, 6,903 (23.1%) had a high school diploma or equivalency, 12,374 (41.4%) had some college or associate degree, 6,205 (20.8%) had a bachelor's degree, and 2,422 (8.1%) had a graduate or professional degree.

Ancestry

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The top 5 ethnic groups in Iron County are:

Recreation

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  • Woods Ranch Recreation Area,[18] a recreation area located in a pine/aspen forest with hiking, fishing, picnic areas, a volleyball court and restroom facilities.
  • Three Peaks Recreation Area,[19] a recreation area made up of volcanic rock and hills. The area features rock climbing, picnics, fishing, off-road vehicle use and bike riding.
  • Shooting Range[20]
  • Brian Head Ski Resort

Politics and government

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Iron County is an overwhelmingly Republican county in presidential elections, having not voted Democratic since 1936. Indeed, in no national election since the 1964 Lyndon B. Johnson landslide has the county given any Democratic presidential candidate 25 percent of its ballots.

State elected offices
Position District Name Affiliation First elected
  Senate 28 Evan Vickers Republican 2012[21]
  House of Representatives 71 Bradley Last Republican 2002[22]
  House of Representatives 72 Rex Shipp Republican 2018[23]
  Board of Education 15 Kristan Norton Republican 2020[24]
United States presidential election results for Iron County, Utah[25]
Year Republican Democratic Third party(ies)
No.  % No.  % No.  %
2024 21,571 77.38% 5,683 20.39% 624 2.24%
2020 18,989 75.64% 4,892 19.49% 1,223 4.87%
2016 11,561 64.84% 2,450 13.74% 3,820 21.42%
2012 14,200 84.47% 2,148 12.78% 463 2.75%
2008 12,518 75.06% 3,258 19.53% 902 5.41%
2004 12,815 82.97% 2,267 14.68% 364 2.36%
2000 10,106 80.24% 1,789 14.21% 699 5.55%
1996 6,550 69.75% 1,887 20.09% 954 10.16%
1992 5,616 59.88% 1,537 16.39% 2,225 23.73%
1988 6,038 76.74% 1,736 22.06% 94 1.19%
1984 6,856 83.09% 1,342 16.26% 53 0.64%
1980 6,207 79.54% 1,242 15.91% 355 4.55%
1976 4,757 69.62% 1,700 24.88% 376 5.50%
1972 5,085 76.49% 1,098 16.52% 465 6.99%
1968 3,337 66.59% 1,157 23.09% 517 10.32%
1964 2,522 55.13% 2,053 44.87% 0 0.00%
1960 3,079 63.91% 1,738 36.07% 1 0.02%
1956 3,321 71.70% 1,311 28.30% 0 0.00%
1952 3,175 66.55% 1,596 33.45% 0 0.00%
1948 2,289 58.53% 1,596 40.81% 26 0.66%
1944 1,930 53.30% 1,677 46.31% 14 0.39%
1940 2,060 51.53% 1,915 47.90% 23 0.58%
1936 1,396 42.44% 1,844 56.07% 49 1.49%
1932 1,599 50.55% 1,358 42.93% 206 6.51%
1928 1,823 72.11% 682 26.98% 23 0.91%
1924 1,429 66.47% 485 22.56% 236 10.98%
1920 1,399 69.60% 561 27.91% 50 2.49%
1916 825 40.03% 1,156 56.09% 80 3.88%
1912 695 49.71% 544 38.91% 159 11.37%
1908 712 55.80% 488 38.24% 76 5.96%
1904 741 58.72% 442 35.02% 79 6.26%
1900 628 46.94% 708 52.91% 2 0.15%
1896 205 20.28% 806 79.72% 0 0.00%

Communities

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Map of Iron County communities

Cities

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Towns

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Census-designated places

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Unincorporated communities

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Former communities

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Education

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There is one school district, Iron School District.[26]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Counties: April 1, 2020 to July 1, 2023". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved March 24, 2024.
  2. ^ "Iron County, Utah". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved June 30, 2023.
  3. ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Archived from the original on May 31, 2011. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
  4. ^ a b Shirts, Morris A. (1994), "The Iron Mission", Utah History Encyclopedia, University of Utah Press, ISBN 9780874804256, archived from the original on March 21, 2024, retrieved May 15, 2024
  5. ^ a b Iron County Profile (accessed 31 March 2019)
  6. ^ "Utah: Individual County Chronologies". Utah Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. Newberry Library. 2008. Archived from the original on March 6, 2016. Retrieved June 26, 2015.
  7. ^ "2010 Census Gazetteer Files". US Census Bureau. August 22, 2012. Retrieved June 25, 2015.
  8. ^ a b Iron County UT Google Maps (accessed 30 March 2019)
  9. ^ "US Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on April 26, 2015. Retrieved June 25, 2015.
  10. ^ "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. Retrieved June 25, 2015.
  11. ^ Forstall, Richard L., ed. (June 25, 1995). "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". US Census Bureau. Retrieved March 27, 2015.
  12. ^ "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000" (PDF). US Census Bureau. April 2, 2001. Retrieved June 25, 2015.
  13. ^ "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on June 6, 2011. Retrieved December 29, 2013.
  14. ^ 2020 Population and Housing State Data | Utah
  15. ^ United States Census Bureau. "2020 Census Demographic and Housing Characteristics File (DHC)". Retrieved November 3, 2024.
  16. ^ United States Census Bureau. "American Community Survey 5-Year Data (2009-2022)". Retrieved November 3, 2024.
  17. ^ "Iron County, UT - Iron County, Utah - Genealogy guide - ePodunk". Archived from the original on September 14, 2005.
  18. ^ "IronCounty.net > Departments > Parks and Recreation > Woods Ranch". Archived from the original on May 8, 2014. Retrieved May 30, 2014.
  19. ^ "IronCounty.net > Departments > Parks and Recreation > Woods Ranch". Archived from the original on May 8, 2014. Retrieved May 30, 2014.
  20. ^ "IronCounty.net > Departments > Parks and Recreation > Woods Ranch". Archived from the original on December 19, 2013. Retrieved May 30, 2014.
  21. ^ "Senator | Utah Senate". senate.utah.gov. Retrieved November 15, 2021.
  22. ^ "Rep. Last, Bradley G." Utah House of Representatives. Archived from the original on November 17, 2021. Retrieved November 17, 2021.
  23. ^ "Rep. Shipp, Rex P." Utah House of Representatives. Retrieved November 17, 2021.
  24. ^ "Kristan Norton". www.schools.utah.gov. Retrieved November 16, 2021.
  25. ^ Leip, David. "Atlas of US Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved March 31, 2018.
  26. ^ "2020 CENSUS - SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP: Iron County, UT" (PDF). U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved September 28, 2024. - Text list

Further reading

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  • (1994) "Iron County" article in the Utah History Encyclopedia. The article was written by Gary B. Peterson and the Encyclopedia was published by the University of Utah Press. ISBN 9780874804256. Archived from the original on March 21, 2024 and retrieved on May 14, 2024.
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