Carbon County, Utah

For counties with a similar name, see Carbon County (disambiguation).

County in Utah, United States

U.S. county in Utah

Carbon County

U.S. county

Carbon Power Plant at Castle Gate, Utah demolished in 2016

Carbon Power Plant at Castle Gate, Utah demolished in 2016

Location within the U.S. state of Utah

Location within the U.S. state of Utah

Utah's location within the U.S.

Utah's location within the U.S.

Coordinates: 39°38′N 110°35′W﻿ / ﻿39.64°N 110.58°W﻿ / 39.64; -110.58Coordinates: 39°38′N 110°35′W﻿ / ﻿39.64°N 110.58°W﻿ / 39.64; -110.58
Country|  United States
State| File:Flag of the State of Utah.svg Utah
Founded| March 8, 1894
Named for| Abundant coal deposits
Seat| Price
Largest city| Price
Area

• Total| 1,485 sq mi (3,850 km2)
• Land| 1,478 sq mi (3,830 km2)
• Water| 6.1 sq mi (16 km2)  0.4%
Population

(2020)

• Total| 20,412
• Density| 14/sq mi (5.3/km2)
Time zone| UTC−7 (Mountain)
• Summer (DST)| UTC−6 (MDT)
Congressional district| 3rd
Website| www.carbon.utah.gov

Carbon County is a county in the U.S. state of Utah. As of the 2010 United States Census, the population was 21,403.[1] Its county seat and largest city is Price.[2]

The Price, UT Micropolitan Statistical Area includes all of Carbon County.

## Contents

* 1 History
* 2 Geography
* 2.1 Airports
* 2.2 Major highways
* 2.3 Adjacent counties
* 2.4 Protected areas
* 3 Lakes
* 4 Demographics
* 4.1 2010 census
* 4.2 2015
* 5 Politics and Government
* 6 Communities
* 6.1 Cities
* 6.2 Town
* 6.3 Census-designated places
* 6.4 Unincorporated community
* 6.5 Ghost towns
* 7 See also
* 8 References
* 9 External links

## History[edit | edit source]

Carbon County was part of Emery County, founded in 1880. The demographics along the Price River changed with the construction of the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad in 1883 and the development of coal mines, largely in upper Emery, to fuel the railroad. The Utah Territory Legislature was petitioned to split off the north part, and thus it established Carbon County effective March 8, 1894.[3] It was named for the element Carbon, to emphasize the industrial nature of the area.[4]

Carbon County is the second-largest natural gas producer in Utah (after Uintah County), with 94 billion cubic feet produced in 2008.[5]

## Geography[edit | edit source]

File:AntelopeIslandEchoGhosttowns 221.jpg

Castle Gate rock formation in Carbon County

The Green River flows south-southeastward along the county's eastern border. The lower central part of Carbon County is a continuation of Castle Valley in Emery County, but in Carbon, the valley is ringed with mountains - the Wasatch Range to the west and northwest, and the Book Cliffs to the north and northeast.[6] The county generally slopes to the south and east; its highest point is Monument Peak on the crest of the Wasatch Mountains near the midpoint of the county's western border,[6] at 10,452' (3186m) ASL.[7] The county has a total area of 1,485 square miles (3,850 km2), of which 1,478 square miles (3,830 km2) is land and 6.1 square miles (16 km2) (0.4%) is water.[8]

### Airports[edit | edit source]

* Carbon County Regional Airport (PUC) - Price

### Major highways[edit | edit source]

* U.S. Routes 6/191
* Utah State Route 10
* Utah State Route 96
* Utah State Route 122
* Utah State Route 123
* Utah State Route 124
* Utah State Route 139
* Utah State Route 157[6]

### Adjacent counties[edit | edit source]

* Utah County \- northwest
* Duchesne County \- north
* Uintah County \- east
* Emery County \- south
* Sanpete County \- west

### Protected areas[edit | edit source]

* Gordon Creek Wildlife Management Area[6]
* Manti National Forest (part)
* Price Canyon Recreation Area[6]
* Scofield State Park

## Lakes[edit | edit source]

* Grassy Trail Reservoir[6]
* Scofield Lake[6]

## Demographics[edit | edit source]

Historical population

Census | Pop. |  | %±
1900| 5,004| | —
1910| 8,624| | 72.3%
1920| 15,489| | 79.6%
1930| 17,798| | 14.9%
1940| 18,459| | 3.7%
1950| 24,901| | 34.9%
1960| 21,135| | −15.1%
1970| 15,647| | −26.0%
1980| 22,179| | 41.7%
1990| 20,228| | −8.8%
2000| 20,422| | 1.0%
2010| 21,403| | 4.8%
2020| 20,412| | −4.6%
US Decennial Census[9]
1790–1960[10] 1900–1990[11]
1990–2000[12] 2010–2018[1] 2019[13] 2020[14]

### 2010 census[edit | edit source]

As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 21,403 people, 7,978 households, and 5,587 families in the county. The population density was 14.48/sqmi (5.59/km2). There were 9,551 housing units, with an average density of 6.46/sqmi (2.50/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 92.31% White, 0.43% Black or African American, 1.18% Native American, 0.58% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 3.03% from other races, and 2.36% from two or more races. 12.42% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 7,978 households, of which 30.16% had children under 18. 54.50% were married couples living together, 10.65% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.97% were non-families. 25.50% of all households were made up of individuals (one person), and 11.07% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.61, and the average family size was 3.14.

The population contained 30.41% under the age of 20, 6.82% aged 20 to 24, 23.73% aged 25 to 44, 25.48% aged 45 to 64, and 13.56% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34.4. For every 100 females, there were 98.40 males. For every 100 females aged 18 and over, there were 96.88 males.

### 2015[edit | edit source]

As of 2015 the largest self-reported ancestry groups in Carbon County, Utah are:[15]

Largest ancestries (2015) | Percent

|

English | 22.7%
German | 11.9%
Italian | 11.1%
Irish | 6.6%
Danish | 5.9%
Scottish | 4.1%
Swedish | 3.3%
Welsh | 1.9%
Dutch | 1.9%
Polish | 1.4%
Norwegian | 1.4%

## Politics and Government[edit | edit source]

Carbon County historically has been the base of Democratic Party support in strongly Republican Utah with its sizable blue-collar population. It voted for Bill Clinton in 1992 and 1996 by wide margins. In 1964 Lyndon Johnson carried 72.7% of votes in the county. At the state level, it was no less Democratic; in the 1992 gubernatorial election, it was one of two counties (the other being Summit County) that voted for Democratic candidate Stewart Hanson over Republican Michael Leavitt.

After the turn of the millennium, however, Carbon County has trended Republican. It voted for George W. Bush in 2000 and 2004 while voting for the Democratic gubernatorial candidates. In 2008, John McCain won Carbon County with 52.60% vote, versus 44.59% for Barack Obama. In 2012, the county's Democratic vote fell further as Mitt Romney carried 67.3% to 30.1% for Obama. In 2016, despite Utah's strong swing against the Republicans due to the presence of conservative independent Evan McMullin, Carbon County was the only county in the state to swing more Republican, as Donald Trump won 66% to Hillary Clinton's 21.5% percent. In 2020, Donald Trump again carried the county with the largest percentage (71.4%) of any Republican to date.

State Elected Offices  Position  | District  | Name  | Affiliation  | First Elected

|
|
|
|

| Senate | 27  | David Hinkins | Republican | 2008[16]
| House of Representatives | 69  | Christine Watkins | Republican | 2016[17]
| Board of Education  | 14  | Mark Huntsman  | Nonpartisan  | 2014[18]
United States presidential election results for Carbon County, Utah[19] Year  | Republican | Democratic | Third party

|
|
|

No. | % | No. | % | No. | %
2020 | 6,693  | 71.44% | 2,392  | 25.53%  | 284  | 3.03%
2016 | 5,275  | 65.95% | 1,717  | 21.47%  | 1,007  | 12.59%
2012 | 5,090  | 67.27% | 2,275  | 30.06%  | 202  | 2.67%
2008 | 4,091  | 52.30% | 3,468  | 44.34%  | 263  | 3.36%
2004 | 4,950  | 58.18% | 3,415  | 40.14%  | 143  | 1.68%
2000 | 3,758  | 50.89% | 3,298  | 44.66%  | 328  | 4.44%
1996 | 2,343  | 30.90%  | 4,172  | 55.03% | 1,067  | 14.07%
1992 | 2,038  | 23.11%  | 4,480  | 50.81% | 2,299  | 26.07%
1988 | 3,019  | 35.09%  | 5,521  | 64.18% | 63  | 0.73%
1984 | 4,393  | 49.82% | 4,357  | 49.41%  | 68  | 0.77%
1980 | 4,320  | 47.67% | 4,317  | 47.63%  | 426  | 4.70%
1976 | 3,360  | 38.70%  | 5,157  | 59.39% | 166  | 1.91%
1972 | 3,956  | 53.19% | 3,335  | 44.84%  | 147  | 1.98%
1968 | 2,618  | 36.17%  | 4,344  | 60.01% | 277  | 3.83%
1964 | 2,130  | 27.30%  | 5,672  | 72.70% | 0  | 0.00%
1960 | 2,953  | 32.79%  | 6,039  | 67.06% | 14  | 0.16%
1956 | 4,507  | 50.26% | 4,460  | 49.74%  | 0  | 0.00%
1952 | 3,770  | 39.44%  | 5,790  | 60.56% | 0  | 0.00%
1948 | 2,704  | 28.89%  | 6,397  | 68.34% | 259  | 2.77%
1944 | 2,318  | 30.12%  | 5,364  | 69.70% | 14  | 0.18%
1940 | 2,242  | 30.07%  | 5,180  | 69.47% | 34  | 0.46%
1936 | 1,348  | 20.71%  | 5,040  | 77.42% | 122  | 1.87%
1932 | 1,655  | 27.04%  | 4,239  | 69.26% | 226  | 3.69%
1928 | 2,184  | 42.10%  | 2,954  | 56.94% | 50  | 0.96%
1924 | 1,878  | 37.59% | 1,528  | 30.58%  | 1,590  | 31.83%
1920 | 1,675  | 47.05% | 1,559  | 43.79%  | 326  | 9.16%
1916 | 1,301  | 44.39%  | 1,478  | 50.43% | 152  | 5.19%
1912 | 771  | 35.42% | 514  | 23.61%  | 892  | 40.97%
1908 | 1,023  | 59.82% | 581  | 33.98%  | 106  | 6.20%
1904 | 1,224  | 65.38% | 508  | 27.14%  | 140  | 7.48%
1900 | 748  | 54.01% | 621  | 44.84%  | 16  | 1.16%
1896 | 85  | 11.36%  | 663  | 88.64% | 0  | 0.00%

Notes:

File:Carbon County Utah incorporated and unincorporated areas.svg

Map of Carbon County municipalities and CDPs

## Communities[edit | edit source]

### Cities[edit | edit source]

* East Carbon
* Helper
* Price (county seat)
* Wellington

### Town[edit | edit source]

* Scofield

### Census-designated places[edit | edit source]

* Carbonville
* Clear Creek
* Kenilworth
* Spring Glen
* West Wood

### Unincorporated community[edit | edit source]

* Hiawatha

### Ghost towns[edit | edit source]

* Castle Gate
* Coal City
* Consumers
* Hale
* Heiner
* Kiz
* Latuda
* Mutual
* National
* Peerless
* Rains
* Royal
* Spring Canyon
* Standardville
* Sweets (or Sweet)
* Wattis
* Winter Quarters

## See also[edit | edit source]

* National Register of Historic Places listings in Carbon County, Utah

## References[edit | edit source]

1. ^ a b "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on June 6, 2011. Retrieved December 29, 2013.
2. ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Archived from the original on May 31, 2011. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
3. ^ "Individual County Chronologies/Carbon County UT. [[Newberry Library]] (accessed March 30, 2019)". Archived from the original on March 6, 2016. Retrieved March 30, 2019.
4. ^ "Carbon County". I Love Utah History. Utah.gov. Retrieved February 10, 2017.
5. ^ "Annual natural gas production in MCF by the top 7 producing counties in Utah" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on November 7, 2010. Retrieved September 12, 2010.
6. ^ a b c d e f g Carbon County UT Google Maps (accessed 30 March 2019)
7. ^ "Utah County High Points/Carbon County. Peakbaggers (accessed 30 March 2019)". Archived from the original on March 27, 2019. Retrieved March 30, 2019.
8. ^ "2010 Census Gazetteer Files". US Census Bureau. August 22, 2012. Retrieved March 27, 2015.
9. ^ "US Decennial Census". US Census Bureau. Retrieved March 27, 2015.
10. ^ "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. Retrieved March 27, 2015.
11. ^ Forstall, Richard L., ed. (March 27, 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 March 27, 2015.
13. ^ "QuickFacts. Carbon County, Utah". Retrieved May 17, 2020.
14. ^ 2020 Population and Housing State Data | Utah
15. ^ Bureau, US Census. "American FactFinder - Results". factfinder.census.govn. Archived from the original on February 13, 2020. Retrieved March 30, 2018.
16. ^ "Senator Hinkins Utah Senate". senate.utah.gov. Retrieved November 16, 2021.
17. ^ "Rep. Watkins, Christine F." Utah House of Representatives. Retrieved November 17, 2021.
18. ^ "Mark Huntsman". www.schools.utah.gov. Retrieved November 15, 2021.
19. ^ Leip, David. "Atlas of US Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved March 30, 2018.

## External links[edit | edit source]

File:Commons-logo.svg

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Carbon County, Utah.

* Official website
* Carbon County Oral Histories

Places adjacent to Carbon County, Utah

| Utah County | Duchesne County |

|
|

| North |
Sanpete County |

WestCarbon CountyEast

| Uintah County
| South |
| Emery County |

* v
* t
* e

Municipalities and communities of Carbon County, Utah, United States

County seat: Price

Cities|

* East Carbon
* Helper
* Price
* Wellington

Map of Utah highlighting Carbon County

Town|

* Scofield

CDPs|

* Carbonville
* Clear Creek
* Kenilworth
* Spring Glen
* West Wood

Indian
reservation|

* Uintah and Ouray Indian Reservation‡

Ghost towns|

* Castle Gate
* Coal City
* Consumers
* Hale
* Harper‡
* Hiawatha‡
* Kiz
* National
* Peerless
* Royal
* Spring Canyon
* Standardville
* Winter Quarters

Footnotes|

‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties

* United States portal

* v
* t
* e

State of Utah

Salt Lake City (capital)

Topics|

* Outline
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* Counties
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Society|

* Culture
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* Demographics
* Economy
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Regions|

* Cache Valley
* Colorado Plateau
* Dixie
* Great Basin
* Great Salt Lake
* Great Salt Lake Desert
* Mojave Desert
* Monument Valley
* San Rafael Swell
* Uinta Basin
* Uinta Mountains
* Wasatch Back
* Wasatch Front
* Wasatch Range

Largest cities|

* American Fork
* Bountiful
* Cedar City
* Clearfield
* Cottonwood Heights
* Draper
* Holladay
* Kaysville
* Layton
* Lehi
* Logan
* Midvale
* Millcreek
* Murray
* Ogden
* Orem
* Pleasant Grove
* Provo
* Riverton
* Roy
* St. George
* Salt Lake City
* Sandy
* South Jordan
* South Salt Lake
* Spanish Fork
* Springville
* Taylorsville
* Tooele
* West Jordan
* West Valley City

Counties|

* Beaver
* Box Elder
* Cache
* Carbon
* Daggett
* Davis
* Duchesne
* Emery
* Garfield
* Grand
* Iron
* Juab
* Kane
* Millard
* Morgan
* Piute
* Rich
* Salt Lake
* San Juan
* Sanpete
* Sevier
* Summit
* Tooele
* Uintah
* Utah
* Wasatch
* Washington
* Wayne
* Weber

Attractions|

| Festivals|

* America's Freedom Festival
* Sundance Film Festival
* Moab Jeep Safari
* Utah Shakespeare Festival

|

National monuments|

* Bears Ears National Monument
* Cedar Breaks National Monument
* Dinosaur National Monument
* Grand Staircase–Escalante National Monument
* Hovenweep National Monument
* Natural Bridges National Monument
* Rainbow Bridge National Monument
* Timpanogos Cave National Monument

National parks|

* Arches National Park
* Bryce Canyon National Park
* Canyonlands National Park
* Capitol Reef National Park
* Zion National Park

National recreation areas|

* Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area
* Glen Canyon National Recreation Area

Ski resorts|

* Alta Ski Area
* Beaver Mountain
* Brian Head Ski Resort
* Brighton Ski Resort
* Cherry Peak Resort
* Deer Valley
* Park City Mountain Resort
* Powder Mountain
* Snowbasin
* Snowbird Ski Resort
* Solitude Mountain Resort
* Sundance Resort
* Wolf Mountain

Other|

* Bonneville Salt Flats
* Golden Spike National Historical Park
* Great Salt Lake
* Lagoon (amusement park)
* Temple Square

Flora and fauna|

* Fauna
* Arachnids
* Birds
* Butterflies and moths
* Mammals
* Mollusks
* Flora

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*[%±]: Percent change
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