Carbon County is a

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

in the U.S. state of

Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...

. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 20,412. Its

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

and largest city is

Price A price is the (usually not negative) quantity of payment or compensation expected, required, or given by one party to another in return for goods or services. In some situations, especially when the product is a service rather than a ph ...

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

History

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. It was named for the element

Carbon Carbon () is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol C and atomic number 6. It is nonmetallic and tetravalence, tetravalent—meaning that its atoms are able to form up to four covalent bonds due to its valence shell exhibiting 4 ...

, to emphasize the industrial nature of the area. Carbon County is the second-largest

natural gas Natural gas (also fossil gas, methane gas, and gas) is a naturally occurring compound of gaseous hydrocarbons, primarily methane (95%), small amounts of higher alkanes, and traces of carbon dioxide and nitrogen, hydrogen sulfide and helium ...

producer in Utah (after Uintah County), with 94 billion cubic feet produced in 2008.

Geography

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 The Wasatch Range ( ) or Wasatch Mountains is a mountain range in the western United States that runs about from the Utah-Idaho border south to central Utah. It is the western edge of the greater Rocky Mountains, and the eastern edge of the Gr ...

to the west and northwest, and the

Book Cliffs The Book Cliffs are a series of desert mountains and cliffs in western Colorado and eastern Utah in the Western United States. They are so named because the cliffs of Cretaceous sandstone capping many of the south-facing buttes appear simila ...

to the north and northeast.''Carbon County UT'' Google Maps (accessed 30 March 2019)
/ref> 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, at ASL. The county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.4%) is water.

Airports

* Carbon County Regional Airport (PUC) - Price

Major highways

* 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

Adjacent counties

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

Protected areas

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

Lakes

* Grassy Trail Reservoir * Scofield Lake

Demographics

2020 census

According to the 2020 United States census and 2020 American Community Survey, there were 20,412 people in Carbon County with a

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

of 13.8 people per square mile (5.3/km²). Among non- Hispanic or Latino people, the racial makeup was 16,645 (81.5%)

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 50 (0.2%)

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 199 (1.0%) Native American, 63 (0.3%) Asian, 29 (0.1%)

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 58 (0.3%) from other races, and 691 (3.4%) from two or more races. 2,677 (13.1%) people were Hispanic or Latino. There were 10,228 (50.11%) males and 10,184 (49.89%) females, and the population distribution by age was 5,227 (25.6%) under the age of 18, 11,372 (55.7%) from 18 to 64, and 3,813 (18.7%) who were at least 65 years old. The median age was 38.6 years. There were 7,950 households in Carbon County with an average size of 2.57 of which 5,279 (66.4%) were families and 2,671 (33.6%) were non-families. Among all families, 3,994 (50.2%) were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

, 433 (5.4%) were male householders with no spouse, and 852 (10.7%) were female householders with no spouse. Among all non-families, 2,231 (28.1%) were a single person living alone and 440 (5.5%) were two or more people living together. 2,500 (31.4%) of all households had children under the age of 18. 5,665 (71.3%) of households were owner-occupied while 2,285 (28.7%) were renter-occupied. The median income for a Carbon County household was $50,328 and the median family income was $63,902, with a per-capita income of $23,613. The median income for males that were full-time employees was $54,063 and for females $32,545. 15.9% of the population and 13.1% of families were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

. In terms of education attainment, out of the 13,262 people in Carbon County 25 years or older, 1,040 (7.8%) had not completed high school, 3,897 (29.4%) had a

high school diploma A high school diploma (sometimes referred to as a high school degree) is a diploma awarded upon graduation of high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary s ...

or equivalency, 6,102 (46.0%) had some college or

associate degree An associate degree or associate's degree is an undergraduate degree awarded after a course of post-secondary study lasting two to three years. It is a level of academic qualification above a high school diploma and below a bachelor's degree ...

, 1,471 (11.1%) had a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

, and 752 (5.7%) had a graduate or professional degree.

2010 census

As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 21,403 people, 7,978 households, and 5,587 families in the county. The

was . There were 9,551 housing units, with an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 92.31%

, 0.43%

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

, 1.18% Native American, 0.58% Asian, 0.01%

, 3.03% from other races, and 2.36% from two or more races. 12.42% of the population were

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race. There were 7,978 households, of which 30.16% had children under 18. 54.50% were

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.

Ancestry

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

Politics and government

Carbon County historically was the base of Democratic Party support in strongly Republican Utah with its sizable unionized mining population. In 1964,

Lyndon Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), also known as LBJ, was the 36th president of the United States, serving from 1963 to 1969. He became president after assassination of John F. Kennedy, the assassination of John F. Ken ...

carried 72.7% of votes in the county. Notably, however, Ronald Reagan won just three votes more than did Jimmy Carter in 1980. Nonetheless, it voted for

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...

in 1992 and 1996 by wide margins. 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 Democrat Stewart Hanson over Republican Michael Leavitt. Since the turn of the millennium, however, Carbon County has trended Republican. It voted for

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...

in 2000 and 2004 while voting for the Democratic gubernatorial candidates. In 2008, John McCain won Carbon County with 52.60% of the vote, versus 44.59% for Barack Obama, making him the last Democratic nominee to win more than forty percent of the county's vote. In 2012, the county's Democratic vote fell further as

Mitt Romney Willard Mitt Romney (born March 12, 1947) is an American businessman and retired politician. He served as a United States Senate, United States senator from Utah from 2019 to 2025 and as the 70th governor of Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007 ...

carried 67.3% over Obama's 30.1%. 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 Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

won 66% to

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, lawyer and diplomat. She was the 67th United States secretary of state in the administration of Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, a U.S. senator represent ...

's 21.5% percent. In 2020, Trump again carried the county with the largest percentage (71.4%) of any Republican to date. Despite its rightward shift, Carbon County supported 2018 Utah Proposition 4, a ballot measure to create an independent redistricting commission in the state. Notes:

Communities

Cities

* East Carbon * Helper *

(county seat) *

Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

Town

* Scofield

Census-designated places

* Carbonville * Clear Creek *

Kenilworth Kenilworth ( ) is a market town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Warwick (district), Warwick District of Warwickshire, England, southwest of Coventry and north of both Warwick and Leamington Spa. Situated at the centre of t ...

* Spring Glen * West Wood

Unincorporated community

Hiawatha Hiawatha ( , also : ), also known as Ayenwatha or Aiionwatha, was a precolonial Native American leader and cofounder of the Iroquois Confederacy. He was a leader of the Onondaga people, the Mohawk people, or both. According to some accounts, he ...

Ghost towns

* Castle Gate * Coal City *

Consumers A consumer is a person or a group who intends to order, or use purchased goods, products, or services primarily for personal, social, family, household and similar needs, who is not directly related to entrepreneurial or business activities. Th ...

* Hale * Heiner * Kiz * Latuda * Mutual * National * Peerless * Rains *

Royal Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family or Royalty (disambiguation), royalty Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Ill ...

* Spring Canyon * Standardville * Sweets (or Sweet) * Wattis * Winter Quarters

Education

There are five public elementary schools in Carbon County (Bruin Point, Castle Heights, Creekview, Sally Mauro, and Wellington); two middle schools (Helper and Mont Harmon); one high school ( Carbon High School). It is also the location of the charter Pinnacle Canyon Academy, which serves grades K-12, as well as the Castle Valley Center for disabled children. Price is the location of Utah State University Eastern, which has an enrollment of approximately 1,525.

References

External links

*
Carbon County Oral Histories
{{authority control Carbon County, Utah Populated places established in 1894 1894 establishments in Utah Territory