Iron 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 southwestern

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 ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 57,289. 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 ...

is Parowan, and the largest city is Cedar City. The Cedar City, UT Micropolitan Statistical Area includes all of Iron County.

History

Evidence of Fremont culture habitation ranging from 750 to 1250 AD exists in present Iron County.

Petroglyph A petroglyph is an image created by removing part of a rock surface by incising, picking, carving, or abrading, as a form of rock art. Outside North America, scholars often use terms such as "carving", "engraving", or other descriptions ...

s 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 Jedediah Strong Smith (January 6, 1799 – May 27, 1831) was an American clerk, transcontinental pioneer, frontiersman, hunter, trapper, author, cartography, cartographer, mountain man and explorer of the Rocky Mountains, the Western Unit ...

is the first recorded Anglo-American to pass through the area (1826). Settlement of the area began in 1851, when LDS President

Brigham Young Brigham Young ( ; June 1, 1801August 29, 1877) was an American religious leader and politician. He was the second President of the Church (LDS Church), president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) from 1847 until h ...

directed members from the northern colonies to move into the area. A settlement, Coal Creek, sprang up in 1851; it later became Cedar City.Iron County Profile (accessed 31 March 2019)
/ref> To provide a local government structure, the

State of Deseret The State of Deseret (modern pronunciation , contemporaneously , as recorded in the Deseret alphabet spelling 𐐔𐐯𐑅𐐨𐑉𐐯𐐻) was a proposed U.S. state, state of the United States promoted by leaders of the Church of Jesus Chri ...

legislature created the county on January 31, 1850, although it was not organized until January 17, 1851, with description stretching from the future

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

, across Utah, and into the future

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, th ...

. 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 The Territory of Colorado was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from February 28, 1861, until August 1, 1876, when it was admitted to the Union as the 38th State of Colorado. The territory was organized ...

, 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 The Territory of Nevada (N.T.) was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 2, 1861, until October 31, 1864, when it was admitted to the Union as the State of Nevada. Prior to the creation of the Neva ...

, 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.

Geography

Iron County lies on the west edge of Utah. Its west border abuts the east border of the state of

. The Iron County terrain is a study in contrast to its arid western reaches of the

Escalante Desert The Escalante Desert is a geographic Great Basin region and arid desert ecoregion, in the deserts and xeric shrublands biome, located in southwestern Utah. Geography The Escalante Desert is northwest of Cedar City in Iron County, Utah, and ext ...

and

Great Basin The Great Basin () is the largest area of contiguous endorheic watersheds, those with no outlets to the ocean, in North America. It spans nearly all of Nevada, much of Utah, and portions of California, Idaho, Oregon, Wyoming, and Baja Californi ...

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 ASL. The county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.1%) is water.

Major highways

Interstate 15 Interstate 15 (I-15) is a major Interstate Highway in the Western United States, running through Southern California and the Intermountain West. I-15 begins near the Mexican border in San Diego County and stretches north to Alberta, Ca ...

Utah State Route 14 State Route 14 (SR-14) is a state highway in southern Utah, running for in Iron County, Utah, Iron and Kane County, Utah, Kane Counties from Cedar City, Utah, Cedar City to Long Valley Junction, Utah, Long Valley Junction. The highway has been ...

Utah State Route 56 State Route 56 (SR-56) is a state highway completely within Iron County in southwestern Utah. SR-56 runs from the Utah/Nevada border to SR-130 in Cedar City. Route description From its western terminus on the Nevada border near Modena, t ...

* Utah State Route 130 * Utah State Route 143 * Utah State Route 148''Iron County UT'' Google Maps (accessed 30 March 2019)
/ref>

Adjacent counties

* Beaver County - north * Garfield County - east * Kane County - southeast * Washington County - south *

Lincoln County, Nevada Lincoln County is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Nevada. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 4,499, making it the fourth-least populous county in Nevada. Its county seat is Pioche, Nevada ...

- west

Protected areas

* Cedar Breaks National Monument *

Dixie National Forest Dixie National Forest is a United States National Forest in Utah with headquarters in Cedar City. It occupies almost two million acres (8,000 km2) and stretches for about across southern Utah. The largest national forest in Utah, it ...

(part) *

Fishlake National Forest Fishlake National Forest is a United States National Forest, U.S. National Forest located in south central Utah. The namesake for the forest is Fish Lake (Utah), Fish Lake, the largest freshwater mountain lake in the state. Wildlife Animals tha ...

(part) * Red Cliffs National Conservation Area (part) * Zion National Park (part)

Lakes

* Little Salt Lake * Newcastle Reservoir * Quichapa Lake

Valleys

* Dan Leigh Hollow

Demographics

2020 census

According to the 2020 United States census and 2020 American Community Survey, there were 57,289 people in Iron 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 17.4 people per square mile (6.7/km²). Among non- Hispanic or Latino people, the racial makeup was 47,620 (83.1%)

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 ...

, 375 (0.7%)

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 ...

, 948 (1.7%) Native American, 621 (1.1%) Asian, 237 (0.4%)

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 ...

, 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 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 ...

, 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 an Iron County household was $52,045 and the median family income was $63,633, with a

per-capita income The median income is the income amount that divides a population into two groups, half having an income above that amount, and half having an income below that amount. It may differ from the mean (or average) income. Both of these are ways of unde ...

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 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 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 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, 12,374 (41.4%) 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 ...

, 6,205 (20.8%) 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 2,422 (8.1%) had a graduate or

professional degree A professional degree, formerly known in the US as a first professional degree, is a degree that prepares someone to work in a particular profession, practice, or industry sector often meeting the academic requirements for licensure or accreditatio ...

Ancestry

The top 5 ethnic groups in Iron County are: * English: 29% * German: 10% * Irish: 7% * Scottish: 5% * Danish: 5%

Recreation

* Woods Ranch Recreation Area, a recreation area located in a pine/aspen forest with hiking, fishing, picnic areas, a volleyball court and restroom facilities. * Three Peaks Recreation Area, 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 * Brian Head Ski Resort

Politics and government

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 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 the assassination of John F. Kennedy, under whom he had served a ...

landslide has the county given any Democratic presidential candidate 25 percent of its ballots.

Communities

Cities

* Cedar City *

Enoch Enoch ( ; ''Henṓkh'') is a biblical figure and Patriarchs (Bible), patriarch prior to Noah's flood, and the son of Jared (biblical figure), Jared and father of Methuselah. He was of the Antediluvian period in the Hebrew Bible. The text of t ...

* Parowan (county seat)

Towns

* Brian Head * Kanarraville * Paragonah

Census-designated places

* Beryl Junction * Cedar Highlands *

Modena Modena (, ; ; ; ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) on the south side of the Po Valley, in the Province of Modena, in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. It has 184,739 inhabitants as of 2025. A town, and seat of an archbis ...

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area ...

Summit A summit is a point on a surface that is higher in elevation than all points immediately adjacent to it. The topographic terms acme, apex, peak (mountain peak), and zenith are synonymous. The term (mountain top) is generally used only for ...

Unincorporated communities

Beryl Beryl ( ) is a mineral composed of beryllium aluminium Silicate minerals#Cyclosilicates, silicate with the chemical formula Be3Al2(SiO3)6. Well-known varieties of beryl include emerald and Aquamarine (gem), aquamarine. Naturally occurring Hex ...

* Buckhorn Springs * Hamiltons Fort * Hamlin Valley *

Lund Lund (, ;"Lund"
(US) and ) is a city in the provinces of Sweden, province of Scania, southern Swed ...

* Old Irontown * State Line *

Zane Zane may be a unisex given name or a surname. Its Western usage derives from the Venetian form of ''Gianni'' or an alternate spelling of the German and Jewish name ''Zahn''. Zane can also refer to the Arabic personal name more commonly spelt Zain me ...

Former communities

* Gold Springs * Iron Springs, named for the Iron Springs * Uvada

Education

There is one school district, Iron School District.
Text list
/ref>

References

External links

* {{authority control 1851 establishments in Utah Territory Populated places established in 1851