Roy is a city in

Weber County, Utah Weber County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of Utah. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 262,223, making it Utah's fourth-most populous county. Its county seat and largest city is Ogden, the home of Weber State Univers ...

, United States, on the west side of

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 ...

. The population in 2020 was 39,306; an increase of 6.6% from 36,884 at the 2010 census. Roy is part of the Ogden-Clearfield metropolitan area, and is considered a

suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area. They are oftentimes where most of a metropolitan areas jobs are located with some being predominantly residential. They can either be denser or less densely populated ...

of nearby Ogden, although some small businesses are present in Roy.

History

Roy was settled in 1873 by William Evans Baker, Esther Celestia Cole Baker, and their children, 25 years after Ogden. Most of the communities to the east and south had already been settled. Previously known as Central City, Sandridge, the Basin, and Lakeview, Roy was ultimately named for a local schoolteacher's child, Roy C. Peebles, who had died. On May 24, 1894, a post office was established and Roy's name was made official. The City of Roy was incorporated on March 10, 1937. Joseph William Jensen was Roy's first mayor, elected by the commissioners and serving for six years. Roy Utah First Post Office

Roy's businesses were limited until the early 1940s. A gas station, several grocery stores, a cafe, and a lumberyard made up the modest business district. But Roy developed rapidly during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. It housed many of the workers and personnel from adjacent military installations, including

Hill Air Force Base Hill Air Force Base is a major U.S. Air Force (USAF) base located in Davis County, Utah, just south of the city of Ogden, and bordering the Cities of Layton, Clearfield, Riverdale, Roy, and Sunset with its largest border immediately adja ...

, the Navy Supply Depot (now the Freeport Center), and the Defense Supply Depot. September 1953 marked a milestone in Roy's history—Roy received a charter to establish Utah's first branch bank. This branch of the Bank of Utah pioneered the way for other banks to establish branches in the state. Norton Parker, son of Mayor Dean Parker, was the first manager of this new branch. Roy's population growth was extreme in the 1950s and 1960s, when most of the eastern bench was populated with entry-level homes. Starting in the 1980s, construction efforts shifted to the bottom of the hill on Roy's west side, continuing until about 2005, when new real estate shifted west and south.

Transportation

The city is served by

via exit 338, leading to Utah State Route 97 (5600 South), one of Roy's major roads. The northern entrance of

is accessible from this exit, making Roy a common destination for those in the military.

FrontRunner ''FrontRunner'' is a Commuter rail in North America, commuter railway operated by the Utah Transit Authority (UTA) that runs along the Wasatch Front in north-central Utah with service from Ogden Central station in central Weber County, Utah, ...

has a station in Roy that opened on April 26, 2008, along with the rest of the northern segment. Two sets of train tracks bisect the city at 2700 West, being served by FrontRunner and

Union Pacific Railroad The Union Pacific Railroad is a Railroad classes, Class I freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Pacific is the second largest railroad in the United Stat ...

Activities

Roy offers many activities and facilities for public use.

Parks

* Roy West Park * Emma Russell Park * George E. Wahlen Park * Municipal Park (adjoined with Municipal Elementary) * Sand Ridge Park * Foxglen Park * McCall Park * Frank Tremea (Roy) Park * Roger Phil Burnett Meadow Creek Pond * Memorial Park

Recreation

The Roy City Recreation Complex is on Roy High's campus. It includes a swimming pool, basketball courts, a weight room, racquetball courts, and an indoor track. The Roy Aquatic Center is an outdoor swimming complex with a diving pool, children's pool and two slides.

Roy Days

Roy Days are celebrated in the first week of August. Throughout the week, the Roy West Park is used as a hub for carnival activities and concessions, with events including a

car show An auto show, also known as a motor show or car show, is a public exhibition of current automobile models, debuts, concept cars, or out-of-production classics. It is attended by automotive industry representatives, dealers, auto journalists a ...

and

golf tournament Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit a ball into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping wi ...

, culminating on Saturday with a

5K run The 5K run is a long-distance road running competition over a distance of . Also referred to as the 5K road race, 5 km, or simply 5K, it is the shortest of the most common road running distances. It is usually distinguished from the 5000 me ...

parade A parade is a procession of people, usually organized along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by marching bands, floats, or sometimes large balloons. Parades are held for a wide range of reasons, but are usually some variety ...

, and fireworks show.

Education

Roy is entirely encompassed by Weber School District. There are seven elementary schools, three junior highs and two high schools. Freedom Elementary, Lakeview Elementary, Municipal Elementary, and Roy Elementary are on Roy's south side, and students are bound to Roy Junior High. Students of North Park Elementary, Valley View Elementary, and Midland Elementary attend Sand Ridge Junior High, All students, plus those from West Haven Elementary, attend Roy High School, a Region 5A high school. Needed information for the new schools of Haven Bay Elementary School, Mountain Veiw Junior High School, and West Feild High School.

Schools

Geography

Roy encompasses 7.6 square miles (19.7 square kilometers), all land. To the west is the city of

Hooper ''Hooper'' may refer to: Place names in the United States: * Hooper, Colorado, town in Alamosa County, Colorado * Hooper, Georgia, an unincorporated community * Hooper, Nebraska, town in Dodge County, Nebraska * Hooper, Utah, place in Weber Cou ...

, to the north is West Haven, to the east are Riverdale and Ogden, and the Davis County cities of Clinton and

Sunset Sunset (or sundown) is the disappearance of the Sun at the end of the Sun path, below the horizon of the Earth (or any other astronomical object in the Solar System) due to its Earth's rotation, rotation. As viewed from everywhere on Earth, it ...

border Roy on its south.

Climate

Roy is in the

Wasatch Front The Wasatch Front is a major metropolitan region in the north-central part of the U.S. state of Utah. It consists of a chain of contiguous cities and towns stretched along the Wasatch Range from Santaquin in the south to Pleasant View in the n ...

, an area that experiences variant seasonal temperatures and generally dry conditions. April or May is generally the wettest month and July the driest. Yearly temperatures usually top out at , and yearly minimums are around . Under the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

, Roy has a

Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate ( ), also called a dry summer climate, described by Köppen and Trewartha as ''Cs'', is a temperate climate type that occurs in the lower mid-latitudes (normally 30 to 44 north and south latitude). Such climates typic ...

(''Csa'') or dry-summer

continental climate Continental climates often have a significant annual variation in temperature (warm to hot summers and cold winters). They tend to occur in central and eastern parts of the three northern-tier continents (North America, Europe, and Asia), typi ...

(''Dsa'') depending on which variant of the system is used.

Demographics

According to the 2020 United States census and 2020 American Community Survey, there were 39,306 people in Roy 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 4,823.2 people per square mile (1,862.2/km²). Among non- Hispanic or Latino people, the racial makeup was 29,052 (73.9%)

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 ...

, 416 (1.1%)

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 ...

, 219 (0.6%) Native American, 756 (1.9%) Asian, 194 (0.5%)

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 ...

, 135 (0.3%) from other races, and 1,698 (4.3%) from two or more races. 6,836 (17.4%) people were Hispanic or Latino. There were 19,613 (49.90%) males and 19,693 (50.10%) females, and the population distribution by age was 11,512 (29.3%) under the age of 18, 23,313 (59.3%) from 18 to 64, and 4,481 (11.4%) who were at least 65 years old. The median age was 31.8 years. There were 12,944 households in Roy with an average size of 3.04 of which 9,808 (75.8%) were families and 3,136 (24.2%) were non-families. Among all families, 7,283 (56.3%) 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 ...

, 962 (7.4%) were male householders with no spouse, and 1,563 (12.1%) were female householders with no spouse. Among all non-families, 2,467 (19.1%) were a single person living alone and 669 (5.2%) were two or more people living together. 5,366 (41.5%) of all households had children under the age of 18. 10,508 (81.2%) of households were owner-occupied while 2,436 (18.8%) were renter-occupied. The median income for a Roy household was $72,739 and the median family income was $77,451, 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 $26,668. The median income for males that were full-time employees was $53,525 and for females $35,623. 7.2% of the population and 5.0% 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 24,250 people in Roy 25 years or older, 1,526 (6.3%) had not completed high school, 8,948 (36.9%) 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, 9,272 (38.2%) 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 ...

, 3,332 (13.7%) 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 1,172 (4.8%) 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 ...

Notable people

* Gina Barberi, radio DJ and co-host of

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in the state. The city is the core of the Salt Lake Ci ...

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 ...

's KXRK 96.3FM "Radio from Hell" show * Cynthia Brimhall, Playboy Playmate and actress, graduated from Roy High School in 1982 * Sabra Johnson, '' So You Think You Can Dance'' season 3 winner, resided in Roy before moving to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

Jim McMahon James Robert McMahon Jr. (born August 21, 1959) is an American former professional American football, football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 15 seasons, most notably with the Chicago Bears. McMahon played col ...

, the

quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...

who led the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They are one of two remaining ...

to victory in

Super Bowl XX Super Bowl XX was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Chicago Bears and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion New England Patriots to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for ...

* Randal Quarles, former Under Secretary of the Treasury and Executive Director of the

International Monetary Fund The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution funded by 191 member countries, with headquarters in Washington, D.C. It is regarded as the global lender of las ...

. * Bill Schuffenhauer, three-time Olympian and silver medalist in the

bobsled Bobsleigh or bobsled is a winter sport in which teams of 2 to 4 athletes make timed speed runs down narrow, twisting, banked, iced tracks in a gravity-powered sleigh. International bobsleigh competitions are governed by the International Bobs ...

with the United States Olympics team * L'Wren Scott, fashion designer and partner of

Mick Jagger Sir Michael Philip Jagger (born 26 July 1943) is an English musician. He is known as the lead singer and one of the founder members of The Rolling Stones. Jagger has co-written most of the band's songs with lead guitarist Keith Richards; Jagge ...

References

External links

*

{{authority control Cities in Utah Cities in Weber County, Utah Wasatch Front Ogden–Clearfield metropolitan area Populated places established in 1873