Utahns who identify as two or more races have accounted for nearly 40% of the state’s population growth over the past decade, according to a research note on 2020 census data released this week by the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute.
By the numbers: In 2020, multiracial Utahns made up 8.5% of the state’s population.
- In 2010, only 2.7% of Utahns identified as multiracial.
- Its multiracial population growth ranked 13th fastest in the United States
Driving the news: Prior to the 2020 count, the US Census Bureau made significant improvements and design changes to its race questions.
- “It kind of shows how complicated race is as a subject,” said Mallory Bateman, the research paper’s author.
Rollback: The Census Bureau first allowed Americans to identify with more than one race in 2000.
Why is this important: Utah’s booming population growth has already prompted new laws to respond to the state’s changing demographics.
- This year, for example, the state legislature passed a law that allows Utahans to take their driver’s license exams in languages other than English.
Enlarge: Salt Lake, Utah, Grand, and Weber counties contain the largest share of multiracial residents in the state.
The big picture: The Native American/Alaska Native population in the state more than doubled “when adding multiracial residents.”
- Multiracial Utahns have also proven to be the fastest growing racial or ethnic group in the state between 2010 and 2020.
- More than half of multiracial Utahns also identified as Latino or Hispanic.
- Of the Latinos, almost all identified as two races, with many saying they were white and “another race”.
The plot: A higher proportion of people under 18 were the most likely to identify as multiracial.
- “A [younger] group of Utahns is changing what the overall state population looks like,” Bateman said.