So, you're thinking about attending a college or university in Utah?

Located in the western United States, Utah is a center of transportation, information technology and research, government services and mining as well as a major outdoor recreational tourist destination. Almost 88% of Utah's residents live in an urban concentration around Salt Lake City, which leaves vast expanses or territory virtually uninhabited. Utah is bordered to the north by Idaho and Wyoming, to the east by Colorado, to the south by Arizona, and to the west by Nevada.

The variety of terrain within the state of Utah is astounding. Its landscape ranges from sand dune covered deserts to thriving pine forests in mountain valleys. The Wasatch Mountain Range, which runs down the center of the state, can reach heights of around 12,000 feet above sea level and some areas can receive more than 500 inches of snow annually. The lower regions of the state are mostly arid desert with small mountain ranges, plateaus, basins, and rugged terrain inter-spaced within it.

The climate throughout Utah varies wildly season to season. In the summer, high temperatures average somewhere between 85°F and 100°F with days with temperatures over 100°F not uncommon, especially in the southern valleys. In the winter, on the other hand, the average high temperatures range from only 25°F to 50°F with some days dropping below 0°F.

As is frequently the case in western states, Utah has relatively few days of thunderstorm activity a year. Most years, there are less that 40 days of thunderstorms. Those that do occur, however, are often brief, but they can be severe, leading to wildfires and flash floods. Tornadoes are rare occurrences in the state. On average, only two tornadoes are reported within Utah during a year.

As of 2005, the population of Utah was estimated to be 2,469,585. This is an increase of 48,877, or 2%, from 2004 and an increase of 236,387, or 10.6%, since the year 2000. This has made Utah the sixth-fastest growing state in the nation. Utah also boasts the second-fastest growing metropolitan area in the country, St. George, and the second-fastest micropolitan area of Herber. Also, due to its high birth rate, Utah has the youngest population of any state, with 41.6% of the population under the age of 18.

Utah voter's vote predominately Republican. The state hasn't voted for a Democratic candidate for president since 1964. In the 1992 presidential election, for instance, Utah was the only state in the U.S. where the Democratic Bill Clinton finished behind not only the Republican candidate George H. W. Bush but also the Independent candidate Ross Perot. In the 2004 campaign, George W. Bush received his largest winning margin out of any state, with 71.5% he won by a margin of 46 percentage points. Currently, only one of Utah's U.S. House of Representative delegates is a Democrat. Both others, as well as the state's governor and its two U.S. Senators, are Republicans.

Utah is one of only two states in the U.S., the other being Rhode Island, where the majority of the state's residents follow a single religious denomination. 57% of Utah's citizens say they are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, also known as Mormons. The next highest religious affiliation within the state, at 17% of the population, is actually those who claim they are non-religious. Roman Catholics trail a distant third with 6% of residents identifying with this belief system.

The personal income tax in Utah is determined by a series of six different income brackets. Though the state sales tax is set at a base rate of 5.75%, cities and counties are allowed to levy additional fees, which vary from location to location.

If you are looking for a college or university to attend within the state of Utah, then you have a few options to consider. These include:

• Utah State University

• The University of Utah

To find more information about universities and colleges in this area, visit the Online College Degrees page on this website.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Utah".

Free College Planning Resources