Ephraim, Utah

This article is about the city in Utah. For the village in Wisconsin, see Ephraim, Wisconsin.

Ephraim, Utah
City
Shops in Ephraim, Utah
Flag
Location in Sanpete County and the state of Utah.
Coordinates: 39°21′29″N111°35′2″W / 39.35806°N 111.58389°W / 39.35806; -111.58389
Country	United States
State	Utah
County	Sanpete
Founded	1854
Named for	Ephraim
Government
• Mayor	John Scott
• City Council	Margie O. Anderson Tyler Alder Alma Lund Lloyd Stevens Richard Wheeler
Area [1]
• Total	4.38 sq mi (11.34 km2)
• Land	4.38 sq mi (11.34 km2)
• Water	0.00 sq mi (0.00 km2)
Elevation [2]	5,542 ft (1,689 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	5,611
• Density	1,300/sq mi (490/km2)
Time zone	UTC-7 (Mountain (MST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-6 (MDT)
ZIP code	84627
Area code	435
FIPS code	49-23530 [3]
GNIS feature ID	1440944 [2]
Website	www.ephraimcity.org

Ephraim is a city in Sanpete County, Utah, United States. The population was 5,611 at the 2020 census, making it the largest city in Sanpete County. It is the location of Snow College and is located along U.S. Route 89.

History

The first settlement at Ephraim was made in 1854. ^[4] A post office called Ephraim has been in operation since 1856. The town was named after Ephraim of the Old Testament. ^[5]

Geography

Ephraim is located in the Sanpete Valley, on the east side of the San Pitch River.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 3.6 square miles (9.2 km²), all land.

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1860	910		—
1870	1,167		28.2%
1880	1,764		51.2%
1890	1,917		8.7%
1900	2,086		8.8%
1910	2,296		10.1%
1920	2,287		−0.4%
1930	2,076		−9.2%
1940	2,143		3.2%
1950	1,987		−7.3%
1960	1,801		−9.4%
1970	2,127		18.1%
1980	2,810		32.1%
1990	3,363		19.7%
2000	4,505		34.0%
2010	6,135		36.2%
2020	5,611		−8.5%
2022 (est.)	5,937		5.8%
U.S. Decennial Census [6] [7]

As of the census ^[3] of 2000, there were 4,505 people, 1,128 households, and 753 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,262.4 people per square mile (487.2/km²). There were 1,275 housing units at an average density of 357.3 per square mile (137.9/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 89.23% White, 0.38% African American, 0.38% Native American, 1.29% Asian, 0.53% Pacific Islander, 6.86% from other races, and 1.33% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 9.86% of the population.

There were 1,128 households, out of which 38.7% had children under 18 living with them, 55.8% were married couples living together, 7.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.2% were non-families. 14.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years or older. The average household size was 3.59 people, and the average family size was 3.71 people.

In the city, the population was spread out, with 24.9% under 18, 42.4% from 18 to 24, 14.0% from 25 to 44, 12.3% from 45 to 64, and 6.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 20 years. For every 100 females, there were 80.9 males. For every 100 females aged 18 and over, there were 73.3 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $28,318, and the median income for a family was $35,568. Males had a median income of $28,421 versus $21,042 for females. The per capita income for the city was $9,624. About 12.3% of families and 31.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.0% of those under age 18 and 7.8% of those aged 65 or over.

Education

Ephraim is located in the South Sanpete School District and has Ephraim Elementary School and Ephraim Middle School. High school students attend Manti High School in nearby Manti. It is also the location of Snow College, which was founded in 1888 as the LDS Sanpete Stake Academy. It was later renamed Snow Academy in honor of Erastus Snow and his distant cousin, LDS president, Lorenzo Snow, and finally, to Snow College in 1923. Ownership of the college was transferred to Utah in 1932. Current enrollment is around 5,900, some of whom attend the Richfield campus. Utah State University operates a branch campus in Ephraim that offers Bachelors's and Graduate Degrees.

Climate

According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Ephraim has a semi-arid climate, abbreviated "BSk" on climate maps. ^[8] The data below are from the Western Regional Climate Center over the years 1949 to 2016. ^[9]

Climate data for Ephraim, UT
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Record high °F (°C)	60 (16)	70 (21)	85 (29)	88 (31)	99 (37)	102 (39)	108 (42)	104 (40)	97 (36)	90 (32)	76 (24)	66 (19)	108 (42)
Mean daily maximum °F (°C)	35.6 (2.0)	41.1 (5.1)	59.2 (15.1)	59.2 (15.1)	69.9 (21.1)	81.3 (27.4)	89.5 (31.9)	87.1 (30.6)	77.8 (25.4)	65.2 (18.4)	49.1 (9.5)	37.0 (2.8)	62.7 (17.0)
Mean daily minimum °F (°C)	12.8 (−10.7)	18.5 (−7.5)	25.2 (−3.8)	31.6 (−0.2)	38.9 (3.8)	46.4 (8.0)	53.8 (12.1)	52.1 (11.2)	43.3 (6.3)	33.4 (0.8)	23.4 (−4.8)	14.4 (−9.8)	32.8 (0.4)
Record low °F (°C)	−28 (−33)	−20 (−29)	−9 (−23)	9 (−13)	18 (−8)	26 (−3)	34 (1)	29 (−2)	16 (−9)	12 (−11)	−19 (−28)	−34 (−37)	−34 (−37)
Average precipitation inches (mm)	0.92 (23)	1.02 (26)	1.19 (30)	1.13 (29)	1.10 (28)	0.69 (18)	0.69 (18)	0.78 (20)	1.02 (26)	1.12 (28)	0.93 (24)	1.06 (27)	11.65 (297)
Average snowfall inches (cm)	2.9 (7.4)	2.1 (5.3)	1.7 (4.3)	0.6 (1.5)	0.1 (0.25)	0 (0)	0 (0)	0 (0)	0 (0)	0 (0)	0.7 (1.8)	4.9 (12)	13 (32.55)
Source: https://wrcc.dri.edu/cgi-bin/cliMAIN.pl?ut2578

Notable people

• Jon Cox, political advisor and former member of the Utah House of Representatives
• Linnie Findlay, historian
• Kay Mortensen, retired American professor
• Richard Nibley, violinist, composer, and educator

See also

• Utah portal

• List of cities and towns in Utah
• Manti, Utah

References

1. "2019 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved August 7, 2020.
2. U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Ephraim, Utah
3. "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau . Retrieved January 31, 2008.
4. The Utah Genealogical and Historical Magazine, Volumes 9-10. 1918. p. 124.
5. Van Atta, Dale (January 22, 1977). "You name it - there's a town for it". The Deseret News. p. 15. Retrieved October 18, 2015.
6. "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
7. "QuickFacts Ephraim city, Utah". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved August 12, 2022.
8. Climate Summary for Ephraim, Utah
9. "EPHRAIM USFS, UTAH - Climate Summary". wrcc.dri.edu. Retrieved January 4, 2018.

Further reading

• (1994) "Ephraim" article in the Utah History Encyclopedia. The article was written by Lowell C. Bennion and the Encyclopedia was published by the University of Utah Press. ISBN 9780874804256. Archived from the original on March 21, 2024 and retrieved on April 19, 2024.

External links

• Official website