Garfield County, Utah

For counties with a similar name, see Garfield County (disambiguation).

Garfield County
County
Garfield County Courthouse in Panguitch, December 2006
Location within the U.S. state of Utah
Utah's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 37°52′N111°26′W / 37.87°N 111.44°W / 37.87; -111.44
Country	United States
State	Utah
Founded	March 9, 1882
Named for	James A. Garfield
Seat	Panguitch
Largest city	Panguitch
Area
• Total	5,208 sq mi (13,490 km2)
• Land	5,175 sq mi (13,400 km2)
• Water	33 sq mi (90 km2)  0.6%
Population  (2020)
• Total	5,083
• Density	0.98/sq mi (0.38/km2)
Time zone	UTC−7 (Mountain)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−6 (MDT)
Congressional district	2nd
Website	garfield.utah.gov

Garfield County is a county in south central Utah, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census the population was 5,083, ^[1] making it the fifth-least populous county in Utah; with about one inhabitant per square mile, it is also the least densely populated county in Utah. Its county seat and largest city is Panguitch. ^[2]

History

The Utah Territory legislature created the county on March 9, 1882, with areas partitioned from Iron County. It was named for James A. Garfield, the twentieth President of the United States, who had died six months earlier. ^[3] The border with Iron County was adjusted in 1884, and Garfield County's boundaries have remained intact since then. ^[4]

Geography

The Colorado River, flowing southwestward through a deep gorge, forms the eastern boundary. The Dirty Devil River flows southward through the east end of the county to discharge into Colorado at the county's border. Westward, the cliffs of tributary canyons give way to the barren stretches of the San Rafael Desert, beyond which a variety of mountains, plateaus, and canyons make up the terrain. Most of Bryce Canyon National Park lies in the southwestern part of the county, and the northern half of the Grand Staircase–Escalante National Monument occupies the middle of the county. A large portion of Capitol Reef National Park lies in the east-central part of the county. A very small part of Canyonlands National Park lies in the northeast corner of the county. The terrain of Garfield County is arid, rough, and carved with erosion. ^[5] The county terrain generally slopes to the south and to the east. The county's highest point is Mount Ellen, in the Henry Mountains, ^[6] near the county's north border, at 11,522 ft (3,512 m) ASL. ^[7] The county has a total area of 5,208 square miles (13,490 km²), of which 5,175 square miles (13,400 km²) is land and 33 square miles (85 km²) (0.6%) is water. ^[8] It is the fifth-largest county in Utah by area, and is about the same size as the state of Connecticut.

Airports

Source: ^[5]

• Bryce Canyon Airport (BCE)

Major highways

Source: ^[5]

• US Highway 89
• Utah Highway 12
• Utah Highway 22
• Utah Highway 63
• Utah Highway 95
• Utah Highway 143
• Utah Highway 276

Adjacent counties

• Wayne County - northeast
• San Juan County - east
• Kane County - south
• Iron County - west
• Beaver County - northwest
• Piute County - north

Protected areas

Source: ^[5]

• Bryce Canyon National Park (part)
• Canyonlands National Park (part)
• Capitol Reef National Park (part)
• Carcass Canyon Wilderness Study Area
• Dixie National Forest (part)
• Escalante Petrified Forest State Park
• Fishlake National Forest (part)
• Glen Canyon National Recreation Area (part)
• Grand Staircase–Escalante National Monument (part)
• Mammoth Cave (US Forest Service)

Lakes

Source: ^[5]

• Lake Powell (part)
• Panguitch Lake
• Wide Hollow Reservoir

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1890	2,457		—
1900	3,400		38.4%
1910	3,660		7.6%
1920	4,768		30.3%
1930	4,642		−2.6%
1940	5,253		13.2%
1950	4,151		−21.0%
1960	3,577		−13.8%
1970	3,157		−11.7%
1980	3,673		16.3%
1990	3,980		8.4%
2000	4,735		19.0%
2010	5,172		9.2%
2020	5,083		−1.7%
US Decennial Census [9] 1790–1960 [10] 1900–1990 [11] 1990–2000 [12] 2010 [13] 2020 [14]

2020 census

According to the 2020 United States census ^[15] and 2020 American Community Survey, ^[16] there were 5,083 people in Garfield County with a population density of 1.0 people per square mile (0.4/km²). Among non-Hispanic or Latino people, the racial makeup was 4,446 (87.5%) White, 5 (0.1%) African American, 90 (1.8%) Native American, 30 (0.6%) Asian, 7 (0.1%) Pacific Islander, 3 (0.1%) from other races, and 118 (2.3%) from two or more races. 384 (7.6%) people were Hispanic or Latino.

There were 2,619 (51.52%) males and 2,464 (48.48%) females, and the population distribution by age was 1,202 (23.6%) under the age of 18, 2,682 (52.8%) from 18 to 64, and 1,199 (23.6%) who were at least 65 years old. The median age was 43.3 years.

There were 1,881 households in Garfield County with an average size of 2.70 of which 1,323 (70.3%) were families and 558 (29.7%) were non-families. Among all families, 1,100 (58.5%) were married couples, 83 (4.4%) were male householders with no spouse, and 140 (7.4%) were female householders with no spouse. Among all non-families, 479 (25.5%) were a single person living alone and 79 (4.2%) were two or more people living together. 528 (28.1%) of all households had children under the age of 18. 1,504 (80.0%) of households were owner-occupied while 377 (20.0%) were renter-occupied.

The median income for a Garfield County household was $44,279 and the median family income was $65,266, with a per-capita income of $23,926. The median income for males that were full-time employees was $49,904 and for females $34,773. 16.4% of the population and 11.3% of families were below the poverty line.

In terms of education attainment, out of the 3,484 people in Garfield County 25 years or older, 221 (6.3%) had not completed high school, 1,067 (30.6%) had a high school diploma or equivalency, 1,312 (37.7%) had some college or associate degree, 648 (18.6%) had a bachelor's degree, and 236 (6.8%) had a graduate or professional degree.

Ancestry

As of 2010 ^[update] the largest self-identified ancestry groups in Garfield County are:

• English - 46.2%
• German - 14.8%
• Irish - 10.1%
• Danish - 6.6%
• Scottish - 4.9%
• Welsh - 3.9%
• Scotch-Irish - 2.5%
• Swedish - 2.3%
• Norwegian - 2.2% ^[17]

Politics and government

Garfield County has traditionally voted Republican. In no national election since 1936 has the county selected the Democratic Party candidate (as of 2024).

State elected offices

Position		District	Name	Affiliation	First elected
	Senate	24	Derrin Owens	Republican	2020 [18]
	House of Representatives	73	Phil Lyman	Republican	2018 [19]
	Board of Education	14	Mark Huntsman	Nonpartisan	2014 [20]

United States presidential election results for Garfield County, Utah ^[21]

Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party(ies)
	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2024	2,211	78.18%	541	19.13%	76	2.69%
2020	2,158	78.99%	514	18.81%	60	2.20%
2016	1,606	67.96%	358	15.15%	399	16.89%
2012	1,832	83.96%	308	14.12%	42	1.92%
2008	1,710	78.37%	405	18.56%	67	3.07%
2004	1,848	85.48%	264	12.21%	50	2.31%
2000	1,719	87.35%	178	9.04%	71	3.61%
1996	1,330	72.01%	283	15.32%	234	12.67%
1992	1,235	62.28%	309	15.58%	439	22.14%
1988	1,470	79.25%	370	19.95%	15	0.81%
1984	1,609	83.15%	315	16.28%	11	0.57%
1980	1,578	78.31%	375	18.61%	62	3.08%
1976	1,163	65.48%	539	30.35%	74	4.17%
1972	1,290	80.47%	242	15.10%	71	4.43%
1968	1,033	69.47%	314	21.12%	140	9.41%
1964	821	55.51%	658	44.49%	0	0.00%
1960	1,083	69.69%	471	30.31%	0	0.00%
1956	1,115	75.95%	353	24.05%	0	0.00%
1952	1,065	69.07%	477	30.93%	0	0.00%
1948	924	58.97%	642	40.97%	1	0.06%
1944	842	60.06%	559	39.87%	1	0.07%
1940	1,030	55.86%	814	44.14%	0	0.00%
1936	842	47.52%	928	52.37%	2	0.11%
1932	1,125	68.43%	493	29.99%	26	1.58%
1928	1,024	75.63%	325	24.00%	5	0.37%
1924	823	69.57%	308	26.04%	52	4.40%
1920	1,023	71.49%	393	27.46%	15	1.05%
1916	516	37.50%	843	61.26%	17	1.24%
1912	673	62.60%	249	23.16%	153	14.23%
1908	722	68.50%	290	27.51%	42	3.98%
1904	679	70.14%	252	26.03%	37	3.82%
1900	649	62.16%	395	37.84%	0	0.00%
1896	249	28.82%	615	71.18%	0	0.00%

Communities

Source: ^[5]

Communities in Garfield County, Utah

Cities

• Escalante
• Panguitch (county seat)

Towns

• Antimony
• Bryce Canyon City
• Boulder
• Cannonville
• Hatch
• Henrieville
• Tropic

Unincorporated communities

• Hillsdale
• Ticaboo
• Widtsoe

Education

All portions of the county are in the Garfield School District. ^[22]

See also

• Utahportal
• List of counties in Utah
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Garfield County, Utah

References

1. "Garfield County, Utah". United States Census Bureau . Retrieved June 30, 2023.
2. "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Archived from the original on May 31, 2011. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
3. Gannett, Henry (1905). The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States. Govt. Print. Off. p.  134.
4. "[[Newberry Library]] - Individual County Chronologies/Garfield County UT (accessed March 28, 2019)". Archived from the original on March 6, 2016. Retrieved March 28, 2019.
5. Garfield County UT Google Maps (accessed 28 March 2019)
6. Mount Ellen Peak Google Maps (accessed 28 March 2019)
7. "Utah County High Points/Garfield County. Peakbagger (accessed 29 March 2019)". Archived from the original on March 27, 2019. Retrieved March 30, 2019.
8. "2010 Census Gazetteer Files". US Census Bureau. August 22, 2012. Retrieved March 27, 2015.
9. "US Decennial Census". US Census Bureau. Retrieved March 27, 2015.
10. "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. Retrieved March 27, 2015.
11. Forstall, Richard L., ed. (March 27, 1995). "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". US Census Bureau. Retrieved March 27, 2015.
12. "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000" (PDF). US Census Bureau. April 2, 2001. Retrieved March 27, 2015.
13. "State & County QuickFacts". US Census Bureau. Archived from the original on June 6, 2011. Retrieved December 29, 2013.
14. 2020 Population and Housing State Data | Utah
15. United States Census Bureau. "2020 Census Demographic and Housing Characteristics File (DHC)" . Retrieved November 3, 2024.
16. United States Census Bureau. "American Community Survey 5-Year Data (2009-2022)" . Retrieved November 3, 2024.
17. "American FactFinder - Results". factfinder.census.gov. Archived from the original on February 13, 2020. Retrieved March 31, 2018.
18. "Senator Owens Utah Senate". senate.utah.gov. Retrieved November 16, 2021.
19. "Rep. Lyman, Phil". Utah House of Representatives. Archived from the original on November 15, 2021. Retrieved November 15, 2021.
20. "Mark Huntsman". www.schools.utah.gov. Archived from the original on November 15, 2021. Retrieved November 15, 2021.
21. Leip, David. "Atlas of US Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved March 31, 2018.
22. "2020 CENSUS - SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP: Garfield County, UT" (PDF). U.S. Census Bureau . Retrieved September 28, 2024. - Text list

Further reading

• (1994) "Garfield County" article in the Utah History Encyclopedia. The article was written by Miriam B. Murphy and the Encyclopedia was published by the University of Utah Press. ISBN 9780874804256. Archived from the original on February 7, 2024, and retrieved on April 25, 2024.

External links

• Media related to Garfield County, Utah at Wikimedia Commons
• Official website