Utah Latino population growth tops national rate

By the numbers: Hispanic Utahns, who make up 17% of the state population, rose from 201,000 in 2000 to nearly 600,000 in 2024, according to state-level data Pew shared with Axios SLC.

• Latinos in Utah are overwhelmingly Mexican, with 65% identifying as such, followed by Peruvians (4%), Venezuelans (3.6%) and Guatemalans (3.4%).

The big picture: The U.S. Latino population doubled during that period, representing 1 in 5 Americans, per Pew.

• Immigration fueled Latino growth in the U.S. in the 1980s and 1990s.
• Births became the main driver as immigration slowed after the 2008 Great Recession and again during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• An influx of immigrants from Latin America in 2023 and 2024 boosted the nation's Hispanic population by nearly 2 million annually.