The story of Utah’s urban-rural divide is, first and foremost, a story of lopsided growth. The urban side is home to most of the people, with three-quarters of the population living along the Wasatch Front.
It’s also where much of the economic opportunity resides, with high-tech employment booming on the Silicon Slopes. On the rural side of the divide, population is sparse and financial resources are more scarce.
As the ninth most urbanized state in the nation, Utah is a place where the urban-rural divide runs especially deep . . .
In terms of secondary education, rural school districts actually have a slightly higher four-year graduation rate than urban districts. Yet when it comes to higher education, “lower than average college
enrollment rates pose a great challenge to rural communities,” according to the Utah Foundation . . .
Mining and agriculture are the traditional mainstays of Emery County’s economy. In the heydays of the 1980s, almost half of Emery County’s employment was in coal mining. Now, with mining having dwindled
to less than 8 percent of the employment mix, there is a greater focus on diversifying the economy. As Emery County’s economic development director told the Utah Foundation, “We are diversified, but we have to look to other industries and technologies to improve our communities.” Emery county suffered job losses of 18.3 percent between 2010 and 2016. Retail trade makes up the largest employment sector, followed by healthcare and construction.