Population Trends

     According to the U.S. Government Printing Office (2004), Utah, with only 8.6% of its population over the age of 65, currently has a low percentage of senior citizens within its boarders. Only Alaska with 6.1% over 65 has fewer seniors as a percentage of their population. This same source gives Davis County, Utah’s over 65 years old population at 6.1% along with the counties to the south (Salt Lake County) and to the north (Weber County). The counties in the middle of the state and towards the southern border with Arizona show greater percentages of elderly in the population, reaching as high as 17%.

     Although the current numbers are few, a significant growth in the number of older people in Utah is expected throughout the first half of the 21^st century. Shades of Gray, a University of Utah produced video (1991) suggests that the number of elderly, as a percentage of the population, will increase 600% between 1970 and 2030.

     For purposes of describing the residents of Davis County, Utah, and comparing them with their northern neighbors, the 2000 Census of all age groups shows the following:

     Total population for Davis County 238,994 / for Weber County 196,533

White alone                                          220,486  (92%)                       172,339  (88%)

Black or African American alone            2,615                                       2,748

American Indian and Alaska Native        1,379                                       1,510

Asian alone                                               3,665                                      2,508

Native Hawaiian or Other Islander             639                                            31

Some other race alone                              5,501                                     12,943

Two or more Races                                  4,709                                       4,166

Source: U.S. Census Bureau: Census 2000.

     The most diverse cities in Davis County are in the northern end boarding Weber County and Hill Air Force Base. As noted in the chart above, Davis County, even having the Air Base, is not very racially diverse (8% diversity according to the 2000 Census), although Weber County to the north is more racially diverse (12%). The elderly of Davis County have lived most of their lives with little ethnic diversity, especially in the southern end of the county, and that lack of cultural diversity impacts the delivery of services as well as attitudes regarding the ”outsiders” who are now moving into the county.

    According to Wright et al. (2001, pp. 3-10), when assessing age categories found in the 2000 Census, Utah has a lower median age (27.1 years old) than the over all United States median age (35.3 years old). The proportion of 65+ year olds for the United States was 12.4% but only 8.5% for Utah. Davis County had 8.9% of its residents who were 62 years of age and older with its neighbor to the north, Weber County, coming in at 12.1% and the southern neighbor, Salt Lake County, scoring 9.6%. The median age of Davis County was 26.8, of Weber County, 29.3, and of Salt Lake County, 28.9 years of age.

From this data, it must be recognized that Davis County, Utah, does not yet have the aging proportions that many other areas in the country currently face.

     Demographers cite Utah as one area that must expect a large growth in the older population. In their Executive Summary, Mason, et al. (2002) project that Utah will have a 165 percent increase in the 65 plus age groups between the year 2000 and 2030. That translates into slightly less than one half of a million older adults in a population that will probably be about five million souls by 2030.                                    

    However, to talk about Davis County aging as if it were entirely a Davis County phenomenon would be ill advised due to the proximity of two other and larger counties; one to the north, another to the south. Davis County is in the center of a megalopolis with Salt Lake County to the immediate south and Weber County to the immediate north. Most Davis County residents go to these larger counties for a large portion of their needs, whether it is obtaining medical services, recreational opportunities, or even to go shopping.

     This leaves the Davis County Aging Network, to some extent, embedded within these other areas. However, the Davis County Area Agency on Aging Advisory Board, of which this author is a member, tries very hard to offer quality older adult services in the attempt to reach the client's needs within the county. This Area Agency on Aging (AAA) matches well the definition of community as given by Anderson, et al. (2004). They describe community as a population whose members:

1.      consciously identify with each other;

2.      may occupy common territory;

3.      engage in common activities;

4.      have some form of organization that provides for differentiation of functions, which allows the community to adapt to its environment, thereby meeting the needs of its components. (p. 76)