Park City, Utah

Park City is a city located in the state of Utah in the United States. It is one of three major resort towns in Utah with the others being Moab and St. George. It is considered to be part of the Wasatch Back and a part of the Salt Lake City metropolitan area. The city is 30 miles (48 km) east of downtown Salt Lake City and 15 miles (24km) from Salt Lake City's east edge of Sugarhouse along Interstate 80. The population was 7,371 at the 2000 census. Its estimated population in 2004 was 7,882. On average the tourist population greatly outnumbers the resident. Park City is also the home to the 2005 Utah Basketball League state champion Park City Knights.

After a population decline following the shutdown of the area's mining industry the city rebounded during the 1980s and 1990s in the tourism business. The city has three major ski resorts: Park City Mountain Resort, Deer Valley Resort, and The Canyons Resort. The Park City and Deer Valley ski resorts were the major locations for ski and snowboarding events at the 2002 Winter Olympics. Although they receive less snow at 300 inches (762 cm) and have a shorter season than do their counterparts in Salt Lake County, such as Snowbird resort, who accumulates 500 inches (1270 cm) each season and stays open longer, usually closing on Memorial Day in late May instead of early April, they are much easier to access.

Additionally the city is the main location of the United States's largest independent film festival, the Sundance Film Festival, home of the United States Ski Team, the largest collection of factory outlet stores in northern Utah, the Olympic bobsled course, a luge run, and golf courses. Outdoor-oriented businesses such as backcountry.com and Rossignol have their headquarters based in Park City. The city has many upscale luxury national retailers, clubs, bars, and restaurants, and has nearby reservoirs, hot springs, forests, and hiking and biking trails. Park City is also the original home of the Mrs. Fields Cookies chain.

In the summertime many valley residents of the 2,000,000 strong Wasatch Front visit the town to escape high temperatures since Park City is usually 20°F (6°C) cooler, being that Salt Lake City sits about 4,000 feet above sea level and Park City is mostly above 7,000 feet on the back slopes of the mountain peaks that border the Salt Lake Valley and are over 11,000 feet.

Park City is one of the wealthiest cities in the United States and is notable in Utah for having a large number of northern and central European immigrants (from countries such as Norway and Switzerland) and many California transplants. It is the most politically liberal place in the state; over two-thirds of its residents voted against banning same-sex marriage.

History

The city was settled as a mining town in 1870 after lead, gold, and silver were discovered in the area. The city became heavily populated to such an extent that many people thought it would replace Salt Lake City as the primary city in Utah. However, the mines penetrated the water table and were flooded, and the city nearly became a ghost town. Skiing began to come to the city in the 1950s, but the city did not recover until the 1970s, when growth finally came. Growth has accelerated in the last few decades, and it now stands as one of the most affluent and lively resort towns in the United States.

Roger J. Traynor was born in Park City in 1900 and raised there; he went on to become Chief Justice of the California Supreme Court.

Geography and climate

Park City is located at (40.659306, -111.499828).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 24.4 km² (9.4 mi²). None of the area is covered with water.

Park City is located at the south end of Snyderville Basin and climbs steep mountains to the southeast, south, and west. It is accessed by Utah State Route 224 from Interstate 80 to the north and Utah State Route 248, which heads east to U.S. 40 and on to Kamas.

		Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Park City Daily Maximum	°F	27	31	36	48	59	70	79	78	68	53	39	31
Park City Daily Minimum	°F	7	10	16	24	32	39	48	47	37	24	17	12
Data is for Park City

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 7,371 people, 2,705 households, and 1,687 families residing in the city. The population density was 301.8/km² (781.4/mi²). There were 6,661 housing units at an average density of 272.7/km² (706.1/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 80.50% White, 0.42% African American, 0.30% Native American, 1.86% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 15.71% from other races, and 1.19% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 19.64% of the population.

There were 2,705 households out of which 32.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.9% were married couples living together, 7.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.6% were non-families. 21.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 3.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.72 and the average family size was 3.11.

In the city the population was spread out with 23.3% under the age of 18, 11.4% from 18 to 24, 35.1% from 25 to 44, 25.6% from 45 to 64, and 4.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 118.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 118.9 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $65,800, and the median income for a family was $77,137. Males had a median income of $40,032 versus $26,341 for females. The per capita income for the city was $45,164. About 5.3% of families and 10.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.6% of those under age 18 and 6.6% of those age 65 or over.

External links

Summit County, Utah | Cities in Utah | Sundance Film Festival

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History

Geography and climate

Demographics

External links