St. George, Utah facts for kids

Quick facts for kids St. George, Utah
City
City of St. George
Overlook of downtown St. George and adjacent Pine Valley Mountains
Flag
Nickname(s):  Utah's Dixie, (the) STG
Location within Washington County
St. George, Utah Location in Utah Show map of Utah St. George, Utah Location in the United States Show map of the United States
Country	United States
State	Utah
County	Washington
Settled	1861
Incorporated	1862
Named for	George A. Smith
Area
• City	78.47 sq mi (203.22 km2)
• Land	78.46 sq mi (203.22 km2)
• Water	0.00 sq mi (0.01 km2)  0.72%
Elevation	2,700 ft (800 m)
Population  (2020)
• City	95,342
• Rank	1st in Washington County 7th in Utah
• Density	1,215.17/sq mi (469.16/km2)
• Metro	180,279 (US: 239th)
• Metro density	1,310/sq mi (510/km2)
Demonym(s)	St. Georgian
Time zone	UTC−7 (Mountain)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−6 (Mountain)
ZIP Code	84770–84771, 84790–84791
Area code(s)	435
FIPS ID	49-65330
GNIS feature ID	1455098

St. George is a city in and the county seat of Washington County, Utah, United States. Located in southwestern Utah on the Arizona border, it is the principal city of the St. George Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). The city lies in the northeasternmost part of the Mojave Desert, adjacent to the Pine Valley Mountains and near the convergence of three distinct geological areas: the Mojave Desert, Colorado Plateau, and the Great Basin. The city is 118 miles (190 km) northeast of Las Vegas, Nevada and 300 miles (480 km) south-southwest of Salt Lake City, Utah on Interstate 15.

As of the 2020 U.S Census, the city had a population of 95,342, with the overall MSA having an estimated population of 180,279. St. George is the seventh-largest city in Utah and most populous city in the state outside of the Wasatch Front.

The city was settled in 1861 as a cotton mission, earning it the nickname "Dixie". While the crop never became a successful commodity, the area steadily grew in population. Between 2000 and 2005, St. George emerged as the fastest growing metropolitan area in the United States. Today, the St. George region is well known for its year-round outdoor recreation and proximity to several state parks, Zion National Park and The Grand Canyon. Dixie State University is located in St. George and is an NCAA Division I institution.

Economy

SkyWest Airlines is headquartered in St. George, and is the primary airline provider at the city's regional airport. Walmart has a distribution center just outside the city and Family Dollar recently opened a distribution center in the Fort Pierce Industrial Park to better serve the southwest region of the U.S.

The Washington County School District main offices are based in the city.

The Cafe Rio restaurant chain was started in St. George in 1997.

The local economy is largely based on tourism, manufacturing, and new home construction. Over a dozen golf courses offering year-round golfing, and various world-recognized events also make for large contributors to the city's economy.

Demographics

As of 2015^[update] the largest self-reported ancestry groups in St. George are:

In 2018, the city's population was estimated at 87,178. St. George was declared the fourth fastest-growing metropolitan area in the United States in 2018.

As of 2018^[update], there were 27,552 households. The population density was 1,135 people per square mile. As of 2010^[update], there were 32,089 housing units at an average density of per square mile. The city's racial makeup was 87.2% White, 0.7% African-American, 1.5% Native American, 0.8% Asian, 1.0% Pacific Islander, and 8.9% from other races. 12.8% of the population was Hispanic or Latino of any race.

As of the 2000 census, there were 17,367 households, out of which 34.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 63.6% were married couples living together, 8.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.9% were non-families. 19.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years old or older. The average household size was 2.81 individuals and the average family size was 3.21.

In the city, the age distribution of the population showed 28.4% under the age of 18, 13.7% from 18 to 24, 22.0% from 25 to 44, 16.8% from 45 to 64, and 19.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.2 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $36,505, and the median income for a family was $41,788. Males had a median income of $31,106 versus $20,861 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,022. About 7.4% of families and 11.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.4% of those under age 18 and 4.4% of those age 65 or over. A significant portion of the over 65 population was "snowbirds", who live in St. George during the winter.

Religion

St. George Utah Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was completed in 1877.

Approximately 78.0% of St. George's residents identify as religious; below are statistics as of 2014^[update]:

• 63.4% LDS Church
• 4.4% Catholic
• 0.6% Baptist
• 0.5% Lutheran
• 0.4% Southern Baptist
• 0.3% Presbyterian
• 0.2% Episcopalian
• 0.2% United Methodist
• 0.2% Assemblies of God
• 1.0% Other

Sports

The St. George community has been the home to two minor-league independent baseball teams. The first, the St. George Pioneerzz (originally the Zion Pioneerzz) who played in the independent Western Baseball League from 1999 to 2001, winning the league championship in 2000. A new franchise, managed by former major league player Darell Evans, was awarded to St. George in 2007. The team, the St. George Roadrunners, played in the independent Golden Baseball League before being taken over by the league and moved to Henderson, Nevada in 2010.

St. George area high schools; Crimson Cliffs, Dixie, Desert Hills, Pine View, and Snow Canyon all play in 4A state competition as part of 4A Region 10 with nearby Hurricane High School in Hurricane and Canyon View and Cedar high schools in Cedar City. Dixie State University participates in the NCAA Division I Western Athletic Conference. In January 2019, Dixie State announced they were reclassifying to NCAA Division I and joining the Western Athletic Conference. Former DSU athletes include Corey Dillon, Anton Palepoi, Reno Mahe, and Scott Brumfield, who all later played in the NFL and Marcus Banks, Lionel Hollins, Keon Clark, and Mo Baker were Dixie players who later played in the NBA. Dixie State athletes are called Trailblazers (formerly The Rebels and Red Storm), and former Trailblazers Bradley Thompson and Brandon Lyon later played in major league baseball while Bruce Hurst of Dixie High School later played for the Boston Red Sox a pitcher, and then ended up managing the now retired Zion Pioneerzz for its inaugural 1999 season (1999).

St. George has hosted Ironman and Ironman 70.3 events including the 2021 Ironman 70.3 World Championships. The city is scheduled to host both the Ironman and Ironman 70.3 World Championships in 2022. This will be the first time that the Ironman World Championship has been hosted outside of Hawaii.

Education

Primary and secondary education

The city of St. George is a part of the Washington County School District. St. George public high schools (10th-12th grade):

• Dixie High School
• Pine View High School
• Desert Hills High School
• Snow Canyon High School
• Millcreek Alternative High School
• Crimson Cliffs High School in Washington City (eastern suburb). Its coverage zone extends into southeast St. George.
• Tuacahn High School for the Performing Arts in Ivins (northwestern suburb) Offers an alternative education with no tuition costs to any Utah resident.

The city's middle schools are located near or adjacent to the like-named high schools.

Intermediate (6th-7th grade) and middle schools (8th-9th grade):

• Dixie Middle School
• Pine View Middle School
• Desert Hills Middle School
• Snow Canyon Middle School
• Crimson Cliffs Middle School in Washington City
• Washington Fields Intermediate in Washington City
• Tonaquint Intermediate
• Sunrise Ridge Intermediate
• Fossil Ridge Intermediate
• Lava Ridge Intermediate in Santa Clara (western suburb)

Higher education

• Dixie State University, a four-year institution, of about 10,000 students (as of 2018^[update])
• Dixie Technical College with 4,920 post-secondary and 292 secondary students (as of 2018). Dixie Technical College opened a new main campus on the site of the old St. George Airport in 2018.
• Rocky Vista University College of Osteopathic Medicine
• University of Phoenix
• Stevens-Henager College.

The Southern Utah Center for Computer, Engineering, and Science Students (SUCCESS) is an early college high school located on the Dixie State University campus.

Transportation

Central St. George, looking east with Zion National Park in the distance

St. George Regional Airport is located in southeast St. George on Airport Parkway. The airport is served by American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and United Airlines. As of 2020, two-way flights to Salt Lake City, Denver, Phoenix, Los Angeles and seasonal flights to Dallas-Fort Worth were available.

Local and regional transportation

SunTran is the local public transit system and operates seven fixed-routes serving most areas of St. George, Washington and Ivins. Rent-A-Bike and 'Spin' scooters are available for rated use in numerous locations city-wide. Greyhound serves St. George on its Denver-Las Vegas and Salt Lake City-Las Vegas routes. Greyhound connects with Amtrak's California Zephyr in Salt Lake City. St. George is also served by the bus company Tufesa and the shuttle companies Salt Lake Express and St. George Shuttle.

Major highways

Interstate 15 runs northeast-southwest through St. George.

• SR-7 (Southern Parkway) runs east-west through the southern periphery of the city.
• SR-8 (Sunset Boulevard) runs east-west through west St. George
• SR-34 (St. George Boulevard) runs east-west through central St. George
• SR-18 (Bluff Street) runs north-south through St. George

Notable people

• Robert Adamson (b. 1985), actor (Lincoln Heights)
• Texas Rose Bascom (1922–1993), rodeo performer, trick roper, Hollywood actress, National Cowgirl Hall Of Fame inductee, Utah Cowboy Hall of Fame inductee
• Jay Don Blake (b. 1958), professional and NCAA champion golfer
• Wilford Brimley, American actor and singer
• Juanita Brooks, Mormon writer, editor and historian
• Howard Cannon, former United States Senator from Nevada
• LaVell Edwards (1930–2016), former BYU football coach
• Jada Facer, actress and singer
• Dia Frampton, runner-up in inaugural season of The Voice
• Orval Hafen, lawyer, legislator, and community advocate
• Tracy Hickman, fantasy author
• Jeffrey R. Holland, LDS general authority
• Bruce Hurst (b. 1958), former Major League Baseball pitcher
• Doug Jolley (b. 1979), NFL tight end
• Steven Koecher, living in St. George at the time he disappeared.
• Meg and Dia, rock group
• The Piano Guys, classical music group, formed in 2010
• Amanda Righetti (b. 1983), actress (The OC, Reunion, The Mentalist)
• Gaskell Romney (1871–1955), Mormon leader, father of George W. Romney, grandfather of Mitt Romney
• Miles Romney (1806–1877), settler, Mormon leader
• Miles Park Romney (1843–1904), attorney, police chief
• J. Edwin Seegmiller (1923–1986), physician and medical researcher, National Academy of Sciences, faculty member UCSD Medical School
• Steven E. Snow, (b. 1949), lawyer, LDS general authority, Church Historian and Recorder
• John "Cat" Thompson (1906–1990), basketball player; member of the Basketball Hall of Fame
• Tanya Tucker (b. 1958), country music singer, raised in St. George
• Brendon Urie (b. 1987), singer-songwriter, musician, multi-instrumentalist, lead vocalist of Panic! at the Disco
• Joyce Vance, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Alabama and media legal analyst

Images for kids

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  Brigham Young Winter Home and Office in St. George

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  The red hills of the Red Cliffs Desert Reserve north of St. George

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  Eubrontes, a dinosaur footprint in the Lower Jurassic Moenave Formation at the St. George Dinosaur Discovery Site

See also

In Spanish: St. George (Utah) para niños