Davis County, Utah


 * For the Davis County Cooperative Society, see .

Davis County is a located in the  of. In land area it is the smallest county in Utah. In the population was 238,994 and by  was estimated at 268,187. It was named for, captain in the. The county is part of the - metropolitan area, but, geographically, the southern half of the county has more in common with than with. Its is  and its largest city is.

Davis County also contains the in, the main amusement park serving the.

History
Davis County was created by the territorial legislature in, with Farmington designated as its county seat, because of its geographic location midway between boundaries at the on the north and the  on the south. During its first 50 years, Davis County grew slowly. With the advent of the in, a transition to mechanized agriculture and a surge of commerce, banking, improved roads, new water systems, and electrification of homes began. However, by, the population was barely 16,000.

With the establishment of in northern Davis County, there was a surge of civilian employment after. The county doubled in population between and, and doubled again between  and  as part of the nationwide  boom that was occurring at the time. By there were 188,000 residents, and in, there were 239,000. By, the county is expected to have a population of about 360,000.

Today, most of the growth is concentrated in the northwest, northeast, and southwest portions of the county, and especially in such cities as, , , , and.

Law and Government
A three-member is the county's governing body. Each of these commissioners serve four-year terms, which overlap for the sake of continuity. They are responsible for all county services and operations. They approve, adopt, and amend the budget; they also serve as the legislative body and regulate business licensing in the county's unincorporated areas. The current county commissioners are Alan Hansen, Louenda Downs, and Bret Millburn, with Commissioner Hansen currently serving as Commission Chair.

The assessor is responsible for the valuing of all real property in the county. The current assessor is James B. Ivie.

The clerk/auditor serves as the county's chief financial and budget officer. The current Clerk/Auditor is Steve Rawlings.

The treasurer is responsible for collection and investing of county funds. The current Treasurer is Mark Altom.

Geography
According to the, the county has a total area of 1,641 (634 ). 789 km² (304 sq mi) of it is land and 853 km² (329 sq mi) of it (51.95%) is water. It has the least land area of any county in Utah.

The county lies generally between the on the west and the  on the east, which rises to a height of 9,707 ft (2,959 m) in the county at Thurston Peak. The Great Salt Lake in the west, which is surrounded by and s, lies at an average elevation of approximately 4,200 ft (1,280 m), varying depending on the water level, which can lead to drastic changes in the lake size due to its shallowness. The lake includes, which is the largest island in the lake. The entire island is a state park, designated to protect natural scenery and especially wildlife on the island, which includes, , and a herd. The narrow, populated portion that lies between the Great Salt Lake and the Wasatch Range is a portion of the, which is very narrow at this point, complicating north-south transportation in the county.

Davis County borders on the north,  on the south,  on the west,  on the east, and  on the northwest corner in the middle of the Great Salt Lake. You must travel through Weber County to access it, however, and you must travel through Salt Lake County to access Tooele County. It should be noted that Davis County shares land borders with only Salt Lake, Morgan and Weber counties; all other borders are water.

Davis County lies in a climate zone. Snow is frequent during winter, with up to 90 in (230 cm) annually on high bench areas in the east and at least 55 in (140 cm) on the valley floor. Annual precipitation averages between 18 and 25 in (450 to 650 mm) in the county, with sping being the wettest season and summer the driest. Summers are hot, with several days each year averaging above 95°F (35°C). However, the humidity is low, making for comparatively comfortable temperatures. In winter, temperatures sometimes drop below 0°F (-18°C), but rarely for extended periods of time. Compared to to the south, the weather in Davis County is extreme. s hit the county harder, and even in non-lake-effect storms, the lack of a in Davis County (much of Salt Lake County lies in the rain shadow of the ) means that storms hit harder here. In addition, canyon winds from the east hit this county very hard, and wind gusts above 100mph have been reported. This occurs when a powerful high pressure system situates itself over, and are a common local occurrence.

Transportation
The most important road in the county is, which runs north-south through the center of the county. enters parallel to I-15 from to the south and runs north through  and  as a city road before merging with I-15. It re-emerges again in near the, heading along the eastern benches on the slopes of the Wasatch Range, entering  near. US 89 will eventually be upgraded to a freeway through eastern north to its interchange with  near the Weber County border. Due to the narrowness of the Wasatch Front through the county, congestion is a major problem, especially since many people within the county commute south into Salt Lake County.

To relieve congestion in the county, the portion of the  began construction in March. Construction began near the US 89/I-15 interchange in Farmington in, but was soon halted due to a lawsuit filed by s over the completeness of the. Environmentalists were concerned that the road would impact marshlands along the eastern edge of the Great Salt Lake. A settlement was finally reached in November and the final injunction was lifted in February. This portion of the Legacy Highway will run southward from the US 89/I-15 interchange in Farmington, along the west end of the valley, and connecting into near the border with Salt Lake County. Construction is expected to finish in.

The in August  began construction on, a  line to link  with Davis and  counties. Extending to, north of in , the line is expected to be completed in. In Davis County, stations will be constructed in, , , and. All of these stations have prompted plans for (TOD).

Economy
Davis County is often characterized as a. According to the US Census Bureau's 2004 American Community Survey, 42.3% of the population works in another county. South Davis County commuters who work in frequently encounter commuting time traffic bottlenecks between Davis and  Counties. The and   projects are under construction to ease this problem.

Davis County's largest employer is. Hill AFB is a dominant feature of the economy of Davis County. Earnings of civilians at Hill AFB are almost double the state average. Hill AFB accounts for about 12% of the economy of Davis County and about 2.6% of the economy of Utah. Hill AFB provides employment for nearly 23,000 military and civilian personnel (approximately 4,500 active duty, 1,200 reservists, 13,000 federal civil servants, and 4,000 civilian contractors). Other large employers include, , and.

Education
Public education in Davis County is served by the. There are currently 53 elementary schools, 14 junior high schools, and 7 high schools in the school district. The high schools are as follows:


 * Bountiful -
 * Clearfield -
 * Davis -
 * Layton -
 * Northridge -
 * Viewmont -
 * Woods Cross -

In addition, there is another high school currently under construction in rapidly-growing, to be opened for the 2007-2008 school year.

The Utah College of Applied Technology operates a campus in Kaysville known as the Davis Applied Technology College (DATC).

operates a campus in.

Demographics
As of the of 2000, there were 238,994 people, 71,201 households, and 59,239 families residing in the county. The was 303/km² (785/sq mi). There were 74,114 housing units at an average density of 94/km² (243/sq mi). The racial makeup of the county was 92.26%, 1.09% or , 0.58% , 1.53% , 0.27% , 2.30% from , and 1.97% from two or more races. 5.42% of the population were or  of any race. In 2005 88.6% of Davis County's population was non-Hispanic whites. 1.2% of the population was African-American. 1.8% of the population was Asian. 6.6% of the population was Latino.

There were 71,201 households out of which 49.50% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 70.80% were living together, 9.20% had a female householder with no husband present, and 16.80% were non-families. There are 1,636 unmarried partner households in Davis County: 1,410 heterosexual, 132 same-sex male, and 94 same-sex female. 13.60% of all households were made up of individuals and 4.60% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.31 and the average family size was 3.67.

In the county, the population was spread out with 35.10% under the age of 18, 12.20% from 18 to 24, 28.20% from 25 to 44, 17.10% from 45 to 64, and 7.30% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 27 years. For every 100 females there were 100.90 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.50 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $53,726, and the median income for a family was $58,329. Males had a median income of $40,913 versus $25,904 for females. The for the county was $19,506. 5.10% of the population and 4.00% of families were below the US Federal. 5.90% of those under the age of 18 and 4.10% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line.

By 2006 276,259 people lived in Davis County, representing a growth of 15.6% since the last census, slightly more than the growth rate for Utah overall.