Orem, Utah

Orem is a city in Utah County, Utah, United States, in the north-central part of the state. It is adjacent to Provo, Lindon, and Vineyard and is about 45 mi south of Salt Lake City. Orem is one of the principal cities of the Provo-Orem, Utah Metropolitan Statistical Area, which includes all of Utah and Juab counties. The population was 84,324 at the 2000 census, while the 2010 population was 88,328 making it the fifth-largest city in Utah. Utah Valley University is located in Orem. The Orem Owlz of the minor league baseball Pioneer League play their home games at the college.

Orem uses the moniker "Family City USA". In fact, in 2010 Forbes rated it the 5th best place to raise a family. At one time the area was known as Sharon, a Biblical name for a mostly level strip of land running between mountains and the sea and the name of the birth town of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints founder Joseph Smith. Another former name was Provo Bench. In an apparent attempt to attract more investment to the town and provide an easy way for the large population of farmers with orchards to ship produce, in 1914 it was named after Walter C. Orem, President of the Salt Lake and Utah railroad in the early 1900's. Orem was incorporated in 1919.

Geography
Orem is located at 40.29889°N, -111.69639°W (40.298753, -111.696486).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 18.4 sqmi, all of it land.

The City of Orem is located on the eastern shore of Utah Lake. It borders Provo, Utah on the east and south, and is located at the base of Mount Timpanogos.

Orem is also popular for its Summerfest celebration and parade which take place in June, also the Timpanogos Storytelling Festival. In addition, Orem has more square area of parks as compared to city size than any other city in Utah.

Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 84,324 people, 23,382 households, and 19,079 families residing in the city. The population density was 4,572.6 people per square mile (1,765.6/km²). There were 24,166 housing units at an average density of 1,310.4 per square mile (506.0/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 90.80% White, 0.33% African American, 0.73% Native American, 1.45% Asian, 0.86% Pacific Islander, 3.64% from other races, and 2.18% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 8.56% of the population.

There were 23,382 households out of which 48.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 69.0% were married couples living together, 9.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 18.4% were non-families. 12.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 5.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.57 and the average family size was 3.93.

In the city the population was spread out with 35.4% under the age of 18, 17.4% from 18 to 24, 25.8% from 25 to 44, 14.5% from 45 to 64, and 6.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 24 years. For every 100 females there were 98.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.2 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $47,529, and the median income for a family was $51,214. Males had a median income of $38,221 versus $22,815 for females. The per capita income for the city was $16,590. About 5.8% of families and 8.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.9% of those under age 18 and 4.8% of those age 65 or over.

As of 2010 the 88,328 residents of Orem had a racial and ethnic composition of 77.5% non-Hispanic white, 0.7% black or African American. 0.9% Native American, 1.9% Asian, 1.0% Pacific Islanders, 0.2% non-Hispanics reporting some other race, 3.2% two or more races reported and 16.1% Hispanic.

Education
Orem is located in the Alpine School District and is home to three high schools, three junior high schools, and 16 elementary schools. Stevens-Henager College is also located in Orem, as is an education center of Utah State University, and a campus of Broadview University.

Utah Valley University
Utah Valley University is a public university operated by the state of Utah. UVU is one of the United States only Open Enrollment Universities offering an acceptance to all applicants. As a university UVU offers a wide variety of bachelors and masters degrees. UVU is the largest and fastest growing public university in Utah with its attendance of over 34,000 undergraduates. The campus's notable features include the UCCU Center, the Digital Learning Center library, the Hal Wing Track and Field Complex, and the Woodbury School of Business.

Government
List of mayors of Orem:
 * Jerry C. Washburn (1999–2011) Died on Sept. 26, 2011 after a long battle with cancer.
 * James T. Evans (2011-Current)

Economy
Orem has a wide variety of stores and businesses. One of the oldest businesses still operating in Orem is the locally owned Park's Sportsman, opened in the 1950s. Orem is also home to the oldest mall in Utah County, opened in March 1973.

Top employers
According to the City's 2010 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the top employers in the city are:

Notable residents

 * People:


 * Alan Ashton (executive) - Co-founder of WordPerfect
 * Ben Cahoon - Receiver for the Montreal Alouettes
 * James C. Christensen - Fantasy, religious and surrealism artist
 * LaVell Edwards - BYU football coach
 * Brett Helquist- Illustrator of A Series of Unfortunate Events
 * Gary Herbert- Current Governor of the State of Utah
 * Allison Holker - So You Think You Can Dance season 2 finalist.
 * Chelsie Hightower - So You Think You Can Dance season 4 finalist and professional ballroom dancer on Dancing with the Stars
 * Julianne Hough - professional ballroom dancer on Dancing with the Stars and singer, born in Orem
 * Chad Lewis - NFL Tight End
 * Bert McCracken - Lead vocals of the rock band The Used, was born in Provo but grew up in Orem
 * Marie Osmond - American actress and singer
 * Noelle Pikus-Pace - 2005 overall World Cup Skeleton title winner
 * Shauna Rohbock - Silver medalist in women's bobsleigh at the Turin 2006 Olympics
 * Howard Tayler - Author of Schlock Mercenary
 * Erin Thorn - WNBA Guard


 * Groups:
 * rock band The Used

Company startups
Several notable companies started in Orem:


 * Blendtec
 * Doba
 * Fishbowl Inventory
 * Flexsim
 * Juice Press
 * Mity-Lite
 * Novell (at one time headquartered in Orem)
 * Omniture (now owned by Adobe Systems)
 * PowerQuest
 * SecurityMetrics
 * Wahoo Studios
 * NinjaBee, subdivision of Wahoo Studios
 * WordPerfect (now owned by Corel)
 * Zuka Juice