Utah ranked 34th in population in the US with an estimated total of 2,316,256 in 2002, an increase of 3.7% since 2000. Between 1990 and 2000, Utah's population grew from 1,722,850 to 2,233,169, an increase of 29.6%, the 4th-highest percentage gain in the decade among the 50 states. The population is projected to reach 2,411,000 by 2005 and 2.9 million by 2025. The population density in 2000 was 27.2 persons per sq mi.
Because of the state's consistently high birthrate, Utahns tend to be much younger than the US population as a whole. In 2000, the median age was 27.1 (compared with the US average of 35.3). In the same year, more than 9.4% of state residents were under 5 years of age, and more than 32.2% were younger than 18 years of age (compared with the national average of 25.7%); only 8.5% of the populace were age 65 or older.
Nearly 90% of all Utahns live in cities and towns, mostly along the Wasatch Front. Salt Lake City is Utah's most populous urban center, with an estimated 2002 population of 181,266 in the city proper and a 1999 estimate of 1,275,076 in its metropolitan region. Other major cities with large populations include Provo, Ogden, and Orem.