Orem, Utah

City of Orem
—  City  —
Orem City Center
Nickname(s): Family City USA
Location of Orem, Utah
Coordinates: 40°17′56″N 111°41′47″W / 40.29889°N 111.69639°W / 40.29889; -111.69639
Country	United States
State	Utah
County	Utah
Settled	1877
Town charter granted	May 5, 1919
Named for	Walter C. Orem
Government
– Mayor	Jerry Washburn
Area
– Total	18.3 sq mi (47.4 km2)
– Land	18.3 sq mi (47.4 km2)
– Water	0.0 sq mi (0.0 km2)
Elevation	4,774 ft (1,455 m)
Population (2010)
– Total	88,328
– Density	4,826.6/sq mi (1,863.5/km2)
Time zone	Mountain (MST) (UTC-7)
– Summer (DST)	MDT (UTC-6)
Area code(s)	385, 801
FIPS code	49-57300[1]
GNIS feature ID	1444110[2]
Website	orem.org

Historical populations
Census	Pop.		%±
1890	435		—
1900	692		59.1%
1910	1,064		53.8%
1920	1,664		56.4%
1930	1,915		15.1%
1940	2,914		52.2%
1950	8,351		186.6%
1960	18,394		120.3%
1970	25,729		39.9%
1980	52,399		103.7%
1990	67,561		28.9%
2000	84,324		24.8%
2010	88,328		4.7%

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 miles (72 km) 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^[3] making it the sixth-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.^[4] 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.^[5] 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°17′56″N 111°41′47″W / 40.29889°N 111.69639°W / 40.29889; -111.69639 (40.298753, -111.696486).^[6]

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 18.4 square miles (48 km²), 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^[1] 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.^[7] 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 public university in Utah with its attendance of over 34000 undergraduates.^[8] 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)^[9] Died on Sept. 26, 2011 after a long battle with cancer.^[10]

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.^[11]

Top employers

According to the City's 2010 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report,^[12] the top employers in the city are:

#	Employer	# of employees
1	Utah Valley University	1,528
2	Alpine School District	1,234
3	Convergys	647
4	Timpanogos Regional Hospital	600
5	City of Orem	532
6	Adobe (Omniture)	500
7	Wal-Mart	435
8	US Synthetic	430
9	iMergent	335
10	Target	317

Sports

Club	League	Venue	Established	Championships
Orem Owlz	Pioneer League, Baseball	Brent Brown Ballpark	2005	3
Utah Flash	D-League, Basketball	UCCU Center	2007	0

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^[13]
  • Erin Thorn - WNBA Guard

• Groups:
  • rock band The Used

Company startups

Several notable companies started in Orem:

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

See also

• Christeele Acres Historic District

References

1. ^ ^{a b} "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 
2. ^ "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. 2007-10-25. http://geonames.usgs.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 
3. ^ 2010 Census summary file for Orem
4. ^ Levy, Francesca (June 7, 2010). "America's Best Places to Raise a Family". Forbes. http://www.forbes.com/2010/06/04/best-places-family-lifestyle-real-estate-cities-kids.html. 
5. ^ http://www.lds.org/placestovisit/location/0,10634,1813-1-1-1,00.html
6. ^ "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. 2011-02-12. http://www.census.gov/geo/www/gazetteer/gazette.html. Retrieved 2011-04-23. 
7. ^ www.orem.org
8. ^ "UVU At a Glance". The College Board. http://collegesearch.collegeboard.com/search/CollegeDetail.jsp?collegeId=3965. Retrieved August 6, 2010. 
9. ^ BYU Magazine Spring 2009
10. ^ http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=17415987
11. ^ Buckley, Jay H. (2010). Orem. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7385-7882-8. 
12. ^ City of Orem CAFR
13. ^ Tayler, Howard. "Blógünder Schlock » About". http://www.schlockmercenary.com/blog/index.php/about/. Retrieved November 6, 2007. "Howard Tayler is the award-winning cartoonist responsible for Schlock Mercenary and the inventor of the "chupaqueso." He’s married and lives in Orem, UT[...]." 

External links

• City's Official Website
• Alpine School District Orem Utah Public Schools
• Utah Valley University Public Education based in Orem UT
• Broadview University - Orem Campus
• Timpanogos Storytelling Festival Annual storytelling festival at the end of the summer
• Orem Summerfest June Festival featuring games, rides, talent festival, children's parade, fireworks, restaurant taste booths
• Orem, Utah Business Directory and Search Engine for Orem, Utah

Coordinates: 40°17′56″N 111°41′47″W / 40.298753°N 111.696486°W / 40.298753; -111.696486