West Valley City, Utah

West Valley City seal

West Valley City is a city in Salt Lake County in the state of Utah. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 108,896, making it the second largest city in the state. A 2006 estimate placed its population at 118,917. It is home to the E Center and the Utah Grizzlies of the ECHL. It is also home to the Utah Cultural Celebration Center, Stonebridge Golf Course, Westridge Golf Course, Rocky Mountain Raceway, USANA Amphitheatre, Hale Centre Theatre, and the Valley Fair Mall.

History

Joseph Harker and his family were the first Mormon pioneers to go "over Jordan." The area was largely agricultural for over one hundred years. The city began to experience rapid growth in the 1970s, when the area that is now West Valley City consisted of the three separate communities of Hunter, Granger, and Redwood. These three unincorporated areas merged in 1980 to form the present-day city. During the 2002 Olympic Winter Games, West Valley City was the official venue for men's and women's ice hockey.

Geography

West Valley City is located at 40°41′21″N 111°59′38″W / 40.68917°N 111.99389°W / 40.68917; -111.99389 (40.689181, -111.993867)Template:GR.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 91.8 km² (35.5 mi²). 91.7 km² (35.4 mi²) of it is land and 0.2 km² (0.1 mi²) of it (0.17%) is water.

Government

West Valley City has a nonpartisan, strong city manager form of government, which means that the city manager is the CEO, while the mayor fills the role of chairman of the board, with the City Council acting as the "board." The mayor is a voting member of the City Council. The West Valley City Council meets each Tuesday night at 6:30 PM, except fifth Tuesdays. City Hall is located at 3600 South Constitution Boulevard (2700 West).

The mayor and six councilors are elected to four-year terms. Mayoral elections are held the same year as three of the councilors. The other three councilors are staggered two years from the mayoral. Two council seats are at-large, or citywide, and the remaining four seats represent districts of approximately 28,000 residents. Officials are not subject to term limits. The most recent election was held in 2005.

Elected officials of West Valley City as of 2006
Official	Position	Term ends
Dennis J. Nordfelt	Mayor	2009
City Council members
Margaret Peterson	At-large	2007
Mike Winder	At-large	2009
Carolyn Burt	District 1	2007
Joel Coleman	District 2	2009
Russell K. Brooks	District 3	2007
Steve Vincent	District 4	2009

Demographics

As of the census Template:GR of 2000, there were 108,896 people, 32,253 households, and 25,931 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,187.7/km² (3,076.3/mi²). There were 33,488 housing units at an average density of 365.2/km² (946.0/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 78.21% White, 1.15% African American, 1.17% Native American, 4.29% Asian, 2.90% Pacific Islander, 8.75% from other races, and 3.53% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 18.48% of the population.

There were 32,253 households out of which 47.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.3% were married couples living together, 13.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 19.6% were non-families. 14.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 3.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.36 and the average family size was 3.71.

In the city the population was spread out with 33.7% under the age of 18, 12.9% from 18 to 24, 30.7% from 25 to 44, 17.4% from 45 to 64, and 5.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 27 years. For every 100 females there were 102.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 100.5 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $45,773, and the median income for a family was $48,593. Males had a median income of $32,116 versus $22,693 for females. The per capita income for the city was $15,031. About 6.7% of families and 8.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.0% of those under age 18 and 3.5% of those age 65 or over.