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Orem, Utah

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Country
  
United States

County
  
Utah

Town charter granted
  
May 5, 1919

Elevation
  
1,455 m

Local time
  
Sunday 9:00 AM

State
  
Utah

Settled
  
1877

Named for
  
Walter C. Orem

Area
  
47.4 km²

Population
  
91,648 (2013)

Orem, Utah wwworemusuploads786678668226730412jpg393

Weather
  
4°C, Wind S at 6 km/h, 84% Humidity

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 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.

Contents

Map of Orem, UT, USA

Orem uses the slogan "Family City USA." In 2010 Forbes rated it the 5th best place to raise a family. Also, Time magazine rated the Provo-Orem area as the best place to live for spiritual well-being, due to a high population of members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 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 Vermont birth town of Joseph Smith, founder of the Latter Day Saint movement. 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 1900s. Orem was incorporated in 1919.

Geography

Orem is located at 40°17′56″N 111°41′47″W (40.298753, -111.696486). Its average elevation is 4756 feet.

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

Demographics

As of 2011 the 88,112 residents of Orem had a racial and ethnic composition of 89.3% white, 0.9% black or African American, 0.9% Native American, 1.6% Asian, 0.5% Pacific Islanders, 4% non-Hispanics reporting some other race, 2.9% two or more races reported and 14.8% Hispanic, as Orem has a large Mexican American community with other Latinos residing in the city. This contrasts with the census of 2000, which showed a racial makeup of 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. The 2000 Census counted 84,324 people, 23,382 households, and 19,079 families. The population density at that time 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). 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 $52,703, and the median income for a family was $59,066. Males had a median income of $42,249 versus $30,742 for females. The per capita income for the city was $20,971. About 10.3% of families and 13.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 16% of those under age 18 and 6% of those age 65 or over.

As of 2002, over 97% of all church going citizens of Orem are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

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 (closed as of summer 2016).

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 bachelor's and master's 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:

  • B. M. Jolley (1941-1945)
  • J. W. Gillman (1946-1953)
  • Ray E. Loveless (1953)
  • Leland Jarman (1954-1957)
  • Luzell Robbins (1958)
  • V. Emil Hansen (1958-1959)
  • Melbourne D. Wallace (1960-1961)
  • G. Milton Jameson (1962-1965)
  • James E. Mangum (1966-1967)
  • Winston M. Crawford (1968-1973)
  • James E. Mangum (1974-1981)
  • Delance W. Squire (1982-1985)
  • S. Blaine Willes (1986-1991)
  • Joyce Johnson (1991)
  • Stella Welsh (1992-1997)
  • Joseph Nelson (died in office) (1998-1999)
  • Chris Yandow (1999-2000)
  • Jerry C. Washburn (1999–2011) Died on Sept. 26, 2011 after a long battle with cancer.
  • James T. Evans (2011-2014)
  • Richard F. Brunst, Jr. (2014-Current)
  • Economy

    Orem has a wide variety of stores and businesses. 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:

    Company startups

    Several notable companies started in Orem:

  • Blendtec
  • Bluehost
  • Fishbowl Inventory
  • Flexsim
  • Mity-Lite
  • Novell
  • Omniture (now owned by Adobe Systems)
  • PowerQuest
  • SecurityMetrics
  • Wahoo Studios
  • NinjaBee, subdivision of Wahoo Studios
  • WordPerfect (at one time headquartered in the basement of the Orem City offices)(WordPerfect is now owned by Corel)
  • Zuka Juice
  • Transportation

    The Orem station serves Utah Transit Authority's FrontRunner train.

    Notable people

  • Alan Ashton - co-founder of WordPerfect
  • Ben Cahoon - receiver for the Montreal Alouettes
  • William Campbell - California state legislator
  • Ally Condie - New York Times bestselling author of the Matched series
  • James C. Christensen - fantasy, religious and surrealism artist
  • LaVell Edwards - BYU football coach
  • Travis Hansen - former guard for Atlanta Hawks
  • 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
  • Paul Kruger (American football) - NFL linebacker for the Cleveland Browns
  • 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 and Silver Medalist at 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics
  • Shauna Rohbock - silver medalist in women's bobsleigh at the Turin 2006 Olympics
  • Howard Tayler -aAuthor of Schlock Mercenary
  • Erin Thorn - WNBA guard
  • Dan Wells - author of the I Am Not a Serial Killer and Partials book series
  • Notable groups include:

  • Rock band The Used
  • City parks

    City parks include:

  • Bonneville Park
  • Cascade Park
  • Cherryhill Park
  • City Center Park
  • Kwanzen Community Park
  • Foothill Park
  • Geneva Park
  • Hillcrest Park
  • Lakeside Sports Park
  • Mt. Timpanogos Park
  • Nielson's Grove Park
  • Northridge Park
  • Orchard Park
  • SCERA Park
  • Sharon Park
  • Skate Park
  • Springwater Park
  • Westmore Park
  • Windsor Park
  • References

    Orem, Utah Wikipedia