Origin

Under the direction of Brigham Young, Provo City was settled by Mormon pioneers in the Spring of 1849. John S. Higbee led 33 families (150 people) from Salt Lake City to the Provo Area, a difficult three day travel. On April 3, 1849 , the pioneers started construction of a fort on the south bank of the Provo Rover three miles east of Utah Lake. In 1850, the settlers moved east toward higher ground. Blocks of four acres were surveyed and divided into parcels for home sites. Provo City became the county seat Utah County on January 31, 1850.

John Clifton Moffitt, The Story of Provo Utah, Press Publishing Co. 1975

Provo Labor Force

By far, the most important asset Provo has to offer a potential employer is its people. Provo has a very productive and reliable labor pool which forms the nucleus of Utah Valley's 176,702 person work force. Provo's strategic central location allows its companies to draw upon both the Provo metro area labor market and the Salt Lake Valley labor market, which adds an additional 600,000 plus workers to the pool. However, the quantity of Provo 's labor force is not nearly as impressive as its quality. Woods and Pools Economic declared Provo "one of the nation's most intelligent work forces." Among the outstanding qualities of the Provo work force are foreign language ability, foreign service experience, high education levels, and a strong work ethic. In Provo turnover is low because people want to live here. "In Silicon Valley , people jump ship and take their ideas with them, but we've kept our technicians and built on their experience." - Alan Ashton, founder and former CEO of Word Perfect.

Population

Provo City experienced a 21.1% growth rate during the 1990's or approximately 2.11% average growth rate per year.

1970	53,131
1980	74,111
1990	86,835
2000	105,166

Additional Utah County Occupational Employment Statistics are available from the United States Labor Department, Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Wages

In 2001, Utah 's average annual nonagricultural pay was $29,700 -up 3.1% from the 2000 average. This is the seventh year in a row that average wage increases in Utah have outpaced increases in inflation, as measured by the U.S. Consumer Price Index (CPI-U), but they are still only 83% of the U.S. average. The loss of high-paying mining and metals-producing jobs in the early and mid-'80s helped contribute to the decline. However, Utah 's demographics also play a part. Utah has a large percentage of young people in the labor market and a relatively young labor force. Young people are usually paid less than older workers. In addition, Utah has a higher proportion of part-time workers than the U.S. in general, which also tends to pull the average wage down. Shortages of workers from 1996 through 2000 are thought to have been a factor in the relatively rapid wage increases of those years, but average annual pay in 2002 will likely slow with the economy.

State of Utah, dced

Utilities

Provo City is fully equipped to handle the utility needs of your company. Our municipally owned energy department is well positioned to meet the growing power demands of the business community, and we are prepared to do so at a significantly lower price than the national average. The American Chamber of Commerce Researchers Association state that Provo's utilities are 15% below the national average. Our utility infrastructure is constantly being upgraded in response to community-wide residential and industrial development. In addition to comparatively lower costs, utility services are easily accessible throughout Provo, ensuring our customers convenient, reliable service. Provo has also taken pains to ensure that all of our systems are environmentally sound, meeting or exceeding federal and state standards.

Utility Summary

Natural Gas
Questar is the Power Supplier

Electricity
Provo City Power is a municipally owned electric company. Provo has a geothermal plant in southern Utah and hydroelectric facilities in Northern Utah.

Telephone
QWest supplies Provo and Utah County with a complete state-of-the-art fiber optic telecommunications system capable of handling any current phone technology

Water
Provo City 's water supply originates from cold mountain springs, deep wells, Deer Creek Reservoir, and Jordanelle Reservoir. Water demand prior to completion of the Jordanelle Dam was only half of total supply. With the completion of the Jordanelle Dam the water demand will be significantly less than half of the supply.

Water Reclamation
Provo has a modern, award-winning, waste water treatment facility that is currently operating well below capacity.

Solid Waste Disposal
Provo not only provides full capacity sanitation and solid waste disposal, but also provides a mulching program to help reuse "green waste".

Crime Rates

Crime rates are tallied by part-one crimes, which include; homicide, forcible rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, larceny/theft, motor vehicle theft, and arson. Utah County has the second lowest violent crime rate according to the FBI's annual Uniform Crime Report.

Crimes per 1,000 Population (2001)
US Department of Justice and Federal Bureau of Investigations, 2000

Provo	3,418
Utah	4,243
National	4,160

Information from www.provo.org and prepared in December 2002.
Provo City Community Development Department
351 West Center Street, Provo, Utah 84601
Phone: (801) 852-6400 Fax: (801) 852-6417