St. George, Utah
St. George is a city in and the county seat of Washington County, Utah, United States. Located in southwestern Utah on the Arizona border, it is the principal city of the St. George Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). The city lies in the northeasternmost part of the Mojave Desert, immediately south of the Pine Valley Mountains, which mark the southern boundary of the Great Basin. St. George lies slightly northwest of the Colorado Plateau, which ends at the Hurricane Fault.[6] The city is 118 miles (190 km) northeast of Las Vegas, Nevada, and 300 miles (480 km) south-southwest of Salt Lake City, Utah, on Interstate 15.
St. George, Utah
United States
1861
January 17, 1862
Mayor – Council
Michelle Randall
John Willis
77.151 sq mi (199.820 km2)
77.148 sq mi (199.811 km2)
0.003 sq mi (0.076 km2) 0.72%
2,697 ft (822 m)
95,342
102,519
1,329.0/sq mi (513.1/km2)
134,109 (US: 255th)
2,198.0/sq mi (848.5/km2)
197,680 (US: 234th)
81.40/sq mi (31.44/km2)
St. Georgian
UTC–6 (MDT)
49-65330
1455098[2]
6.75%[5]
The population was 95,342 at the 2020 census,[3] with the overall MSA having an estimated population of 180,279. St. George is the fifth largest city in Utah and most populous city in the state outside of the Wasatch Front.
The city was settled in 1861 as a cotton mission, earning it the nickname "Dixie". While the crop never became a successful commodity, the area steadily grew in population. Between 2000 and 2005, St. George emerged as the fastest growing metropolitan area in the United States.[7] Today, the St. George region is well known for its year-round outdoor recreation and proximity to several state parks, Zion National Park and The Grand Canyon. Utah Tech University is located in St. George and is an NCAA Division I institution.
Economy[edit]
SkyWest Airlines is headquartered in St. George, and is the primary airline provider at the city's regional airport.[32]
Walmart has a distribution center just outside the city and Family Dollar recently opened a distribution center in the Fort Pierce Industrial Park for the southwest region of the United States.
The Washington County School District main offices are based in the city.[33]
The Cafe Rio restaurant chain was started in St. George in 1997,[34] though is now headquartered in Salt Lake City.
The local economy is largely based on tourism, manufacturing, and new home construction.
Over a dozen golf courses offering year-round golfing, and various world-recognized events also make for large contributors to the city's economy. The city is a popular retirement destination[35] and also hosts a significant number of vacation homes for people who primarily live in colder areas.
Sports[edit]
The St. George community has been the home to two minor-league independent baseball teams. The first, the St. George Pioneerzz (originally the Zion Pioneerzz) who played in the independent Western Baseball League from 1999 to 2001, winning the league championship in 2000. A new franchise, managed by former major league player Darell Evans, was awarded to St. George in 2007. The team, the St. George Roadrunners, played in the independent Golden Baseball League before being taken over by the league and moved to Henderson, Nevada, in 2010.
St. George area high schools—Crimson Cliffs, Dixie, Desert Hills, Pine View, and Snow Canyon—all play in 4A state competition as part of 4A Region 9 with nearby Hurricane High School in Hurricane and Cedar high school in Cedar City.[36] Utah Tech University participates in the NCAA Division I Western Athletic Conference. In January 2019, Dixie State announced they were reclassifying to NCAA Division I and joining the Western Athletic Conference.[37] Former DSU athletes include Corey Dillon, Anton Palepoi, Reno Mahe, and Scott Brumfield, who all later played in the NFL and Marcus Banks, Lionel Hollins, Keon Clark, and Mo Baker were Dixie players who later played in the NBA. Utah Tech athletes are called Trailblazers (formerly The Rebels and Red Storm), and former Trailblazers Bradley Thompson and Brandon Lyon later played in major league baseball while Bruce Hurst of Dixie High School later played for the Boston Red Sox a pitcher, and then ended up managing the now retired Zion Pioneerzz for its inaugural 1999 season (1999).
St. George has hosted Ironman and Ironman 70.3 events including the 2021 Ironman 70.3 World Championships. In May 2021, the Ironman World Championship hosted by the city due to the COVID-19 and the original venue, Kona, being unable to host. This was the first time that the Ironman World Championship has been hosted outside of Hawai'i.
Parks and recreation[edit]
The St. George parks division manages over 20 city parks and nearly 60 miles of paved urban trails interlinking neighborhoods, communities, parks and open space. The city also has over a dozen award-winning golf courses making the area a Southwestern golfing mecca.[38] Major parks and sites include the Canyons Softball Complex; Little Valley Softball Complex; Pioneer Park; Tonaquint Nature Center; nationally-recognized Snake Hollow bike park; Thunder Junction All Abilities dinosaur theme park; Red Hills Desert Garden - a public water-conservation garden displaying both native and exotic flora suited for the local climate; three local skate parks; Legacy Regional Park and fairgrounds is just east of the city in Hurricane. The St. George area has several public recreation centers; the St. George Rec Center; Washington City Rec Center and the Sand Hollow Aquatics Center.[39][40] St. George is fast-becoming a popular rock climbing and mountain biking destination.[41]
Education[edit]
Primary and secondary education[edit]
The city of St. George is a part of the Washington County School District. The city's middle schools are located near or adjacent to the like-named high schools.
Infrastructure[edit]
Healthcare[edit]
St. George Regional Hospital is an Intermountain Health Care hospital and is the only 24-hour trauma center between Las Vegas and the Wasatch Front, serving the tri-state region of southern Utah, northwest Arizona and southeastern Nevada.[49]
Utilities[edit]
St. George is served by City of St. George Power, which serves most of the city, and Dixie Power, which serves southern areas of the city. Rocky Mountain Power serves parts of the greater St. George area. The municipal water department obtains its own water from wells located near Gunlock and in Snow Canyon State Park, Mountain Springs on Pine Valley Mountain. It also purchases wholesale water from the Washington County Water Conservancy District which is sourced from the Virgin River and purified at the Quail Creek Water Treatment Plant.[50]
St. George Telecommunications such as Internet, are provided by TDS Telecom (Cable/Fiber), CenturyLink (DSL/Fiber), Quantum(Fiber) and InfoWest (WISP/Fiber)
