Ogden ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Weber County, Utah, United States, located approximately east of the Great Salt Lake and north of Salt Lake City. The population was 87,321 in 2020, according to the United States Census Bureau, making it Utah's eighth largest city. The city served as a major railway hub through much of its history, and still handles a great deal of freight rail traffic which makes it a convenient location for manufacturing and commerce. Ogden is also known for its many historic buildings, proximity to the Wasatch Mountains, and as the location of Weber State University.

Ogden is a principal city of the Ogden-Clearfield metropolitan area, which includes all of Weber, Morgan, Davis, and Box Elder counties. The 2010 Census placed the Metro population at 597,159. In 2010, Forbes rated the Metro as America's 6th best place to raise a family. Ogden has had a sister city relationship to Hof in Bavaria, Germany, since 1954.

History

Originally named Fort Buenaventura, Ogden was the first permanent settlement by people of European descent in what is now Utah. It was established by the trapper Miles Goodyear in 1846 about a mile west of where downtown Ogden sits today.

In November 1847, Captain James Brown purchased all the land now comprising Weber County together with some livestock and Fort Buenaventura for $3,000 (equivalent to $ in ). The land was conveyed to Captain Brown in a Mexican Land Grant, this area being at that time a part of Mexico. The settlement was then called Brownsville, after Captain James Brown, but was later named Ogden for a brigade leader of the Hudson's Bay Company, Peter Skene Ogden, who had trapped in the Weber Valley a generation earlier. There is some confusion about which "Ogden" was the first to set foot in the area. A Samuel Ogden traveled through the western United States on an exploration trip in 1818. The site of the original Fort Buenaventura is now a Weber County park.

Ogden is the closest sizable city to the Golden Spike location at Promontory Summit, Utah, where the first transcontinental railroad was joined in 1869. It was known as a major passenger railroad junction owing to its location along major east–west and north–south routes, prompting the local chamber of commerce to adopt the motto, "You can't get anywhere without coming to Ogden." Railroad passengers traveling west to San Francisco from the eastern United States typically passed through Ogden (and not through the larger Salt Lake City to the south). However, Amtrak, the national passenger rail system, no longer serves Ogden. Passengers who want to travel to and from Ogden by rail must travel via FrontRunner commuter rail to Salt Lake City and Provo. Renowned Danish impressionistic writer Herman Bang died in Ogden in 1912 during a lecture tour in the United States.

In 1972, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints completed construction of and dedicated the Ogden Utah Temple in Ogden. The temple was built to serve the area's large LDS population. In 2010, the LDS Church announced they would renovate the Ogden Temple and the adjacent Tabernacle. The work which began in 2011 includes an update to the exterior, the removal of the Tabernacle's steeple to make the Temple's steeple a main focus, and a new underground parking garage and gardens. The Temple was rededicated in 2014.

Because Ogden had historically been Utah's second-largest city, it is home to a large number of historic buildings. However, by the 1980s, several Salt Lake City suburbs and Provo had surpassed Ogden in population.

The Defense Depot Ogden Utah operated in Ogden from 1941 to 1997. Some of its have been converted into a commercial and industrial park called the Business Depot Ogden, colloquially known as "BDO".

Two ships in the United States Navy have been named after Ogden: in 1943, and in 1964. On September 17, 2024, the National Park Service announced that Ogden had been named a World War II Heritage City.

Geography

Topography Ogden is located at the foot of the Wasatch Mountains. This is at about the same latitude as Benevento in Campania in southern Italy.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has an area of , all land. Elevations in the city range from about above sea level.

The Ogden and Weber Rivers, which originate in the mountains to the east, flow through the city and meet at a confluence just west of the city limits. Pineview Dam is in the Ogden River Canyon east of Ogden. The reservoir behind the dam provides over of water storage and water recreation for the area.

Prominent mountain peaks near Ogden include Mount Ogden to the east and Ben Lomond to the north.

Streetscape

From south to west to north, Ogden's neighboring towns are South Ogden, Roy, West Haven, Marriott-Slaterville, Farr West, Harrisville, Pleasant View and North Ogden. The city is - like many others in the US - characterized by a spacious street grid with many blocks. The streets are numbered from north to south, which is expressed in the corresponding street names. By extending the numbers with directions ("E" for east and "W" for west) their relative relation to the central point is made clear. In the center of the city, the blocks from Union Station along 25th Street, the north-to-south oriented cross streets are named after former U.S. presidents such as Lincoln Avenue, Grant Avenue, Washington Boulevard, Adams Avenue, Jefferson Avenue, and Madison Avenue. The central connecting street in north–south orientation is Harrison Boulevard. The city area is divided into six districts: in the North End, including West Ogden, Downtown and East Central; in the East, including East Bench and Shadow Valley.

Climate According to the Köppen climate classification, Ogden experiences either a Mediterranean climate (Csa) or a humid continental climate (Dsa) depending on which variant of the system is used. Summers are hot and relatively dry, with highs frequently reaching , with a few days per year reaching . Rain is provided in the form of infrequent thunderstorms during summer, usually between late July and mid-September during the height of monsoon season. The Pacific storm season usually lasts from about October through May, with precipitation reaching its peak in spring. Snow usually first occurs in late October or early November, with the last occurring sometime in April.

Demographics

Racial and ethnic composition +Ogden, Utah – Racial and ethnic compositionRace / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)Pop.2000Pop.2010% 2000% 2010White alone (NH)54,21652,55752,74370.20%63.46%60.40%Black or African American alone (NH)1,6301,5531,7592.11%1.88%2.01%Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)6817016960.88%0.85%0.80%Asian alone (NH)1,0239661,1971.32%1.17%1.37%Pacific Islander alone (NH)1092413310.14%0.29%0.38%Other race alone (NH)691504040.09%0.18%0.46%Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)1,2451,7173,2931.61%2.07%3.77%Hispanic or Latino (any race)18,25324,94026,89823.64%30.11%30.80%Total77,22682,82587,321100.00%100.00%100.00%

2020 census As of the 2020 census, Ogden had a population of 87,321. The median age was 31.8 years. 25.3% of residents were under the age of 18 and 11.2% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 103.9 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 102.7 males age 18 and over.

99.9% of residents lived in urban areas, while 0.1% lived in rural areas.

There were 31,781 households in Ogden, of which 33.2% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 41.0% were married-couple households, 23.5% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 27.1% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 29.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

There were 33,962 housing units, of which 6.4% were vacant. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.5% and the rental vacancy rate was 6.2%.

+ Racial composition as of the 2020 census Race Number PercentWhite 58,704 67.2%Black or African American 1,980 2.3%American Indian and Alaska Native 1,488 1.7%Asian 1,321 1.5%Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander 368 0.4%Some other race 12,992 14.9%Two or more races 10,468 12.0%Hispanic or Latino (of any race) 26,898 30.8%

2010 census As of the census of 2010, there were 82,825 people living in the city. The population density was . There were 29,763 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 75.02% White, 2.24% African American, 1.40% Native American, 1.20% Asian, 0.3% Pacific Islander, 3.7% from other races, and 3.7% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 23.64% of the population.

2000 census As of the census of 2000, there were 77,226 people, 27,384 households, and 18,402 families living in the city. The population density was . There were 29,763 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 79.01% White, 2.31% African American, 1.20% Native American, 1.43% Asian, 0.17% Pacific Islander, 12.95% from other races, and 2.93% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race were 23.64% of the population.

There were 27,384 households, out of which 35.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.4% were married couples living together, 13.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.8% were non-families. 26.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.73 and the average family size was 3.32.

In the city 28.8% of the population was under the age of 18, 14.6% from 18 to 24, 29.0% from 25 to 44, 16.3% from 45 to 64, and 11.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 29 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 $34,047, and the median income for a family was $38,950. Males had a median income of $29,006 versus $22,132 for females. The per capita income for the city was $16,632. About 12.6% of families and 16.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 20.2% of those under age 18 and 9.3% of those age 65 or over.

2017 As of 2017 the largest self-identified ancestry groups in Ogden, Utah were English (15.3%) German (9.8%) American (6.7%) Irish (6.6%) Scottish (3.7%) Italian (3.4%) Danish (2.9%) French (2.1%) Swedish (1.9%) Welsh (1.7%)https://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ACS/17_5YR/DP02/1600000US4955980

Government and politics

Ogden is governed under the mayor-council form of government, in which the full-time mayor serves as an executive while the seven-member part-time council serves as the legislative branch. All these elected officials serve four-year terms, with elections occurring in odd-numbered years and terms beginning in January of even-numbered years.

The mayor, Ben Nadolski, took office on January 2, 2024. The city council members are Bart Blair, Angela Choberka, Dave Graf, Richard Hyer, Shaun Myers, Ken Richey, and Marcia White. Four of the council members represent the city's four municipal districts, while the other three (Blair, Myers, and White) are elected at-large by voters from the entire city.