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1 / 12#12. Cache County and Davis County
- Cache County population: 142,393
- Davis County population: 373,207
- Social connectedness index: 312,971
Most socially connected counties in Utah
In today's digital age, social media platforms enable people to bridge geographic distances and connect with their friends, family, and community, no matter where they are. According to a 2022 Gallup and Meta study, at least 1 in 3 people across seven countries, including the U.S., said they used social media to interact with others at least once a day in the past week.
While social media has its drawbacks—such as pulling attention away from other tasks or fostering a problematic comparison culture—it remains a vital tool for helping people stay connected.
A majority of students in grades 3 to 12 said social media helped them develop relationships, learn social skills, and make a positive impact in their community, according to a 2024 report from The Social Institute.
Spokeo compiled a ranking of the most socially connected counties in Utah using 2021 data from Facebook, based on a national analysis. County pairs were ranked by their social connectedness index, which measures the relative probability that two individuals across two locations are friends with each other on Facebook. The social connectedness index is a scaled value up to a billion. Larger indexes indicate a greater share of Facebook friends between county pairs.
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2 / 12#11. Tooele County and Salt Lake County
- Tooele County population: 82,051
- Salt Lake County population: 1,185,813
- Social connectedness index: 332,243
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3 / 12#10. Kane County and Washington County
- Kane County population: 8,425
- Washington County population: 202,452
- Social connectedness index: 773,156
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4 / 12#9. Weber County and Morgan County
- Weber County population: 271,926
- Morgan County population: 13,000
- Social connectedness index: 1,195,406
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5 / 12#8. Summit County and Wasatch County
- Summit County population: 42,759
- Wasatch County population: 37,144
- Social connectedness index: 2,056,474
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6 / 12#7. Sanpete County and Juab County
- Sanpete County population: 30,277
- Juab County population: 13,023
- Social connectedness index: 3,107,407
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7 / 12#6. Iron County and Beaver County
- Iron County population: 64,211
- Beaver County population: 7,233
- Social connectedness index: 3,343,863
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8 / 12#5. Grand County and San Juan County
- Grand County population: 9,706
- San Juan County population: 14,358
- Social connectedness index: 3,513,024
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9 / 12#4. Duchesne County and Uintah County
- Duchesne County population: 20,477
- Uintah County population: 37,747
- Social connectedness index: 6,637,628
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10 / 12#3. Wayne County and Sevier County
- Wayne County population: 2,614
- Sevier County population: 22,344
- Social connectedness index: 7,837,304
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11 / 12#2. Carbon County and Emery County
- Carbon County population: 20,609
- Emery County population: 10,144
- Social connectedness index: 10,499,911
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12 / 12#1. Piute County and Garfield County
- Piute County population: 1,550
- Garfield County population: 5,314
- Social connectedness index: 16,717,800
This story features data reporting by Karim Noorani, writing by Kayla Zhu, and is part of a series utilizing data automation across 46 states.
