Is Utah Leaving The Country?

I think I'm going to have to blame Salt Lake City for this. I'll be the first to admit this, but when I first started to visit Utah coming up from Southern California, I always considered the Beehive State to be a little bit backwards. And yes that even included, at the time, that area we know as the Wasatch Front.

I always thought Utah was a little “country bumpkinish.” Yes, even the Salt Lake valley at the time seemed a little bit on the rural side. And there was a time that it may have been true that our state as a whole identified more with the country lifestyle.

So Does A George Strait Song Tell The Utah Story?

It seems we don't anymore. At least we don't relate to life as portrayed in a country song. Zippia set out to to see which state in the nation most reflected the lifestyle reflected in a country song, and Utah, well, we're just not that much into that description of the country lifestyle.

Of the 48 states ranked (Hawaii and Alaska were excluded), we came in 38^th ranked state that reflected the life portrayed in a country song. Idaho, Wyoming, Nevada, Montana, Oregon (Oregon!??!), and New Mexico all came in the top ten of states that had life most like a country song. Oregon! Even Colorado was closer to the life of a country song coming in at number 11. George Strait fans in Utah, you may wish to hang your head.

Read More: Life On Dirt Road In Utah

Now, maybe for those of us who more relate to the “country lifestyle” it might be worth it to look at the metrics Zippia used to see if they accurately reflect what is really happening in the state. The Zippia folks decided that the lifestyle reflected in the country song lifestyle consisted of how many people had dogs, how much alcohol was consumed by individuals in the state (and, let's face it, there's a lot of drinking songs in country music), how many divorces happen in the state, and having the space and freedom you need to live the way you want to.

We did pretty good in dog ownership. Zippia says 29% of us in Utah own dogs. The people at Pawilcy Advisor say that number was more like 36%. Utah also did pretty good in population density (space and freedom) with only 38 people per square mile. But in the drinking and divorce rates (remember, in these metrics Zippia was looking for higher numbers) the average Utahn only consumed 1 gallon of alcohol, and our divorce rate was at a paltry 1.16%.

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But, for what it's worth, I'm not sure the lyrics in country music are really the measurement of what constitues a country lifestyle. To my mind, the country lifestyle often celebrates traditional values such as hospitality, faith, and patriotism. Church gatherings, community events, county fairs, and local music are important cultural staples. In those metrics, Utah seems to be doing pretty good. Maybe even in Salt Lake City.