This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
For the seventh consecutive year, for reasons that are likely obvious to most Utahns, the 33rd largest state produced more Eagle Scouts than any other.
But about 1,000 fewer Utah Scouts earned the prized medal in 2015 than in 2010, amid reports of declining contributions and a 2015 statement from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints that it was "deeply troubled" by the Scouts' vote to end a ban on openly gay adult leaders.
A comparison of the latest U.S. Census population estimates with data shared by the Boy Scouts of America shows that a Utah boy was more than 10 times as likely as his American peers to become an Eagle Scout in 2015.
That's no surprise given that Utah is home to about 200,000 of the nation's 2.3 million Boy Scouts. Put another way: One in 15 Utahns is currently a Cub or Boy Scout. Add in the gender and age requirements, and that's more than half the eligible population.
And while Utah's total of 5,765 is its second lowest in six years (with a high of 6,722 in 2010), it's an increase from the eight-year nadir of 5,480 in 2014 — which would still have been a bumper crop for any other state.
To achieve the organization's highest rank, a Scout must accumulate 21 life skills merit badges before his 18th birthday and complete a service project of his own design. Between 6 and 7 percent of eligible Scouts were named Eagle Scouts in 2015.
The local prevalence of Eagle Scouts is explained by the Scouts' strong ties with the LDS Church, of which about 60 percent of Utahns are members.
The state's three Scout councils told The Tribune in 2015 that between 96 and 99 percent of their members were in units sponsored by church.
The church announced last year in a news release that it "will go forward as a chartering organization of BSA" despite the organization's vote to allow openly gay adult leaders.
Late last year, Orem's National Parks Council — which is the nation's largest local BSA council and has the most Eagle Scouts, at 2,373 — announced that it was planning layoffs because of a decline in contributions.
Twitter: @matthew_piper —
Utah Eagle Scouts
2015 • 5,765
2014 • 5,480
2013 • 6,250
2012 • 6,576
2011 • 6,158
2010 • 6,722
2009 • 5,735
2008 • 5,780