Officially, the town on Utila is called East Harbour, but most just refer to it as Utila. The main area is small. You could walk from end to end in ten minutes. But there are many houses outside of the main area now and more being built every day. Its popularity is growing by leaps and bounds.
Utila has an interesting mix of people. If I were to make wild guesses from what I saw, I would say that it is about 1/3 natives, 1/3 transplanted mainlanders, and 1/3 tourists.
The native islanders are black and white and speak English with an island cadence I could listen to all day. The mainland transplants (who the natives refer to as the "Spaniards") are Spanish speaking Latinos. The tourists were from all over - U.S., Australia, New Zealand, Germany, Belgium...
Many, probably most, tourists come to dive. Quite a few end up staying on the island for months or even becoming a dive instructor themselves. There is a definite hippy, backpacker vibe.
You can find very cheap accommodations on the island. There are lots of food options and most are surprisingly good for such a small town.
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