Rich County is a county in Utah, United States, along the Wyoming and Idaho borders in the northeast corner of the state. It had a population of 2,510 at the 2020 census and covers 1,086 square miles (2,810 km2) centred near 41°37′N 111°14′W.
Randolph is the county seat, and its postal code is 84064. The county has three incorporated towns (Randolph, Laketown, and Woodruff), one incorporated city (Garden City), and one census-designated place (Garden). Rich County runs on Mountain Time.
Towns & Villages in Rich County
Rich County has four named communities on the map today, plus a couple of former settlements now largely abandoned. The list below carries a Type column: incorporated cities and towns have their own municipal government; Garden is an unincorporated census-designated place recognised by the Census Bureau but not self-governing.
| Place | Type | Pop. | ZIP |
|---|---|---|---|
| Randolph | Town · seat | 467 | 84064 |
| Garden City | City | 1,057 | 84028 |
| Laketown | Town | 386 | 84038 |
| Woodruff | Town | 223 | 84086 |
| Garden | CDP | — | 84028 |
The old county list also carried “Lakota,” “Old Limber Pine,” “Pickelville,” and “Sage Creek Junction.” Pickelville is a real historic resort community on Bear Lake, folded today into the Garden City area and served by Garden City’s own ZIP code; the other three names could not be verified against any current gazetteer or historical record and are omitted rather than guessed. Argyle, a 19th-century mining camp in the county’s mountains, is also long abandoned and not listed as an active place.
ZIP Codes
- 84064 — Randolph (county seat)
- 84028 — Garden City (also serves the Garden CDP and the Pickelville lakeshore)
- 84038 — Laketown
- 84086 — Woodruff
Every incorporated place in Rich County has its own dedicated ZIP code; there is no shared rural-route ZIP covering multiple towns.
Geography
Rich County sits on Utah’s high northeastern plateau, where the Bear River Range and the Wasatch Back give way to broad ranching valleys. Bridger Peak, at 9,255 feet, is the county’s high point. The southern half of Bear Lake — one of the largest natural lakes in the Intermountain West and famous locally for its turquoise color — lies along the county’s eastern edge, shared with Idaho. The Bear River also crosses the county, feeding ranchland before looping north into Idaho. Roughly 5% of the county’s area is water.
Rich County borders Cache County to the south, Weber County to the southwest, Morgan County to the west, and Summit County to the southwest, with the Idaho state line to the north and the Wyoming state line to the east.
Demographics
Rich County’s 2020 population of 2,510 makes it one of Utah’s least-populous counties. Garden City is the largest community at 1,057 residents, followed by Randolph’s 467. Median household income in Rich County runs below the Utah median of $93,421, reflecting an economy still weighted toward ranching rather than the wage jobs of the Wasatch Front. With 1,029 square miles of land, the county’s population density is only about 2.4 people per square mile — among the lowest in the state.
Economy & Local Life
Cattle grazing occupies more than half the county’s land, and ranching remains the backbone of the local economy alongside hay and alfalfa farming in the Bear Lake and Randolph valleys. Garden City, on the Utah shore of Bear Lake, anchors a summer tourism economy built around boating, fishing, and the lake’s raspberry farms — the annual Bear Lake Raspberry Days festival draws visitors from across northern Utah and southeastern Idaho every August. Winters are long and cold; Woodruff has recorded one of the lowest temperatures ever measured in Utah.
History
Rich County was created by the Utah territorial legislature on January 16, 1864, originally under the name Richland County; the name was shortened to Rich in 1868. It honors Charles C. Rich, an early Latter-day Saint apostle and colonizer who helped settle the Bear Lake Valley. The county’s original boundaries extended into what are now Wyoming and Idaho before later territorial and state-line adjustments trimmed it to its present shape. Randolph, founded by Mormon pioneers in the 1870s, has served as county seat since incorporation.
Getting There
U.S. Route 89 is the county’s main highway, entering from Logan Canyon to the south and running north through Randolph toward the Wyoming line; State Routes 16, 30, and 39 connect the county’s smaller communities. Interstate 80 is not directly accessible from within the county and must be reached via Wyoming or Cache County.
- Logan, Utah — 35 miles south
- Evanston, Wyoming — 30 miles east
- Ogden, Utah — 60 miles southwest
- Montpelier, Idaho — 20 miles north
The nearest commercial airport is Logan-Cache Airport, with fuller service available at Salt Lake City International Airport, about 100 miles to the south.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Rich County?
Rich County is in the far northeast corner of Utah, bordering Idaho to the north and Wyoming to the east, centred on the southern end of Bear Lake.
What is the population of Rich County?
Rich County had a population of 2,510 at the 2020 census, making it one of Utah’s least-populous counties.
How big is Rich County?
Rich County covers 1,086 square miles (2,810 km2), including about 58 square miles of water in Bear Lake.
What is the county seat of Rich County?
Randolph is the county seat.
How many towns are in Rich County?
Rich County has one city (Garden City), three incorporated towns (Randolph, Laketown, and Woodruff), and one census-designated place (Garden).
What ZIP codes are in Rich County?
Rich County’s ZIP codes are 84064 (Randolph), 84028 (Garden City), 84038 (Laketown), and 84086 (Woodruff).
What is Rich County known for?
Rich County is known for the Utah side of Bear Lake, its raspberry farms and Raspberry Days festival, and some of the coldest recorded winter temperatures in the state.
More counties in this state: Towns and villages in Utah.