Utah County, Utah

Utah County is a county in Utah, United States, about 38 miles south of Salt Lake City. It had a
population of 659,399 at the 2020 census, an estimated 759,859 by 2025, and covers 2,144 square
miles (5,550 km2) centred near 40°07′N 111°40′W.

Provo is the county seat and its largest city; its postal code is 84601. The county holds 20
cities, 4 incorporated towns and 7 census-designated places, and it runs on Mountain Time. Its
FIPS code is 49049.

Towns & Villages in Utah County

Utah County has 31 named places on record: 24 incorporated cities and towns and 7
census-designated places (CDPs) with no local government of their own. Utah does not use civil
townships, so places here are not grouped by township. CDP stands for census designated place.

Two pairs are easy to confuse. Cedar Hills and Cedar Fort are different towns 20 miles apart
— Cedar Hills is a suburb wedged between Highland and American Fork, while Cedar Fort sits
in the rural Cedar Valley west of Eagle Mountain. Highland and Cedar Hills also share the ZIP
code 84062–84003 split with American Fork, since the Postal Service routes their mail
through the same American Fork office rather than issuing each city its own code. Lake Shore and
Palmyra, both small CDPs south of Utah Lake, share the Spanish Fork ZIP 84660 for the same reason.
Older lists of this county mixed in defunct mining camps such as Dividend, Ironton and Keigley
near the Tintic and Santaquin ranges — none of them have residents left to count, so they are
not carried in the table above.

Geography

Utah County sits in central Utah, where the Wasatch Range drops steeply into a broad
lake-filled valley. Utah Lake, a shallow freshwater lake
covering roughly 150 square miles, occupies the middle of the valley floor at an elevation of
4,487 feet. Of the county’s 2,144 square miles, 2,003 are land and 141 are water, nearly all of it
Utah Lake itself. Mount Timpanogos, at 11,752 feet, and the twin-peaked Mount Nebo, at 11,928 feet
the county’s highest point, both rise along the eastern Wasatch crest and are visible from most of
the valley floor.

Salt Lake County lies to the north, Wasatch County to the east, Sanpete County to the
southeast, Juab County to the south, and Tooele County to the west across the Lake Mountains and
Cedar Valley. Salt Lake County, Wasatch County, Sanpete County, Juab County and Tooele County all border Utah County
directly.

Demographics

Utah County had a population of 659,399 at the 2020 census, and the latest estimate puts the
county near 759,859 residents, growth driven largely by Eagle Mountain, Saratoga Springs and
Vineyard on the valley’s west side. Provo and Orem are by far the two largest communities, together
holding roughly a third of the county’s population. Median household income runs $77,057 (2020
ACS), below Utah’s statewide 2023 figure of $93,421, reflecting the large student populations at
Brigham Young University and Utah Valley University. Population density works out to roughly 329
people per square mile of land, concentrated along the Interstate 15 corridor from Santaquin to
Lehi.

Economy & Local Life

Education and technology dominate the county’s economy. Brigham Young University in Provo and
Utah Valley University in Orem together enroll more than 80,000 students and are among the
county’s largest employers. Lehi anchors the “Silicon Slopes” tech corridor, home to offices for
Adobe, Microsoft and Ancestry.com. Vineyard’s redevelopment of the former Geneva Steel site now
hosts Utah Valley University’s expanding north campus. Spanish Fork’s largest private employer,
Mountain Country Foods, and a cluster of manufacturers around American Fork and Springville round
out the county’s industrial base. The county’s biggest annual event is BYU football home game
weekends each autumn at LaVell Edwards Stadium, which regularly draw crowds larger than most of
the county’s own cities.

History

The Utah Territorial Legislature organized Utah County on 31 January 1850, one of the
territory’s original six counties. Its name comes from the valley, itself named for the Ute people
by way of the Spanish word “Yuta.” Mormon settlers had reached the valley the previous year, 1849,
founding Fort Utah on the Provo River.

That settlement led quickly to conflict. In February 1850, after months of rising tension over
land and livestock, territorial militia attacked a Timpanogos Ute encampment near Fort Utah in
what became known as the Battle at Fort Utah, killing dozens of Ute men and displacing the
survivors from the valley they had long occupied. Fort Utah was renamed Provo later that year and
became the county seat. Payson’s original name, Peteetneet Creek, honored a Ute leader who had
tried to keep the peace during that period.

Getting There

Interstate 15 runs the length of the county through Santaquin, Payson, Springville, Provo,
Orem, American Fork and Lehi. US Route 6 crosses the southern county toward Price, and US Routes
89 and 189 serve Provo Canyon and the county’s eastern towns.

• Salt Lake City — about 40 miles north
• Nephi — about 20 miles south
• Heber City — about 25 miles northeast
• Price — about 65 miles southeast

Salt Lake City International Airport, roughly 45 miles north of Provo, is the nearest major
commercial airport. Provo Municipal Airport, on the city’s west side, handles regional commercial
service and general aviation. Amtrak’s California Zephyr stops at the Provo station on South
Freedom Boulevard, connecting to Salt Lake City and Denver; FrontRunner commuter rail also
terminates in Provo.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Utah County located?
It sits in north-central Utah, about 38 miles south of Salt Lake City, bordered by Salt Lake,
Wasatch, Sanpete, Juab and Tooele counties.

What is the population of Utah County?
659,399 at the 2020 census, with an estimate near 759,859 by 2025.

How big is Utah County?
2,144 square miles (5,550 km2), of which 2,003 square miles are land and 141 are water, mostly
Utah Lake.

What is the county seat of Utah County?
Provo is the county seat and largest city.

How many towns and cities are in Utah County?
24 incorporated places — 20 cities and 4 towns — plus 7 census-designated places
including Benjamin, Lake Shore and Palmyra.

What ZIP codes does Utah County use?
84601 for Provo, 84043 for Lehi, 84660 for Spanish Fork and Lake Shore, 84045 for Saratoga
Springs, and separate codes for most other incorporated cities.

What is Utah County known for?
Brigham Young University and Utah Valley University, the Lehi-based Silicon Slopes tech corridor,
and Utah Lake, which fills much of the valley floor.

More counties in this state: Towns and villages in Utah.