UT · Salt Lake County · 199,723 (2020) · state capital · elevation about 4,225 ft
Salt Lake City, Utah
Salt Lake City lies in a valley between the Wasatch Range and the Great Salt Lake in northern Utah. It is the capital and largest city of Utah, though as a city proper it is the smallest on this site.
- State
- Utah
- County
- Salt Lake County
- Population (2020)
- 199,723
- Rank
- 50th of the 50 cities mapped here; outside the national top 100
- Coordinates
- 40.76°N, 111.89°W
- Time zone
- Mountain
- Metro area
- about 1.26 million
- State capital
- Yes – capital of Utah
Where Salt Lake City is
Salt Lake City is at 40.76°N, 111.89°W in Salt Lake County, of which it is the county seat. The city covers about 110 square miles at roughly 4,225 feet above sea level, at the north end of the Salt Lake Valley on the benches left by prehistoric Lake Bonneville. The Wasatch Range rises 7,000 feet straight up from the eastern edge of the city, and the Oquirrh Mountains close the valley to the west; the Great Salt Lake lies 15 miles northwest. Downtown is laid out on the 1847 Mormon grid, with Temple Square as the origin of every street address. Provo is 45 miles south and Ogden 40 miles north along the Wasatch Front. Denver is 520 miles east and Las Vegas 420 miles southwest.
Population and rank
The 2020 Census counted 199,723 residents, the smallest total of the 50 cities on this site and outside the national top 100 — the city is included here because it is the capital and principal city of a metro of 1.26 million and of the wider Wasatch Front region of about 2.7 million, and because Utah was the fastest-growing state of the 2010s. The city limits are small; West Valley City and West Jordan, both in the same valley, each exceed 115,000. The Salt Lake City metropolitan area (Salt Lake and Tooele counties) holds about 38 percent of Utah's population, and about 16 percent of the metro lives in the city proper.
Geography
- Great Salt Lake — the largest saltwater lake in the Western Hemisphere, a remnant of Lake Bonneville; it has no outlet and its level has fallen to record lows since 2020. See US lakes.
- Wasatch Range — part of the Rocky Mountains, with Twin Peaks (11,330 ft) directly above the city and the Cottonwood canyons holding several ski resorts within 30 miles of downtown.
- Jordan River — flows north through the valley from Utah Lake to the Great Salt Lake, passing the west side of the city.
- City Creek and Emigration canyons — the streams on which the first settlers built; Emigration Canyon was the pioneers' route into the valley in 1847.
Nearest large cities
Salt Lake City is isolated: no other city on this list is within six hours. Distances are approximate road miles from Temple Square.
| City | State | Road distance (mi) | Direction |
|---|---|---|---|
| Boise | ID | 340 | NW |
| Las Vegas | NV | 420 | SW |
| Denver | CO | 520 | E |
| Colorado Springs | CO | 590 | SE |
| Phoenix | AZ | 660 | S |
Salt Lake City as state capital
Salt Lake City has been the capital of Utah since the territory was organised in 1850, apart from a few years in the 1850s when the legislature met at Fillmore, a town chosen for its central position and then abandoned. The Capitol, completed in 1916, stands on a hill at the north end of State Street overlooking downtown. Salt Lake City is both the capital and the largest city, a combination that makes it the seat of church, state and commerce for the whole region. See the Salt Lake City capital page for the Fillmore episode and the capitol.
Related maps
- Utah map — the state with its 29 counties.
- Salt Lake City, state capital — capital facts and history.
- US cities map.
- US lakes, Rocky Mountains and Colorado Plateau maps.
- Nearby: Boise, Las Vegas, Denver, Idaho.
- Mountain division · Mountain Time Zone.