List of counties in Utah

File:Utah population map.png

Population density of Utah counties

There are 29 counties in the U.S. state of Utah.

In 1849, the provisional State of Deseret established seven counties: Davis, Iron, Sanpete, Salt Lake, Tooele, Utah, and Weber. After the Territory of Utah was created in 1851, the first territorial legislature (1851–1852) acknowledged those seven and created three more: Juab, Millard, and Washington. Over a 40-year period (1854–1894), the Utah Territorial Legislature established most of the counties that exist today. In the early 20th century, after Utah had become a state, the final two counties were created: Duchesne by gubernatorial proclamation (1913) and Daggett by popular vote (1917). Present-day Duchesne County encompassed an Indian reservation that was created in 1861. The reservation was opened to homesteaders in 1905 and the county was created in 1913. Due to dangerous roads, mountainous terrain, and bad weather preventing travel via a direct route, 19th-century residents in present-day Daggett County had to travel 400 to 800 miles (640 to 1,290 km) on both stage and rail to conduct business in Vernal, the county seat for Uintah County a mere 50 miles (80 km) away. In 1917, all Uintah County residents voted to create Daggett County.

Based on 2025 United States Census data, the population of Utah was 3,538,904. Just under 75% of Utah's population is concentrated along four Wasatch Front counties: Salt Lake, Utah, Davis, and Weber. Salt Lake County was the largest county in the state with a population of 1,220,916, followed by Utah County with 759,859, Davis County with 381,227 and Weber County with 278,174. Daggett County was the least populated with 934 people. The largest county in land area is San Juan County with 7,821 square miles (20,260 km²) and Davis County is the smallest with 304 square miles (790 km²).

The Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) code, which is used by the United States government to uniquely identify states and counties, is provided with each county. Utah's FIPS code is 49, which when combined with any county code would be written as 49XXX. In the FIPS code column in the table below, each FIPS code links to the most current census data for that county.

The Utah Code (Title 17, Chapter 50, Part 5) divides the counties into six classes by population:

• First class: Population of 1,000,000 or more. Only one county - Salt Lake - is first class.
• Second class: Population between 175,000 and 1,000,000. Four counties.
• Third class: Population between 40,000 and 175,000. Five counties.
• Fourth class: Population between 11,000 and 40,000. Ten counties.
• Fifth class: Population between 4,000 and 11,000. Five counties.
• Sixth class: Population below 4,000. Four counties.

The county classes, for example, are used in the Utah legislature in crafting of legislation to distinguish between more urban and rural areas, such as important yet subtle distinctions in how revenue can be distributed. Usually, a bill intended to benefit rural counties would target the counties of the fourth, fifth and sixth class.

Under Utah Code (Title 17, Chapter 52a, Part 2), Utah counties are permitted to choose one of four forms of county government: a three-member full-time commission; a five or seven member expanded commission; a three to nine member (odd-numbered) part-time council with a full-time elected county mayor or a three to nine member (odd-numbered) part-time council with a full-time manager appointed by the council. 23 out of 29 counties are ruled by the standard three-member commission. Of the other six, Cache County was the first change in 1988 to a seven-member council with an elected mayor. Grand County adopted a seven-member council with appointed manager in 1992, followed by Morgan County in 1999 and Wasatch County in 2003. In 1998, Salt Lake County residents approved adopting a nine-member council with elected mayor that began work in 2001. Summit County adopted a five-member council with an appointed manager in 2006.

Counties

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State of Deseret counties

• Great Salt Lake County – original county created January 31, 1850
• Iron County – original county created January 31, 1850
• Sanpete County – original county created January 31, 1850
• Tuilla County – original county created January 31, 1850
• Utah County – original county created January 31, 1850
• Weber County – original county created January 31, 1850
• Davis County – created October 5, 1850, from portions of Great Salt Lake County and Weber County

County name changes

• Tuilla County, Deseret created January 31, 1850, re-created as Tooele County, Utah Territory on March 3, 1852.
• Great Salt Lake County, Utah Territory created March 3, 1852, name changed to Salt Lake County, Utah Territory on January 29, 1868
• Richland County, Utah Territory created January 16, 1854, name changed to Rich County, Utah Territory on January 29, 1868

Former counties

There were ten counties in the Territory of Utah that were absorbed by other states or other Utah counties.

County	Established	Superseded	Etymology	Present location
Carson County	January 17, 1854	March 2, 1861	Named for Kit Carson, an American frontiersman	Nevada
Cedar County	January 5, 1856	January 17, 1862	Named for the numerous cedar trees growing in the area (which are actually juniper trees)	Utah County
Desert County	March 3, 1852	January 17, 1862	Named for the surrounding desert	Box Elder County, Tooele County and Nevada
Greasewood County	January 5, 1856	January 17, 1862	Named for the greasewood plant growing in the area	Box Elder County
Green River County	March 3, 1852	February 16, 1872	Named for the Green River, a 730-mile (1,170 km) tributary of the Colorado River that runs through Wyoming, Colorado and Utah	Cache, Weber, Morgan, Davis, Wasatch, Summit, Duchesne, Carbon, and Utah Counties, and Wyoming and Colorado
Humboldt County	January 5, 1856	March 2, 1861	Named for the Humboldt River, a 300-mile (480 km) river in Nevada and longest river in the Great Basin	Nevada
Malad County	January 5, 1856	January 17, 1862	Named for the Malad River, the name being French for "sickly"	Box Elder County
Rio Virgen County	February 18, 1869	February 16, 1872	Named for the Virgin River (el Rio de la Virgen), a 160-mile-long (260 km) tributary of the Colorado River located in southern Utah and Nevada	Washington County, Nevada and Arizona
St. Mary's County	January 5, 1856	January 17, 1862	Named after the Mary's River, which was later renamed to the Humboldt River	Nevada
Shambip County	January 12, 1856	January 17, 1862	Goshute Native American Tribe word for Rush Lake	Tooele County

Further reading

• writer, Statf (2022). "UTAH COUNTY GOVERNMENT OVERVIEW" (PDF). ce.naco.org. National Association of Counties (NACo). Retrieved January 3, 2025.

Bibliography

• Van Cott, John W. (1990). Utah Place Names. Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press. ISBN 978-0-87480-345-7.

External links

Media related to Counties of Utah at Wikimedia Commons