What are the suburbs of Salt Lake City?
Salt Lake City's suburbs are the other 22 municipalities in Salt Lake County, from West Valley City with about 138,000 residents to the mountain town of Alta. The county's list runs: Alta, Bluffdale, Brighton, Copperton, Cottonwood Heights, Draper, Emigration, Herriman, Holladay, Kearns, Magna, Midvale, Millcreek, Murray, Riverton, Sandy, South Jordan, South Salt Lake, Taylorsville, West Jordan, West Valley City and White City. Each runs its own government. That matters for a buyer, since planning, permits and local taxes follow the city, whatever a mailing address says. No metro townships remain, either. H.B. 35 converted them to municipalities on May 1, 2024, and Kearns, Magna, White City and Emigration Canyon became cities while Copperton became a town. The sections below compare the larger cities on income, home value, ownership and commute, using census estimates for 2020 through 2024.
How do the suburbs of Salt Lake City compare?
The table below covers the larger cities, using the Census Bureau's American Community Survey 2020 to 2024 estimates, the latest five-year release as of October 2026. Home values are what owners report, pooled across five years, so they run below today's prices.
| City | Population | Median household income | Median home value | Owner-occupied | Mean commute |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Jordan | 82,686 | $134,047 | $650,500 | 81.4% | 24.1 min |
| Bluffdale | 18,797 | $129,531 | $685,500 | 77.4% | 21.1 min |
| Draper | 50,278 | $128,910 | $784,800 | 68.6% | 24.0 min |
| Riverton | 45,457 | $126,910 | $592,700 | 84.9% | 24.8 min |
| Herriman | 59,346 | $122,650 | $590,700 | 78.6% | 27.1 min |
| Cottonwood Heights | 32,828 | $119,422 | $694,100 | 72.4% | 21.9 min |
| Holladay | 31,099 | $117,043 | $763,400 | 78.7% | 19.8 min |
| Sandy | 94,291 | $112,176 | $614,100 | 75.2% | 22.7 min |
| West Jordan | 116,692 | $108,153 | $492,500 | 77.2% | 24.1 min |
| Millcreek | 63,648 | $98,045 | $627,200 | 61.4% | 20.6 min |
| West Valley City | 138,437 | $92,209 | $419,100 | 72.1% | 22.6 min |
| Murray | 50,188 | $90,746 | $507,500 | 64.7% | 20.7 min |
| Taylorsville | 58,678 | $86,413 | $433,800 | 71.2% | 22.2 min |
| Midvale | 35,989 | $75,084 | $436,600 | 43.4% | 20.6 min |
| South Salt Lake | 26,352 | $72,152 | $410,200 | 38.2% | 20.3 min |
| Salt Lake City | 208,007 | $75,090 | $539,500 | 45.8% | 19.5 min |
| Salt Lake County | 1,196,523 | $97,494 | $525,700 | 66.1% | 22.3 min |
Sources: American Community Survey 2024 5-year estimates, covering 2020 through 2024, retrieved October 2026.
Draper and Bluffdale figures include the parts of those cities in Utah County. Mean commute follows the Census method, which leaves out people who work from home.
What are the nicest suburbs of Salt Lake City?
No dataset measures "nice," and I would not rank communities that way even if one did. The word usually stands in for specific things: what a home costs, how close the mountains or the office are, and what the housing looks like. Those can be checked, and your answer depends on which ones you care about.
Fair housing rules are part of this. An agent should describe homes, costs and routes, and leave out any judgment about who belongs where. So here is what the numbers do show:
- Highest home values among the larger cities, 2020 to 2024: Draper at $784,800 and Holladay at $763,400.
- Highest median incomes: South Jordan, Bluffdale, Draper and Riverton.
- Highest ownership: Riverton at 84.9% and South Jordan at 81.4%.
- Shortest commutes: Holladay at 19.8 minutes, then South Salt Lake at 20.3.
No city leads every column, which is the honest answer to the question.
What are the richest suburbs of Salt Lake City?
South Jordan has the highest median household income among cities with solid samples, at $134,047 ±$7,292. Close behind are Bluffdale at $129,531 ±$10,500, Draper at $128,910 ±$7,478 and Riverton at $126,910 ±$7,558, per the same census estimates.
Those margins overlap, so the order could change with a different sample. Herriman, Cottonwood Heights and Holladay fall within reach of the same range, and all sit well above the county median of $97,494.
Two very small places post higher point estimates: Emigration Canyon at $190,833 ±$27,736 and Brighton at $148,139 ±$15,375. With 548 and 153 occupied homes respectively, those figures are too loose to rank. The census could not compute a median income for Alta at all.
Why do income and home value rank cities differently?
Because they measure different things. South Jordan leads this table on income but sits fifth on home value. Holladay is seventh on income and second on value.
Income describes the households in a city today. Home value describes what owners think their property is worth, which reflects location, lot and the age and condition of the home. The Holladay numbers in full show how a single citywide median can hide very different streets.
Which suburbs have the most homeowners?
Riverton leads the larger cities at 84.9% owner-occupied, followed by South Jordan at 81.4%. South Salt Lake at 38.2% and Midvale at 43.4% sit at the other end, near Salt Lake City's 45.8%. The county as a whole is 66.1%, per the census tenure table.
Ownership tells you something practical about supply. Where most homes are owner-occupied, fewer are available to rent while you search, and the market turns on how often owners decide to sell.
How should you use these numbers when choosing a city?
Use them to narrow the list, then drive it. Census medians cover an entire city, and most buyers are choosing a street. Start with your budget and your regular trips, then compare actual homes.
- Test the route. The mean commute covers all destinations. Time your own at the hour you would drive it.
- Confirm the jurisdiction. Mailing addresses often read Salt Lake City outside the city, as the ZIP code guide shows.
- Price the current market. Census values lag. See average home prices in Salt Lake City for current figures.
For closer looks, start with Holladay, Cottonwood Heights, Millcreek, Sandy, Draper or South Jordan. If you would like help narrowing it down, reach out here or call me at 801-628-1281.