Best PlacesUtah County, UT Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Utah County, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The averages hide a wide spread here, so the area matters as much as the address. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Utah County ranks 94th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. Paychecks stretch further here than almost anywhere else: the median household brings in $110,091, everyday costs sit below the national average, and a strong job market ranks near the top of the country. The main drawbacks are air quality, noise, and disaster risk.
The best neighborhoods in Utah County
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
The best areas in Utah County
The parts of Utah County, ranked by the BestNeighborhood standard score across every neighborhood, highest scoring first. Each note says how that part differs from the rest of the county.
Pleasant Grove, American Fork & Cedar Hills
Disaster risk is lower, incomes run higher, and local pay stretches further.
Lehi & Eagle Mountain
More households have young kids and more residents vote.
Spanish Fork, Springville & Mapleton
Crime runs lower, though biking is worse.
Saratoga Springs
It is quieter, though commutes are longer.
Orem
Transit reaches more jobs.
Payson & Santaquin
Fewer adults hold degrees and schools score lower.
Provo
Streets are more walkable, though prices have run up more.
Utah County shows why a single number is not enough. Some neighborhoods score in the bottom 13% of the country and others in the top 1%. Pick the area first, then the home.
Utah County's strengths and weaknesses
Utah County ranks where it does because the parts of life that are hardest to change mostly work here. Population health is the standout, in the top 1% of counties. Few empty homes and heat safety follow.
The drawbacks are real but narrow. Air quality, noise, and disaster risk hold the score down. The measures below break that down, and the map shows how much of it holds street by street.
Where Utah County ranks high
- Health outlookBetter than 99% of counties
- Low vacancyBetter than 98% of counties
- Heat safetyBetter than 98% of counties
- BikingBetter than 98% of counties
- Cell coverageBetter than 98% of counties
Where Utah County ranks low
- Air qualityBetter than only 6% of counties
- QuietBetter than only 13% of counties
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 16% of counties
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 21% of counties
- Tree shadeBetter than only 21% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Utah County
A household needs to earn about $140,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Utah County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $110,091, so buying stretches a typical household.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses Utah County's effective rate of 0.43%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Utah County
Utah County runs younger than the country, and households here run larger than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Utah County.
Who works in Utah County, and how
Work in Utah County centers on education and retail trade. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 75%
- Work from home 19%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in Utah County
Utah County has fewer places to eat and drink per resident than most counties and more late-night spots per resident than 72% of counties. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Utah County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Utah County growing, and who is moving in?
Utah County has grown about 33% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Salt Lake City, UT.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Utah County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Utah County, month by month
Utah County sees roughly 83 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 95 degrees. January highs sit near 39, with lows near 21. The comfortable stretch runs May, June, August, and September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 39° | 30° | 21° |
| April | 65° | 50° | 37° |
| July | 95° | 79° | 62° |
| October | 67° | 51° | 37° |
Flying in and out of Utah County
The nearest airport, Provo Municipal, is about 4 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Salt Lake City International, about 37 miles away.
The best schools in and around Utah County
Schools across Utah County average a B−, better than 65% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Goldminer's DaughterA+ · 75% proficient
- Cedar Ridge SchoolA+ · 73% proficient
- Highland SchoolA · 71% proficient
Top middle schools
- Mountain Ridge Jr HighA− · 57% proficient
- Lehi Jr HighA− · 55% proficient
- Timberline MiddleA− · 54% proficient
Top high schools
- Utah County Academy Of ScienceA · 72% proficient
- Skyridge High SchoolB+ · 52% proficient
- Karl G. Maeser Preparatory AcademyB+ · 51% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Utah County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Utah County measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare Utah County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Utah County suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 95% of counties, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 19% already work from home.
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in Utah County
Is Utah County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Utah County ranks 94th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on population health, few empty homes, and heat safety, and lowest on air quality and noise. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Utah County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $562,332. The overall cost of living runs about 8% below the national average. Set against a $110,091 median income, cost of living beats 95% of counties.
Is Utah County safe?
Yes, Utah County is safer than 89% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $278 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Utah County?
July highs average about 95 degrees, and January highs near 39 with lows near 21. That works out to about 83 pleasant days a year, more than 42% of counties.
What are the best neighborhoods in Utah County?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Pleasant Grove, American Fork & Cedar Hills, Lehi & Eagle Mountain, and Spanish Fork, Springville & Mapleton. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Is Utah County good for families?
Schools beat 65% of counties, crime safety beats 89%, and childcare runs $929 a month.
Is Utah County good for remote workers?
Cost of living against local pay beats 95% of counties, and the fastest advertised internet here beats 97% of counties. About 19% of workers already work from home.
Compare Utah County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Utah County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Utah County represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
Utah County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Utah County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Utah County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Utah County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Utah County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Utah County detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program: population growth and net migration behind the population-change section.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.