These were Utah's fastest-growing cities in 2025, according to the University of Utah
by Carter Williams ksl · KSL.comKEY TAKEAWAYS
- Saratoga Springs led Utah's growth in 2025 with 4,682 new residents, according to a new population report.
- Utah, Salt Lake and Washington counties anchored population growth across the state.
- Cities across Utah and Salt Lake counties also saw the largest population declines, led by Orem.
SALT LAKE CITY — Utah's capital city remains the state's most populous city by a wide margin, but a new report finds that a pair of cities across northern Utah County are once again at the top in growth.
Saratoga Springs's population jumped by 4,682 between July 1, 2024, and July 1 of last year, adding the most new residents over the past year, according to a subcounty population estimate report released by the Utah Population Committee and University of Utah Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute on Tuesday.
Its growth rate of 8.4% also topped the list among 279 cities, towns and unincorporated areas across the state. Eagle Mountain, its western neighbor, placed second in both categories, with 4,169 new residents and a growth rate of 6.8%. The two cities, combined, now have more than 125,000 residents.
Lehi, Saratoga Springs' eastern neighbor, placed fifth in net growth by adding 2,386 new residents over the past year.
Half of the 10 fastest-growing communities were located in Utah County. Spanish Fork and Mapleton placed sixth and eighth statewide, respectively.
Salt Lake and Washington counties each accounted for two cities on the list. Their most populated cities — Salt Lake City and St. George — also placed in the top five in terms of numeric growth.
Salt Lake City, which topped all communities in growth over the past two years, surpassed 220,000 residents in the process, the report noted. Meanwhile, Washington, Washington County was seventh in growth and Magna placed 10th.
Tooele's population gain of 1,293 was the ninth-largest overall, the only other county in the Top 10 in the category.
Spanish Fork placed fifth in percentage growth, marking the only other Utah County city to land in the Top 10 in that category. It placed just behind Washington and West Haven within the top five in percentage growth.
Utah's 10 Fastest-Growing Communities
These were Utah's fastest-growing towns and cities between mid-2024 and mid-2025, based on the total number of people added (numeric growth) and the rate of growth (percentage growth), according to the Utah Population Committee.
Numeric Growth
- Saratoga Springs: 4,682
- Eagle Mountain: 4,169
- Salt Lake City: 3,303
- St. George: 3,303
- Lehi: 2,386
- Spanish Fork: 1,777
- Washington, Washington County: 1,498
- Mapleton: 1,336
- Tooele: 1,293
- Magna: 1,277
Percentage Growth
- Saratoga Springs: 8.4%
- Eagle Mountain: 6.8%
- Washington: 4.1%
- West Haven: 3.9%
- Spanish Fork: 3.7%
- Magna: 3.6%
- Heber City: 3.5%
- Tooele: 3.2%
- Hurricane: 3%
- Cedar City: 2.8%
The numbers help paint a clearer picture of where Utah's growth is taking place, following a committee report released in December that broke down countywide estimates. It found that Utah County gained 15,914 new residents, accounting for over one-third of the state's estimated growth in 2025.
That report also noted that Salt Lake and Washington counties were major drivers in growth.
In all, 172 communities across Utah gained population, while the rest either didn't experience any changes or lost population, Tuesday's report noted. Interestingly enough, cities across Utah and Salt Lake counties also led in population decline.
Orem experienced the biggest drop, losing an estimated 943 residents over the past year. Sandy followed with a loss of 751 residents, while Provo (-498), Kearns (-286) and Taylorsville (-274) rounded out the bottom five in population growth.
Cedar Hills' loss of 116 residents led to a population decline rate of 1.2%, the lowest among all communities.
The report doesn't explain what's behind these trends, but its authors note that it indicates "shifting growth patterns across communities of different sizes."
"2025 marked the first year that more than half of Utahns lived in a city with a population of 50,000 or more," they added.
The Gardner Policy Institute has estimated county populations for years, along with a statewide population estimate, but Tuesday's report is the first time that it has released subcounty populations.
That's something that the U.S. Census Bureau typically tracks, usually using a different methodology. Federal demographers are expected to release their 2025 municipal estimates next week, after naming Salt Lake City as Utah's fastest-growing city of 2024.
This story will be updated.
The Key Takeaways for this article were generated with the assistance of large language models and reviewed by our editorial team. The article, itself, is solely human-written.
Related topics
Utah growth and populationUtahSalt Lake CountySouthern UtahUtah County
Carter Williams
Carter Williams is a reporter for KSL. He covers Salt Lake City, statewide transportation issues, outdoors, the environment and weather. He is a graduate of Southern Utah University.