Salt Lake City

This article is about the capital of Utah. For other uses, see Salt Lake City (disambiguation).

Salt Lake City
State capital
City of Salt Lake City[1]
Skyline of Downtown Salt Lake City
Union Pacific Depot
University of Utah
Church Office Building
TRAX light rail system
Salt Lake Temple
City and County Building
Delta Center
Utah State Capitol
Flag of Salt Lake City
Flag
Official seal of Salt Lake City
Seal
Nickname: 
"The Crossroads of the West"
Map
Interactive map of Salt Lake City
Salt Lake City is located in Utah
Salt Lake City
Salt Lake City
Salt Lake City is located in the United States
Salt Lake City
Salt Lake City
Coordinates: 40°45′39″N 111°53′28″W / 40.76083°N 111.89111°W / 40.76083; -111.89111
CountryUnited States United States
State Utah
CountySalt Lake
Platted1857 (1857)[2]
Named forGreat Salt Lake
Government
 • TypeStrong Mayor–council
 • MayorErin Mendenhall (D)
Area
[3]
 • City110.81 sq mi (286.99 km2)
 • Land110.34 sq mi (285.77 km2)
 • Water0.47 sq mi (1.22 km2)
Elevation
[4]
4,265 ft (1,300 m)
Population
 (2020)[5]
 • City200,133
 • Estimate 
(2023)[6]
209,593
 • Rank117th in the United States
1st in Utah
 • Density1,797.52/sq mi (701.84/km2)
 • Urban
1,178,533 (US: 41st)
 • Urban density3,923.0/sq mi (1,514.7/km2)
 • Metro
1,257,936 (US: 47th)
 • CSA
2,746,164 (US: 22nd)
DemonymSalt Laker[7]
GDP
[8][9][10]
 • Metro$135.409 billion (2022)
 • CSA$215.338 billion (2022)
Time zoneUTC−7 (Mountain)
 • Summer (DST)UTC−6
ZIP Codes
ZIP Codes[11]
Area codes801, 385
FIPS code49-67000[12]
GNIS feature ID1454997[4]
Major airportSalt Lake City International Airport
Websiteslc.gov

Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in the state. The city is the core of the Salt Lake City Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA), which had a population of 1,257,936 at the 2020 census. Salt Lake City is further situated within a larger metropolis known as the Salt Lake City–Ogden–Provo Combined Statistical Area, a corridor of contiguous urban and suburban development stretched along a 120-mile (190 km) segment of the Wasatch Front, comprising a population of 2,746,164 (as of 2021 estimates),[13] making it the 22nd largest in the nation. With a population of 200,133 in 2020, it is the 117th most populous city in the United States.[14] It is also the central core of the larger of only two major urban areas located within the Great Basin (the other being Reno, Nevada).

Salt Lake City was founded on July 24, 1847, by early pioneer settlers led by Brigham Young who were seeking to escape persecution they had experienced while living farther east. The Mormon pioneers, as they would come to be known, entered a semi-arid valley and immediately began planning and building an extensive irrigation network which could feed the population and foster future growth. Salt Lake City's street grid system is based on a standard compass grid plan, with the southeast corner of Temple Square (the area containing the Salt Lake Temple in downtown Salt Lake City) serving as the origin of the Salt Lake meridian. Owing to its proximity to the Great Salt Lake, the city was originally named Great Salt Lake City. In 1868, the word "Great" was dropped from the city's name.[15] Immigration of international members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), mining booms, and the construction of the first transcontinental railroad brought economic growth, and the city was nicknamed "The Crossroads of the West". It was traversed by the Lincoln Highway, the first transcontinental highway, in 1913. Two major cross-country freeways, I-15 and I-80, now intersect in the city. The city also has a belt route, I-215.

Salt Lake City has developed a strong tourist industry based primarily on skiing, outdoor recreation, and religious tourism. It hosted the 2002 Winter Olympics and will host the 2034 Winter Olympics. It is known for its politically liberal culture, which stands in contrast with most of the rest of the state's highly conservative leanings.[16] It is home to a significant LGBT community and hosts the annual Utah Pride Festival.[17] It is the industrial banking center of the United States.[18] Salt Lake City and the surrounding area are also the location of several institutions of higher education including the state's flagship research school, the University of Utah.

Sustained drought in Utah has strained Salt Lake City's water security, caused the Great Salt Lake level to drop to record low levels,[19][20] and has impacted the local and state economy.[21] The receding lake has exposed arsenic which may become airborne, exposing area residents to poisonous dust.[22] The city is also under threat of major earthquake damage amplified by two offshoots of the nearby Wasatch Fault that join underneath the downtown area.[23]

  1. ^ "Salt Lake City, Utah City Code". Sterling Codifiers. June 2019. Archived from the original on July 22, 2019. Retrieved October 25, 2019. This City Code of the City of Salt Lake City, as supplemented, contains ordinances up to and including Ordinance 32–19, passed June 11, 2019.
  2. ^ Pioneer Plat Maps, sheet 2, image 2, "Great Salt Lake City Plot A", 1857. Salt Lake County Archives. Retrieved September 2, 2022.
  3. ^ "2019 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved August 7, 2020.
  4. ^ a b "Geographic Names Information System". edits.nationalmap.gov. Retrieved May 8, 2023.
  5. ^ "Salt Lake City city, Utah". Census – Geography Profile. United States Census Bureau. Retrieved October 23, 2021.
  6. ^ "Population and Housing Unit Estimates". Retrieved May 21, 2020.
  7. ^ "Definition for "Salt Laker"". Merriam-Webster. July 16, 2014. Archived from the original on July 30, 2014. Retrieved July 29, 2014.
  8. ^ "Total Gross Domestic Product for Salt Lake City, UT (MSA)". fred.stlouisfed.org.
  9. ^ "Total Gross Domestic Product for Provo-Orem, UT (MSA)". fred.stlouisfed.org.
  10. ^ "Total Gross Domestic Product for Ogden-Clearfield, UT (MSA)". fred.stlouisfed.org.
  11. ^ "Zip Code Lookup". USPS. Archived from the original on November 4, 2010. Retrieved October 17, 2014.
  12. ^ "U.S. Census website". US Census Bureau. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
  13. ^ "Metropolitan and Micropolitan Statistical Areas Population Totals: 2010–2018". Archived from the original on June 2, 2019. Retrieved October 6, 2019.
  14. ^ Division, U.S. Census Bureau, Data Integration. "City and Town Population Totals: 2010–2018". census.gov. Archived from the original on May 24, 2019. Retrieved October 6, 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  15. ^ Van Cott, John W. (1990). Utah place names: a comprehensive guide to the origins of geographic names: a compilation. University of Utah Press. p. 327. ISBN 978-0-87480-345-7. Accessed July 25, 2011.
  16. ^ "Salt Lake City: An island of liberal blue in a sea of conservative red". utahpolicy.com. October 15, 2018. Retrieved October 29, 2020.
  17. ^ "Survey ranks Salt Lake City's LGBT population 7th among top 50 metro areas". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved August 2, 2021.
  18. ^ "FDIC Industrial Banks". Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. June 25, 2004. Archived from the original on July 2, 2007. Retrieved March 6, 2007.
  19. ^ "Drought 2022". www.slc.gov. Retrieved April 16, 2022.[title missing]
  20. ^ "Great Salt Lake Reaches New Historic Low". USGS. U.S. Department of the Interior. Retrieved April 16, 2022.
  21. ^ "If we want growth, we need water solutions". www.utahbusiness.com. May 11, 2022. Retrieved July 13, 2022.[title missing]
  22. ^ Cite error: The named reference Flavelle2022 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  23. ^ Cite error: The named reference USGS2021 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).