Salt Lake City

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 population was 199,723 at the 2020 census, while the Salt Lake City metropolitan area has an estimated 1.3 million residents and is the 46th-largest metropolitan area in the United States. It is also part of the larger Salt Lake City–Ogden–Provo combined statistical area, an urban corridor along a 120-mile (190 km) segment of the Wasatch Front with a population of approximately 2.8 million. It is one of the principal urban centers within the Great Basin, along with Reno, Nevada. Salt Lake City was founded in 1847 by 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 building an extensive irrigation network that 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 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; the word "Great" was dropped from the city's name in 1868. 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. It is home to a significant LGBT community and hosts the annual Utah Pride Festival. It is the industrial banking center of the United States. 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, and has impacted the local and state economy. The receding lake has exposed arsenic which may become airborne, exposing area residents to poisonous dust. 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.

Infobox

Country

United States

State

Utah

County

Salt Lake

Platted

1857 (1857)

Incorporated

1851

Named after

Great Salt Lake

• Type

Strong Mayor–council

• Mayor

Erin Mendenhall (D)

• City

199,723

• Land

110.34 sq mi (285.77 km2)

• Water

0.47 sq mi (1.22 km2)

Elevation

4,300 ft (1,300 m)

• Estimate (2025)

215,548

• Rank

111th in the United States1st in Utah

• Density

1,817.8/sq mi (701.84/km2)

• Urban

1,178,533 (US: 41st)

• Urban density

3,923/sq mi (1,514.7/km2)

• Metro

$135.409 billion (2022)

• CSA

$215.338 billion (2022)

Demonym

Salt Laker

Time zone

UTC−7 (Mountain)

• Summer (DST)

UTC−6

ZIP Codes

ZIP Codes 84101–84128, 84130–84134, 84136, 84138–84139, 84141, 84143–84145, 84147–84148, 84150–84152, 84157–84158, 84165, 84170–84171, 84180, 84184, 84189–84190, 84199

Area codes

801, 385

FIPS code

49-67000

GNIS feature ID

1454997

Major airport

Salt Lake City International Airport

Website

slc.gov