List of counties in Utah

Counties of Utah
RH CH BE TO DA WB MO SL SU DA UI CA DU WS UT JB MI SP SV EM GR SJ WN PT BV IR GA KN WA
Location	State of Utah
Number	29
Populations	1,059 (Daggett) – 1,029,665 (Salt Lake)
Areas	299 square miles (770 km^2) (Davis) – 7,820 square miles (20,300 km^2) (San Juan)
Government	County government
Subdivisions	cities, towns, townships, unincorporated communities, indian reservations, census designated place

There are 29 counties in the U.S. state of Utah. There were originally seven counties established under the provisional State of Deseret in 1849: Davis, Iron, Sanpete, Salt Lake, Tooele, Utah, and Weber.^[1] The Territory of Utah was created in 1851 with the first territorial legislature meeting from 1851–1852. The first legislature re-created the original counties from the State of Deseret under territorial law as well as establishing three additional counties: Juab, Millard, and Washington. All other counties were established between 1854 and 1894 by the Utah Territorial Legislature under territorial law except for the last two counties formed, Daggett and Duchesne. They were created by popular vote and by gubernatorial proclamation after Utah became a state.^[2] Present-day Duchesne County encompassed an Indian reservation that was created in 1861. The reservation was opened to homesteaders in 1905 and the county was created in 1913.^[3] Due to dangerous roads, mountainous terrain, and bad weather preventing travel via a direct route, residents in present-day Daggett County had to travel 400 to 800 miles (640 to 1,290 km) on both stage and rail to conduct business in Vernal, the county seat for Uintah County a mere 50 miles away. In 1917, all Uintah County residents voted to create Daggett County.^[4]

Based on the 2010 United States Census data, the population of Utah was 2,763,885. Just over 75% of Utah's population is concentrated along four Wasatch Front counties of Salt Lake, Utah, Davis, and Weber. Salt Lake County was the largest county in the state with a population of 1,029,655, followed by Utah County with 516,564, Davis County with 306,479 and Weber County with 231,236. Daggett County was the least populated with 1,059 people. The largest county in land area is San Juan County with 7,821 square miles (20,260 km²) and Davis County is the smallest with 304 square miles (790 km²).^[5]

The Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) code, which is used by the United States government to uniquely identify states and counties, is provided with each county.^[6] Utah's FIPS code is 49, which when combined with any county code would be written as 49XXX. In the FIPS code column in the table below, each FIPS code links to the most current census data for that county.^[7]

Counties

County	FIPS County Code [7]	County seat [2][8]	Established [2][8]	Origin [2]	Etymology [9][10]	Population (2010)[5]	Area (2010) [11]	Map
Beaver County	001	Beaver	1856	Part of Iron County[12]	The many beavers in the area	6,629	2,590 sq mi (6,708 km^2)
Box Elder County	003	Brigham City	1856	Part of Weber County	The many Box Elder trees in the area	49,975	5,746 sq mi (14,882 km^2)
Cache County	005	Logan	1857	Part of Weber County[12]	Caches of furs made by Rocky Mountain Fur Company trappers	112,656	1,165 sq mi (3,017 km^2)
Carbon County	007	Price	1894	Part of Emery County	The vast coal beds in the county.[13]	21,403	1,478 sq mi (3,828 km^2)
Daggett County	009	Manila	1919	Part of Uintah County	Ellsworth Daggett (1810–1880), the first Utah Surveyor General	1,059	697 sq mi (1,805 km^2)
Davis County	011	Farmington	1850	Original county of State of Deseret	Daniel C. Davis (1804–1850), Mormon Battalion captain	306,479	299 sq mi (774 km^2)
Duchesne County	013	Duchesne	1913	Part of Wasatch County	Uncertain; likely origins are a Ute word translated "dark canyon", the French and Indian War site of Fort Duquesne (the county's initial settlement was also a fortress), the corrupted name of an area Indian chief, or the name of French fur trapper and explorer.	18,607	3,241 sq mi (8,394 km^2)
Emery County	015	Castle Dale	1880	Part of Sanpete County[14]	George W. Emery (1830–1909), Governor of the Utah Territory from 1875–1880	10,976	4,462 sq mi (11,557 km^2)
Garfield County	017	Panguitch	1882	Part of Iron County	James A. Garfield (1831–1881), President of the United States in 1881	5,172	5,175 sq mi (13,403 km^2)
Grand County	019	Moab	1890	Part of Emery County	The Grand River, since renamed to the Colorado River	9,225	3,672 sq mi (9,510 km^2)
Iron County	021	Parowan	1850	Original county of State of Deseret	Iron mines west of Cedar City.[15]	46,163	3,297 sq mi (8,539 km^2)
Juab County	023	Nephi	1852	Original county of Territory of Utah	A Native American word translated "thirsty valley"	10,246	3,392 sq mi (8,785 km^2)
Kane County	025	Kanab	1864	Part of Washington County	Thomas L. Kane (1822–1883), U.S. Army officer who spoke in favor of the Mormon migration and settlement of Utah	7,125	3,990 sq mi (10,334 km^2)
Millard County	027	Fillmore	1851	Original county of Territory of Utah	Millard Fillmore (1800–1874), President of the United States from 1850 to 1853	12,503	6,572 sq mi (17,021 km^2)
Morgan County	029	Morgan	1862	Part of Davis County[16]	Jedediah Morgan Grant (1816–1856), an Apostle of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints	9,469	609 sq mi (1,577 km^2)
Piute County	031	Junction	1865	Part of Beaver County	The Piute tribe of Native Americans who lived in the area	1,556	758 sq mi (1,963 km^2)
Rich County	033	Randolph	1864	Part of Cache County	Charles C. Rich (1809–1883), an Apostle of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints	2,264	1,029 sq mi (2,665 km^2)
Salt Lake County	035	Salt Lake City	1849	Original county of State of Deseret	The Great Salt Lake, the largest terminal lake in the Western Hemisphere	1,029,665	742 sq mi (1,922 km^2)
San Juan County	037	Monticello	1880	Parts of Kane, Iron, and Piute counties	Named for the San Juan River, a 400-mile (640 km) tributary of the Colorado river located in southern Colorado and Utah	14,746	7,820 sq mi (20,254 km^2)
Sanpete County	039	Manti	1849	Original county of State of Deseret	Uncertain, possibly from a Ute Chief named San Pitch	27,882	1,590 sq mi (4,118 km^2)
Sevier County	041	Richfield	1862	Part of Sanpete County	The Sevier River, a 280-mile (450 km) mile river in central Utah	20,802	1,911 sq mi (4,949 km^2)
Summit County	043	Coalville	1854	Part of Salt Lake and Green River counties[17]	High elevations in the county, which includes 39 of Utah's highest peaks	36,324	1,872 sq mi (4,848 km^2)
Tooele County	045	Tooele	1849	Original county of State of Deseret	Uncertain, either from the Goshute Tribe Chief Tuilla or the Tules plant that grew in the marshes	58,218	6,941 sq mi (17,977 km^2)
Uintah County	047	Vernal	1880	Part of Wasatch[18]	The Uintah band of the Ute tribe who lived in the area	32,588	4,480 sq mi (11,603 km^2)
Utah County	049	Provo	1849	Original county of State of Deseret	Yuta, the Spanish name for the Ute tribe	516,564	2,003 sq mi (5,188 km^2)
Wasatch County	051	Heber City	1862	Part of Utah and Sanpete counties[19]	A Native American word meaning "mountain pass", also the name of the Wasatch Range	23,530	1,176 sq mi (3,046 km^2)
Washington County	053	St. George	1852	Original county of Territory of Utah	George Washington (1732–1799), President of the United States from 1789 to 1797	138,115	2,426 sq mi (6,283 km^2)
Wayne County	055	Loa	1892	Part of Piute County	Wayne Robinson, the son of Utah state legislator Willis Robinson, who was killed by a horse while both men traveled to a legislative session.	2,589	2,461 sq mi (6,374 km^2)
Weber County	057	Ogden	1849	Original county of State of Deseret	The Weber River, a 125 miles (201 km) tributary of the Great Salt Lake	231,236	576 sq mi (1,492 km^2)

Former counties

There were ten counties in the Territory of Utah that were absorbed by other states or Utah counties.

County[2]	Established[2]	Superseded[2]	Etymology[10]	Present location[2]
Carson County	1854	1861	Named for the Carson River, a 150-mile (240 km) river in Nevada and California that originates from the Sierra Nevada Mountains	Nevada
Cedar County	1856	1862	Named for the numerous cedar trees growing in the area (which are actually juniper trees)[20]	Utah County
Desert County	1852	1862	Named for the surrounding desert	Box Elder County, Tooele County and Nevada
Greasewood County	1856	1862	Named for the greasewood plant growing in the area	Box Elder County
Green River County	1852	1872	Named for the Green River, a 730-mile (1,170 km) tributary of the Colorado River that runs through Wyoming, Colorado and Utah	Cache, Weber, Morgan, Davis, Wasatch, Summit, Duchesne, Carbon, and Utah Counties, and Wyoming and Colorado
Humboldt County	1856	1861	Named for the Humboldt River, a 300-mile (480 km) river in Nevada and longest river in the Great Basin	Nevada
Malad County	1856	1862	Named for the Malad River, the name being French for "sickly"	Box Elder County
Rio Virgin County	1869	1872	Named for the Virgin River, a 160 miles (260 km) long tributary of the Colorado River located in southern Utah and Nevada	Washington County, Nevada and Arizona
St. Mary's County	1856	1861	Named after the Mary's River, which was later renamed to the Humboldt River	Nevada
Shambip County	1856	1862	Goshute Native American Tribe word for Rush Lake	Tooele County

References

1. Fisher, Richard Swainson (1855). A new and complete statistical gazetteer of the United States of America. New York: J.H. Colton and Company. p. 870. Retrieved April 23, 2010.
2. "Chart of County Formation in Utah". Utah Division of Archives and Record Services. Retrieved April 25, 2010.
3. "Duchesne County, Utah". Pioneer, Utah's Online Library. State of Utah. Retrieved May 1, 2010.
4. Industrial Commission of Utah (1920). Report of the Industrial Commission of Utah. Kaysville, Utah: Inland Publishing Company. p. 346. Retrieved May 1, 2010.
5. "Population and Housing Occupancy Status: 2010 - State -- County". U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved January 7, 2012.
6. "FIPS Publish 6-4". National Institute of Standards and Technology. Retrieved July 20, 2007.
7. "EPA County FIPS Code Listing". US Environmental Protection Agency. Retrieved February 23, 2008.
8. "Utah". About Counties. National Association of Counties. Archived from the original on July 11, 2007. Retrieved July 21, 2007.
9. "County Name History". Utah Association of Counties. Retrieved January 7, 2012.
10. Van Cott, John W. (1990). Utah Place Name. Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press. ISBN 978-0-87480-345-7.
11. "Gazetteer of Utah Counties". Census Bureau Geography. U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved January 1, 2012.
12. "Colton's territories of New Mexico and Utah (1855)". University of Nevada at Reno. Retrieved April 25, 2010.
13. "Three Utah coal mines targeted by federal safety inspectors". Salt Lake Tribune. April 23, 2010. Retrieved April 28, 2010.
14. Bancroft, Hubert Howe (1890). History of Utah. San Francisco: The History Company. Retrieved April 25, 2010.
15. "Palladon Ventures". Palladon Ventures. Retrieved April 28, 2010.
16. Tullidge, Edward William (1889). Tullidge's histories, (volume II) containing the history of all the northern Utah. Salt Lake City: Juvenile Instructor. p. 118. Retrieved April 25, 2010.
17. "Summit County". Utah History Encyclopedia. University of Utah. Retrieved April 25, 2010.
18. Fuller, Craig (1994). "Uintah County". In Powell, Allan Kent. Utah History Encyclopedia. Salt Lake City, Utah: University of Utah Press. ISBN 0874804256. OCLC 30473917{{inconsistent citations}}
19. State of Utah (1888). The compiled laws of Utah. Salt Lake City: Herbert Pembroke. p. 268. Retrieved April 25, 2010.
20. "Cedar City lacks namesake trees". The Spectrum. Cedar City. April 14, 2010. Retrieved April 29, 2010.