Icon in the West

When you imagine the American West, the mental picture you paint most likely looks like Utah. With five national parks — Bryce Canyon, Zion, Arches, Capitol Reef, and Canyonlands — along with Monument Valley and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, Utah’s landscapes are as iconic as they are magnificent. With a population of around 200,000 people, Salt Lake City is a well-appointed city with the amenities you would expect, including theaters, museums, and lush public parks. The Gallery Stroll is a favorite local event: every third Friday of the month, nearly 40 galleries across the city are open after hours to allow visitors to browse their collections and meet the artists. Forty minutes away, in Park City, the world-famous Sundance Film Festival is a platform for the most talked-about films of the year. The festival is open to the public, and single-film tickets are $20. Locals can even buy their tickets ahead of the rest of the world.

About 65% of the land in Utah is owned by the federal government, including the unrivaled “Big Five” national parks, six national forests, and seven national monuments.

The city of St. George is the fastest-growing metropolitan area in the nation.

Nearly 50,000 movie lovers attend the Sundance Film Festival every year in Park City.

When legendary mountain man Jim Bridger first saw The Great Salt Lake in 1824, he thought he’d reached the Pacific Ocean. In fact, it’s much more salty than any ocean, covers an area of about 1,700 square miles at an average depth of just 13 feet.

4.95% personal income tax rate

.60% average property tax rate

Climate

Utah is a high-desert region with an average of more than 300 days of sunshine per year. The dry climate produces powdery winter precipitation that local skiers call “The Greatest Snow on Earth,” while spring meltwater fills 11,000+ miles of fishing streams.