How Utah's fastest-growing cities compare with others in the US

SALT LAKE CITY — Eagle Mountain isn't just one of Utah's fastest-growing cities, but it's also one of the fastest-growing cities in the country.

The Utah County city gained more than 5,000 residents between July 1, 2024, and July 1 of last year, according to new city and town population estimates released by the Census Bureau on Thursday. While that fell just outside of the Top 15 in terms of numeric growth, its 8.5% growth rate was ninth in the nation among U.S. cities with at least 20,000 residents.

The Census Bureau named Eagle Mountain as Utah's fastest-growing city of 2025, a week after the Utah Population Committee and University of Utah Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute named it Utah's second-fastest-growing city. Its neighbor, Saratoga Springs, which was first on the committee report, was second in growth, according to the federal government, picking up over 4,200 residents. Its growth rate was 16th overall in the U.S.

Lehi, St. George and Washington, Washington County, rounded out the Census Bureau's top five.

Mapleton (10.4%) led all cities in percentage growth, among cities with at least 10,000 residents, nudging out Salem and Eagle Mountain, as Utah County cities also led heavily in this category. Saratoga Springs was fourth, while Grantsville rounded out the top five.

The numbers are based on a variety of federal datasets that are pieced together to determine population trends over the past year. These include birth and death data, as well as domestic and international migration information. It differs slightly from the Gardner Policy Institute, which uses local datasets to track population trends over the same period. Each helps governments apportionate funds and resources.

Immigration court records were used this year, which is one of the biggest changes in the Census Bureau's methodology. Migration has been down, but the institute's estimates don't differentiate between international and domestic travel, said Mallory Bateman, director of demographic research at the institute.

"We've seen a shift down in migration as a component of change statewide. That might be the indicator that there are some different things going on," she said last week, adding that most of the federal migration adjustments in recent years have helped better align the two estimates.

Where demographers clashed

Salt Lake City was one of the few areas where the two estimates clashed. It was Utah's third-fastest-growing city last year, gaining 3,303 residents, according to the Gardner Policy Institute; the Census Bureau estimates Utah's capital city only gained 594 new residents, 22nd in numeric growth.

It's unclear why this was the case, as Salt Lake City was the fastest-growing state in the Census Bureau's 2024 report. However, the agency noted on Thursday that dropoffs in average growth "were steeper among the largest cities" across the country last year, with any growth generally slower than in smaller cities.

"Big-city growth slowed significantly between 2024 and 2025, with some major hubs even seeing small declines," said Matt Erickson, a statistician in the Census Bureau's population division, in a statement. "In contrast, midsized cities found a 'Goldilocks zone' where domestic and international migration, paired with new housing, helped prevent the sluggish growth seen in small towns and larger metropolitan centers."

West Valley City was another. It lost 763 residents, according to the Census Bureau, but gained 75, according to the institute.

In addition to agreeing that Saratoga Springs and Eagle Mountain are Utah's fastest-growing cities, the two datasets agreed on some of the bigger declining cities. Orem lost between 943 and 1,128 residents over the past year, the most according to both sources. Provo, Kearns, Taylorsville and Logan were among the cities at the bottom in growth.

Local experts believe that housing costs and young adults moving out of households could be factors in why some cities experienced less growth than others, or lost population.

"There are a lot of factors at play," Bateman said.

National trends

Utah is still growing, but its growth has slowed down, possibly because of those. That doesn't seem to be as much of a factor in the Southeast, which continues to draw in residents. Charlotte, North Carolina, led all cities in numeric growth, gaining over 20,000 new residents, nudging out Fort Worth, Texas.

San Antonio and Celina, Texas, were third and fourth, just ahead of Seattle. Celina, on the northern edge of the Dallas-Fort Worth area, led in percentage growth, at nearly 25%, as Texas cities swept the top five in that category.

New York City remains the most populous city by a wide margin, despite losing 12,196 residents, leading the nation. It remains home to more than 8.5 million people, while some areas just outside its metro area were among the fastest-growing places last year.

There were no changes to the top five largest U.S. cities, as Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston and Phoenix round out that list.

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