Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 3,199, settled in 1905.
Blanding's standout: natural-hazard risk is low. Overall it grades A−, ranked 58th of 118 in Utah. It has 18 miles of trail and 76% conserved land and it is more walkable than 89% of U.S. towns. 53% of working residents work locally in Blanding, above both the Utah town median (8.2%) and the median of U.S. towns (8%). Blanding has 2 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Edge of Cedars Indian Ruin and Swallow's Nest. Among 109 Utah towns, just 3 have a lower typical home value than Blanding.
Where Blanding beats most towns.
76% of the town is conserved land, across 4 parks and preserves.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Utah), ordered by how far Blanding is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 385 in 1910, 3,394 in 2020. The archive holds 16 old photos and papers going back to 1989 and a map from 1957 on.
2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Blanding, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Mar 13, 2026.
Ordered by what stands out in Blanding.
Blanding pairs an A− overall with homes cheaper than the Utah norm, carries less natural-hazard risk than nearly all of Utah (mostly avalanches) and keeps more of its land conserved than most of Utah.
Its 6,406 conserved acres are a larger share of the town than in 99% of Utah towns.
18 miles of trail in 4 parks and preserves. Blanding’s trail density is 1.3 miles per square mile.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Centennial Park | 0.4 mi | 17 |
| 2. Pioneer Park | — | 4 |
| 3. Central Park | — | 2 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by the San Juan District. Two of its 3 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is San Juan High, with 425 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blanding SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 509 | B− |
| San Juan HighLargest public high schoolGrades 6–12 | Grades 6–12 | 425 | C |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within UT on state tests and graduation
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk lower than 100% of Utah towns; that rating is what its A+ for hazard risk is built on.
The FEMA risk score in Blanding is 0 of 100.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Blanding grades A− overall with a typical home of about $330K, below the Utah typical value; only 26 of the 59 Utah towns graded A− or better can say that.
The typical Blanding home is worth about $330,000, up 6% in a year, 38% below the Utah typical home. Among 117 Utah towns, just 5 have a lower median rent than Blanding.
| Blanding | Utah towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $842 a month | $1,542 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 73% | 79% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Blanding has chilly winters and warm summers, with very little rain. July afternoons reach 91° and January nights drop to 20°.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Against the 10,657 U.S. towns with household incomes like Blanding’s, it is healthier than 80%, so its B+ isn’t only a matter of income. Within Utah it is less healthy than 84% of the 118 graded towns: Utah sets a high bar.
Blanding beats the Utah average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 13. 11% of Blanding adults binge drink. Only 8 of the 118 Utah towns we compare have a higher share of adults who smoke cigarettes than Blanding.
| Blanding | Utah towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 11% | 11% | 16% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 17% | 17% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 72% | 72% | 79% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 12% | 14% |
| What stands out | Blanding | UT |
|---|---|---|
| More adults without reliable transportation | 10.2% | 6.9% |
| More adults facing a utility shut-off | 9.4% | 6.5% |
| More adults facing food insecurity | 17.7% | 12.4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The average commute for its 1,580 working residents takes 15.1 minutes, against 22.1 across Utah.
17% of residents live below the poverty line in Blanding. Among 119 Utah towns, just 8 have a lower average trip to work than Blanding. The top destinations are Monticello (7%), Bluff (3%) and Oljato-Monument Valley (2%).
| Blanding | Utah towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 15 minutes | 22 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 17% | 6.2% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $72,000 | $101,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
16.8% of residents live below the poverty line, against 8.5% across Utah, which weighs on its C for jobs and income.
Children under 18 are 34% of residents (28% statewide); adults 18 to 34 are 20% of residents (26% statewide). Blanding has lost 5.5% of its people since 2020, down to 3,199 in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. 31% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 38% across Utah.
| Blanding | Utah towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 18 | 34% | 30% | 22% |
| Median age | 30.8 years | 32.7 years | 40.5 years |
| Aged 65 or older | 12% | 11% | 18% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 31% | 36% | 29% |
53% women, 47% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±3 points. Across Utah, 49.3% of residents are women.
| Blanding | UT | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 15.9% | 14.6% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 18.4% | 13.2% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 11.6% | 11.6% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 8.8% | 14.8% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 14.5% | 13.8% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 8.7% | 11% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 9.8% | 9.1% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 5.2% | 7.3% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 7.1% | 4.6% | 7% |
| No diploma | 4.2% | 6.6% | 10.4% |
| High school | 21.1% | 22.3% | 26% |
| Some college | 29.6% | 23.5% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 14.6% | 9.9% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 19.6% | 24.7% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 10.9% | 13% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 3,200, single groups can be off by several points
Blanding's reported crime rate is well below Utah's. Most reported incidents are property crimes, mainly thefts. 5 violent crimes were reported in 2025.
| Blanding | Utah towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 4.7 per 1,000 residents | 9 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 1.6 per 1,000 residents | 1.4 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
None within 15 miles of Blanding; the nearest are
About 8 of every 100 Blanding residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Utah.
2 places in Blanding on the National Register of Historic Places.
City in Utah, United States
Blanding ( ) (Navajo: Shash Jaaʼ) is a city in San Juan County, Utah, United States. The population was 3,394 at the 2020 census, making it the most populated city in San Juan County. It was settled in the late 19th century by Mormon settlers, predominantly from the famed Hole-In-The-Rock expedition. Economic contributors include mineral processing, mining, agriculture, local commerce, tourism, and transportation. Blanding is located near both the Navajo and White Mesa Ute Native American reservations and a significant percentage of Blanding's population has family ties to these nearby cultures. Blanding is a gateway to an abundance of nearby natural and archaeological resources, including.…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Blanding grades A− overall, better than 76% of U.S. towns and #58 of 118 in Utah. It grades B+ for health and B+ for schools.
That is 5.1 years of the area's median household income ($64,481 across the county). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B−.
