Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Magna grades C overall, 107th among Utah's 118 graded towns, with clear strengths and some subjects that lag. It has 6 miles of trail and 64% conserved land. On the other side, its schools rank behind 80% of the state's. 64% of the land in Magna is conserved, above both Utah’s towns (3.4%) and U.S. towns (4.3%). Magna's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) trails 94% of U.S. towns. Magna has 3 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Fielding Garr Ranch and Empress Theatre.
Where Magna beats most towns.
26,505 counted in 2010 and 29,251 in 2020; an estimated 35,401 in 2025.
Growth hasn’t slowed: 21% since 2020, after 10.4% in the decade before.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Utah), ordered by how far Magna is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 3,502 in 1950, 29,251 in 2020. The archive holds 18 old photos and papers going back to 1940 and 4 maps from 1952 on.
3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Magna. Close and well known come first.
Big draw35 mi LakeGreat Salt Lake
Big draw15 mi Stadium & arenaDelta Center
18 mi LakeLake Bonneville
18 mi Stadium & arenaRice–Eccles Stadium
20 mi Stadium & arenaAmerica First Field
16 mi GardenTemple SquareGreat Salt Lake: Copernicus Sentinel-2, ESA, CC BY-SA 3.0 igo · Delta Center: Lomrjyo, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Lake Bonneville: Wilson44691, Public domain · Rice–Eccles Stadium: Brenton Walker, CC BY 2.0 · America First Field: Scott Catron, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Temple Square: Carol M. Highsmith, Public domain
Who provides power, water and the rest in Magna, 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 Magna.
Magna keeps more of its land conserved than most of Utah and is healthy by national standards but behind most towns in Utah; it also has many renters stretched by housing costs.
Its 15,158 conserved acres are a larger share of the town than in 97% of Utah towns.
5.9 miles of trail in 10 parks and preserves. Magna’s trail density is 0.2 miles per square mile, below both the Utah town median (1.1) and the median of U.S. towns (0.4). The biggest park or preserve is Great Salt Lake State Park, at 116 acres.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Magna Regional Park | 2 mi | 63 |
| 2. Great Salt Lake State Park | 0.3 mi | 116 |
| 3. Moonlight Park | 0.3 mi | 2 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by the Granite District. Two of its 8 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scott M Matheson Jr HighLargest public middle schoolGrades 7–8 | Grades 7–8 | 1,051 | D |
| Cyprus HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 2,762 | D |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within UT on state tests and graduation
Jobs based here grew from 2,922 in 2013 to 6,826.
Most working residents leave Magna for work: only 4% work in town. Jobs based in Magna grew to 6,826 in 2023, 3,904 more than in 2013. 11% of residents live below the poverty line in Magna.
| Magna | Utah towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 10% | 16% | 11% |
| Below the poverty line | 11% | 6.2% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 3.8% | 8.5% | 8% |
| Median household income | $90,000 | $101,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Magna has chilly winters and hot summers, with very little rain. The July high in Magna is 93°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Within Utah it is less healthy than 85% of the 118 graded towns: Utah sets a high bar.
Magna beats the Utah average on 3 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 20. 66% of Magna adults had a checkup this year. Among 118 Utah towns, just 2 have a higher share of adults 18 to 64 who have no health insurance than Magna.
| Magna | Utah towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 66% | 72% | 79% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 39% | 33% | 33% |
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 9.5% | 8.1% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 17% | 17% |
| What stands out | Magna | UT |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 5.6% | 7.2% |
| Fewer adults with heart disease | 4.2% | 4.7% |
| More uninsured adults | 17.2% | 10.5% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
60.6% of renter households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, against 47.2% across Utah.
The typical Magna home is worth about $436,000, about the same as a year ago, 18% below the Utah typical home. Magna’s median rent is $1,625 a month.
| Magna | Utah towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,625 a month | $1,538 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 79% | 79% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 55% of U.S. communities. Since 1983, 2 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Magna.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
1 within 15 miles of the center of Magna
About 5 of every 100 Magna residents are enrolled in college, against 8 across Utah.
63.6% of the town is conserved land, across 10 parks and preserves.
3 places in Magna on the National Register of Historic Places.
5 notable people were born in Magna.
City in Utah, United States
Magna ( MAG-nə) is a city in Salt Lake County, Utah, United States. The population of the city stands at 29,251 according to the 2020 census, a 10.4% increase over 26,505 in 2010.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
2 towns share a border with Magna.
| Town | UT rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Magna | #107 | C | C+ | — | C− | B |
| Salt Lake City | #114 | C− | C | D− | C− | A− |
| West Valley City | #113 | C− | C+ | C− | C− | B− |
Magna reports no FBI crime data of its own. Compare Magna with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Magna grades C overall, better than 35% of U.S. towns and #107 of 118 in Utah. It grades B for health and C− for schools. Schools is its weak spot, with a C−.
That is 4.4 years of the area's median household income ($98,083 across the Salt Lake City-Murray, UT metro area). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C+.
5 notable people were born here, including Charles H. Wilson and Howard Jarvis.
