Mexican HatUT
A town of 20, settled in 1910.
Is Mexican Hat a good place to live?
100% of residents live below the poverty line in Mexican Hat, where Utah’s towns sit at 6.2% and U.S. towns at 9.6%. Of the 120 Utah towns we compare, none has a higher share of homes lived in by their owners than Mexican Hat. 69% of the land in Mexican Hat is conserved, where Utah’s towns sit at 3.4% and U.S. towns at 4.3%. Mexican Hat has fewer than 1,000 residents, too few for fair grades; the figures below are still real.
20 people, and everyone knows the way
In a town this size, neighbors are the best guide. Ask them anything.
Bears Ears National Monument and 4 more within 40 miles
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Mexican Hat. Close and well known come first.
36 mi Park & preserveBears Ears National Monument
4 mi National Recreation AreaGlen Canyon National Recreation Area3.7M visitors a year
39 mi National MonumentHovenweep National Monument27K visitors a year
28 mi National MonumentNatural Bridges National Monument70K visitors a year
38 mi MuseumEdge of the Cedars State Park MuseumPhoto credits
Bears Ears National Monument: U.S. Geological Surey, Public domain · Glen Canyon National Recreation Area: User:Moondigger, CC BY-SA 2.5 · Hovenweep National Monument: teofilo, CC BY 2.0 · Natural Bridges National Monument: Daniel Schwen, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Edge of the Cedars State Park Museum: Scott Catron (talk · contribs). On flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0
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Moving to Mexican Hat: who provides what
Mexican Hat is unincorporated, so San Juan County and regional agencies provide most services.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Mar 13, 2026.
The data
Ordered by what stands out in Mexican Hat.
Mexican Hat keeps nearly a third of its land conserved
The concentration of trails for Mexican Hat comes to 1.6 miles per square mile. 13 miles of trail.
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Mexican Hat stands out in Utah and nationally, with the FEMA risk score lower than most
FEMA puts 42% of Mexican Hat’s expected hazard losses down to avalanches, and 19% to inland flooding. Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 100% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
More of Mexican Hat’s adults feel lonely than in the typical Utah or U.S. town
Of the 119 Utah towns we compare, none has a higher share of adults who report frequent physical distress than Mexican Hat, and on top of that just over a quarter of adults report frequent mental distress locally. This Utah town does better than the Utah average on 2 of 32 CDC measures and worse on 26. Two figures for adults here: 25% smoke cigarettes, 18% have diabetes.
| Mexican Hat | Utah towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 37% | 15% | 19% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 25% | 8% | 14% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 8.4% | 12% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 26% | 17% | 17% |
| What stands out | Mexican Hat | UT |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 5.2% | 7.2% |
| Fewer binge drinkers | 9.7% | 12.4% |
| More adults facing food insecurity | 46.8% | 12.4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Everything we know about Mexican Hat
Colleges nearby
None within 15 miles of Mexican Hat; the nearest are
About 0 of every 100 Mexican Hat residents are enrolled in college, against 8 across Utah.
About Mexican Hat
Human settlement in Utah, USA
Mexican Hat is a census-designated place (CDP) in Utah in the United States. It is on the San Juan River on the northern edge of the Navajo Nation's borders in south-central San Juan County. As of the 2020 census, Mexican Hat had a population of 21.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 8.5 sq mi
- Elevation
- 4,245 ft
- ZIP code
- 84531
- Area code
- 435
Questions about Mexican Hat
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Mexican Hat, UT a good place to live?
Mexican Hat has fewer than 1,000 residents, too few for fair grades; the figures below are still real.