Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Sandy grades B+ overall, 68th of 118 graded towns in Utah, with clear strengths and some subjects that lag. The median household earns $112K and CDC estimates put its residents' health ahead of 90% of the country. It also does better than most on schools: its public schools beat 75% of Utah towns on state tests and graduation. Its lowest everyday mark is in cost of living: the typical home is worth about $657K, 6.7 years of the Salt Lake City metro’s $98K median household income. Sandy’s trail network density is 2.2 miles per square mile, against 1.1 in Utah’s towns and 0.4 across U.S. towns. Its National Register listings include Sandy Tithing Office and William D. Kuhre House. On the outdoors, just 17 of Utah’s 173 towns do better.
Where Sandy beats most towns.
Sandy Tithing Office| Widest gap | Sandy | UT |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 8.7% | 10.5% |
Its 55 National Register listings are more than in 95% of Utah towns with a listing.
Census counts: 488 in 1880, 96,904 in 2020. The archive holds 15 old photos and papers going back to 1874 and 4 maps from 1952 on.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Utah), ordered by how far Sandy is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Sandy. Close and well known come first.
Big draw14 mi Stadium & arenaDelta Center
in town Stadium & arenaAmerica First Field
13 mi Stadium & arenaRice–Eccles Stadium
22 mi LakeLake Bonneville15 mi Theme parkEvermore Park
17 mi Ski areaPark City Mountain Resort393 runs · 3,100 ft verticalDelta Center: Lomrjyo, CC BY-SA 4.0 · America First Field: Scott Catron, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Rice–Eccles Stadium: Brenton Walker, CC BY 2.0 · Lake Bonneville: Wilson44691, Public domain · Park City Mountain Resort: Rudi Riet from Washington, DC, United States, CC BY-SA 2.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Sandy, 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 Sandy.
Sandy gets more snow than nearly all U.S. towns, but it reports more crime than West Jordan and its other graded neighbors and has homes that cost more against local pay than most of Utah.
Walkers can cover 54 miles of trail in 40 parks and preserves. The biggest place to walk is Dimple Dell Park, 594 acres with 23.9 miles of trail. Parks and preserves in Sandy: 40, covering 1,146 acres.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Dimple Dell Park | 23.9 mi | 594 |
| 2. Dimple Dell Regional Park | 1.7 mi | 43 |
| 3. Quail Hollow Park | 1.4 mi | 47 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
The public schools here belong to the Canyons District. Three of its 32 schools are shown below, with the reason for each. Public school enrollment in Sandy: 3,460 students across 6 schools.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Indian Hills MiddleLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 1,072 | A− |
| Alta HighLargest public high schoolGrades 8–12 | Grades 8–12 | 2,278 | B |
| Sunrise SchoolTop results in townGrades K–5 | Grades K–5 | 647 | A+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within UT on state tests and graduation
Within Utah it is healthier than 66% of the 118 graded towns: Utah sets a high bar.
The share of adults in Sandy who have obesity is 29%, below both the Utah town median (31%) and the median of U.S. towns (35%). Among adults in the town, 71% had a checkup this year. Of 32 CDC measures, Sandy beats the Utah average on 8 and trails it on 2. Two figures for adults locally: 7.4% smoke cigarettes, 15% binge drink.
| Sandy | Utah towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 71% | 72% | 79% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 7.4% | 8% | 14% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 11% | 16% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 31% | 35% |
| What stands out | Sandy | UT |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 8.7% | 10.5% |
| Fewer adults without reliable transportation | 5.9% | 6.9% |
| More binge drinkers | 15.2% | 12.4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Each of the 4 graded towns on its borders reports less crime per resident, from West Jordan (C) to South Jordan (B). Reported crimes fell from 2,422 to 1,861 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
Only 5 of the 62 Utah towns we compare have a higher property crime rate than Sandy. Its violent crime rate comes in at 1.7 per 1,000 residents.
| Sandy | Utah towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2023) | 24.9 per 1,000 residents | 11.7 | 13.1 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2023) | 1.7 per 1,000 residents | 1.5 | 1.8 |
FBI crime data, 2023 · crimes reported to police
At 6.7 years of the Salt Lake City metro’s $98K median household income, the typical home (about $657K) costs more against local pay than in 77% of Utah towns; that ratio is one input to that grade.
For Sandy, the going rate for rent is $1,777 a month. Zillow values the typical Sandy home at about $657,000, up 2% in a year, 23% above the Utah typical home. A home in Sandy typically sold within 28 days of listing.
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
The Cottonwood Weir weather station, 5 miles away, records that 82 inches of snow fall in a normal winter, more than in 95% of U.S. towns.
The peak summer temperature in Sandy is 91°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Adults 18 to 34 are 20% of residents (26% statewide); adults 35 to 64 are 38% of residents (34% statewide). Sandy has lost 5.2% of its people since 2020, down to 92,386 in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. In Sandy, 46% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more.
| Sandy | Utah towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 46% | 36% | 29% |
| Under 18 | 26% | 30% | 22% |
| Median age | 37.6 years | 32.6 years | 40.5 years |
| Aged 65 or older | 16% | 11% | 18% |
50% women, 50% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±1.1 points. Across Utah, 49.3% of residents are women. Median age: women 38.5, men 36.5.
| Sandy | UT | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 14.1% | 14.6% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 12.3% | 13.2% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 6.8% | 11.6% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 12.8% | 14.8% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 14.7% | 13.8% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 11.7% | 11% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 11.9% | 9.1% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 10.1% | 7.3% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 5.7% | 4.6% | 7% |
| No diploma | 4% | 6.6% | 10.4% |
| High school | 18.4% | 22.3% | 26% |
| Some college | 22.9% | 23.5% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 8.6% | 9.9% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 29.1% | 24.7% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 16.9% | 13% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Sandy has about as many jobs (48,625) as working residents, but only 5,852 people both live and work here. Jobs based here grew from 37,000 in 2013 to 48,625.
For most workers, Sandy is a place to come home to: only 13% work in town. Between 2013 and 2023, jobs in the town rose by 11,625, to 48,625. The share of residents in Sandy who live below the poverty line: 5.5%. The top destinations are Salt Lake City (23%), Draper (7%) and Murray (5%).
| Sandy | Utah towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 23% | 16% | 11% |
| Median household income | $112,000 | $101,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 13% | 8.2% | 8% |
| Below the poverty line | 5.5% | 6.4% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Paid flood insurance claims in Sandy since 1982: 4. On expected storm and flood damage, Sandy sits below just over half of U.S. communities. 76% of the town’s expected losses from natural hazards come from earthquakes, followed by inland flooding at 19%. Federal disaster aid has reached households in Sandy once, in 2020.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
9 within 15 miles of the center of Sandy
About 5 of every 100 Sandy residents are enrolled in college, against 8 across Utah.
87,461 counted in 2010 and 96,904 in 2020; an estimated 92,386 in 2025.
Since 2020 the trend has turned: down 5.2%, after 10.8% growth in the decade before.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
55 places in Sandy on the National Register of Historic Places.
16 notable people were born in Sandy.
City in Salt Lake County, Utah, United States
Sandy is a city in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area, located in Salt Lake County, Utah, United States. The population was 96,904 according to the 2020 United States census. Sandy is home to the Shops at South Town shopping mall; the Jordan Commons entertainment, office and dining complex; and the Mountain America Exposition Center. It is also the location of the soccer-specific America First Field (formerly known as Rio Tinto Stadium), which hosts Real Salt Lake and Utah Royals FC home games, and opened on October 8, 2008. The city is currently developing a walkable and transit-oriented city center called The Cairns. A formal master plan was adopted in January 2017 to accommodate region…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
6 towns share a border with Sandy.
| Town | UT rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sandy | #68 | B+ | C | C | A− | A |
| Granite | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Midvale | #61 | A− | C | — | A− | A− |
| Cottonwood Heights | #48 | A− | C | B− | A− | A |
| Draper | #57 | A− | D | B− | A− | A |
| South Jordan | #36 | A | C− | B | B | A |
| West Jordan | #87 | B | C | C | B | A− |
Midvale reports no FBI crime data of its own. Granite isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Sandy with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Sandy grades B+ overall, better than 73% of U.S. towns and #68 of 118 in Utah. It grades A for health, C for safety and A− for schools.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C.
16 notable people were born here, including Michele Vasconcelos and Dee Benson.
