Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Santa Clara grades B overall, ranked 85th of 118 in Utah. It is healthier than 93% of U.S. towns and the median household earns $96K. What holds it back is price: homes are expensive, about $527K for a typical one and 6.5 times the St. George metro’s $81K median household income. Santa Clara’s midsummer high is 102°F, against 92°F in Utah’s towns and 85°F across U.S. towns. Only 6 of Utah’s 173 towns score lower on hazard risk. Santa Clara has 8 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Jacob Hamblin House and Santa Clara Relief Society House.
Where Santa Clara beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Census counts: 194 in 1880, a low of 194 in 1880, 7,553 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1862 and a map from 1986 on.
8 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Utah), ordered by how far Santa Clara is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Santa Clara, 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 Santa Clara.
Santa Clara has a longer frost-free season than almost anywhere else in Utah and keeps more of its land conserved than most of Utah, but it carries more natural-hazard risk than most of Utah (mostly wildfires).
Its widest gap with Utah is tooth loss: 6.3% of those 65+ have lost all their teeth, against 9.8% statewide.
For adults in Santa Clara, the share who had a checkup this year is 72%. Only 10 of the 118 Utah towns we compare have a lower share of adults who feel lonely than Santa Clara. Among adults here, 14% get no exercise outside work and 7% smoke cigarettes. The town beats the Utah average on 14 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 2.
| Santa Clara | Utah towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 11% | 11% | 16% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 17% | 25% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 7% | 8% | 14% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 33% | 33% |
| What stands out | Santa Clara | UT |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 6.3% | 9.8% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 8.5% | 12.4% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 9.4% | 7.2% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
One of its 3 schools is below, with the reason it’s listed. Public schools: the Washington District.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lava Ridge IntermediateLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–7 | Grades 6–7 | 699 | B− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within UT on state tests and graduation
Its 1,388 conserved acres are a larger share of the town than in 96% of Utah towns.
Santa Clara River Reserve, at 426 acres with 2.1 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve. Trails total 9.7 miles in 6 parks and preserves. Its concentration of trails comes in at 1.6 miles per square mile.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Santa Clara River Reserve | 2.1 mi | 426 |
| 2. Archie H. Gubler Park | 0.4 mi | 24 |
| 3. Santa Clara Park | — | 30 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 97% of Utah towns, with expected losses of about $335 per resident a year; that rating is what its D for hazard risk is built on.
Expected losses in Santa Clara break down as 56% from wildfires and 33% from inland flooding. Santa Clara’s FEMA risk score comes in at 86 of 100. The national flood insurance program has paid one claim here since 2005.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Jobs based here grew from 643 in 2013 to 1,516.
The top destinations are St. George (60%), Washington (5%) and Ivins (4%). Employers in Santa Clara added 873 jobs between 2013 and 2023, to 1,516. Among residents here, 3.9% live below the poverty line. Half commute less than 6 miles.
| Santa Clara | Utah towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 19 minutes | 22 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 3.9% | 6.4% | 9.6% |
| Work from home | 10% | 16% | 11% |
| Median household income | $96,000 | $101,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
The St George weather station records that the frost-free season runs about 239 days, the highest of 330 Utah places with climate records. The St George weather station records that about 128 days a year reach 90°, more than in 98% of U.S. towns.
Expect mild winters and scorching summers in Santa Clara, with very little rain. July afternoons reach 102°, January nights drop to 32° and about 1 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
For Santa Clara, the median age is 33 years. By age, Santa Clara looks like Utah: each broad group is within 4 points. Since 2020, Santa Clara has grown 15%, to 8,722 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. In Santa Clara, 16% of residents are 65 or older.
| Santa Clara | Utah towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 18 | 27% | 30% | 22% |
| Median age | 33 years | 32.6 years | 40.5 years |
| Aged 65 or older | 16% | 11% | 18% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 36% | 36% | 29% |
48% women, 52% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±3.4 points. Across Utah, 49.3% of residents are women.
| Santa Clara | UT | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 13.1% | 14.6% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 14.3% | 13.2% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 9.8% | 11.6% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 17.2% | 14.8% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 11% | 13.8% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 8.8% | 11% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 10.2% | 9.1% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 10% | 7.3% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 5.8% | 4.6% | 7% |
| No diploma | 5.8% | 6.6% | 10.4% |
| High school | 18.4% | 22.3% | 26% |
| Some college | 30.3% | 23.5% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 9.2% | 9.9% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 22.9% | 24.7% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 13.3% | 13% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
The typical value, about $527K, is 9% below its June 2022 peak. 71.5% of renter households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, against 47.2% across Utah.
Typical home values fell 1.9% in the year to September 2026. For Santa Clara, the typical rent is $1,907 a month. Homes sold in Santa Clara spent a median 18 days on the market.
| Santa Clara | Utah towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,907 a month | $1,538 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 78% | 79% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Santa Clara. Close and well known come first.
Big draw30 mi National ParkZion National Park5.0M visitors a year
5 mi State parkSnow Canyon State Park
18 mi Canyon & gorgeVirgin River Gorge
36 mi Canyon & gorgeZion Canyon
4 mi TheatreSt. George Opera House11 mi MuseumWestern Sky Aviation Warbird MuseumZion National Park: Diliff, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Snow Canyon State Park: Unknown, CC BY 2.5 · Virgin River Gorge: inkknife_2000 (7.5 million views +), CC BY-SA 2.0 · Zion Canyon: No machine-readable author provided. Antilived assumed (based on copyright claim, CC BY-SA 3.0 · St. George Opera House: teofilo, CC BY 2.0
1 within 15 miles of the center of Santa Clara
About 6 of every 100 Santa Clara residents are enrolled in college, against 8 across Utah.
6,003 counted in 2010 and 7,553 in 2020; an estimated 8,722 in 2025.
Growth hasn’t slowed: 15.4% since 2020, after 25.8% in the decade before.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
8 places in Santa Clara on the National Register of Historic Places.
American city in Utah, founded 1854
Santa Clara is a city in Washington County, in southwestern Utah, (Western United States) and is a part of the St. George Metropolitan Area. As of the 2020 census, Santa Clara had a population of 7,553. The region and county borders the states of Arizona to the south and Nevada to the west. The town is a western suburb of the nearby county seat and larger city of St. George, Utah
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
2 towns share a border with Santa Clara.
| Town | UT rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Santa Clara | #85 | B | C− | — | B+ | A |
| St. George | #91 | B− | C− | B− | B+ | A− |
| Ivins | #106 | C | D | — | B+ | A− |
Santa Clara and Ivins report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Santa Clara with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Santa Clara grades B overall, better than 62% of U.S. towns and #85 of 118 in Utah. It grades A for health and B+ for schools. Hazard risk is its weak spot, with a D.
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C−.
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