Salt Lake Tribune · Apr 25, 2019
How many local governments does Utah have? Census Bureau counts 619
(Jeremy Harmon | Tribune file photo) The Salt Lake City Hall on June 28, 2018.The U.S. Census Bureau is known for counting people. But on Thursday, it also released a census of all the local governments in America.
It found that in 2017, Utah had 619 local governments — from counties to cities, school districts, water districts, cemetery districts and more. Of course, all of them collect taxes and/or fees.
Back in 1942 — more than 75 years earlier — Utah had a mere 303 such local governments.
For the record, here is what the latest census of local governments found for Utah:
• 29 counties. Salt Lake County is the largest with 1.15 million people; Daggett is the smallest with 980.