Utah taxpayers face dramatically different levels of city taxes and fees depending on where they live, and you can learn about them in the latest Utah Taxpayers Association’s 2026 Cost of City Government Report.
The report compares fiscal year 2025 tax and fee collections in Utah’s 50 most populous cities and adjusts those collections on a per-resident basis. It also includes taxes levied by special districts that provide core municipal services such as fire, police, sewer, libraries and recreation.
Salt Lake City ranked No. 1, collecting $2,253 per resident. South Salt Lake followed at $1,895 per resident. St. George ranked third at $1,261, Heber fourth at $1,253, and American Fork fifth at $1,204. The median among the cities studied was $868 per resident, while the average was $924.
Four of the five highest-ranked cities—Salt Lake City, South Salt Lake, Heber and American Fork—are also scheduled to hold truth-in-taxation hearings in August. Salt Lake City is scheduled to hold such a hearing for at least the second consecutive year.
The rankings look different when collections are compared with residents’ income. South Salt Lake collected $52.12 in taxes and fees for every $1,000 of per-capita income, the highest rate in the report. Salt Lake City ranked second at $43.66, followed by Logan at $35.17, Hurricane at $34.82 and Heber at $32.55.
The report also shows how differently cities fund services. On average, 41% of city-collected tax and fee revenue came from sales taxes, 25% from property taxes and 34% from other sources such as charges for services, permits, fines and impact fees. That mix matters because sales taxes are often paid by nonresidents, while property taxes fall more directly on local property owners.
Another striking finding is the amount of unrestricted cash held by many cities. The median city had enough unrestricted cash to cover 240 days of operations, far above the commonly used 90-day benchmark. Orem reported 1,074 days of cash on hand, South Jordan 872 days, American Fork 681 days and Logan 654 days. Large balances can reflect savings for major projects or sound financial planning, but they also raise questions about whether some governments are collecting more than needed.
One city is notably absent from the rankings. Eagle Mountain, Utah’s 12th-largest city, had not submitted its fiscal year 2025 financial report to the State Auditor. As a result, its data are blank, and the report notes the city is not receiving property tax distributions while it remains delinquent. The city collected more than $45 million in taxes and fees in 2024.
The full report provides rankings for all 50 cities, along with spending, revenue sources, special-district taxes and cash reserves. You can read the full report here.