This is Utah’s richest city, study says — and it’s not Park City

SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — While Park City has a reputation for luxury and fame, thanks to its resorts and celebrities who have moved to the Wasatch Back, it might come as a shock to learn it is not Utah’s richest town.

That honor belongs to Highland, a Utah County city nestled between Lehi and Alpine near the Point of the Mountain, according to data compiled by Nexstar Media Wire.

To find the richest town, Nexstar Media Wire used median household income data provided by the U.S. Census Bureau. The study found the median household income of Highland is about $166,000 — about 121.5% more than the U.S. median.

In comparison, Park City’s median household income is about $132,000. Outside of Utah, Nevada’s richest town has a median income of $85,311 while the richest town in Colorado is over $250,000.

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Highland’s wealth is evident by its population of 19,000 residents. Over 37% of Highland households earn over $200,000 and the entire city has an unemployment rate of 2.8%. Only 1.8% of the city’s population is below the poverty level. A vast majority of the population — 95.3% — is also covered with health insurance.

According to Nexstar Media Wire’s study, Highland started as a settlement in the 1870s, with silver and peas playing a large part in the city’s early economy.

Today, it is a mostly residential area with a small commercial district just outside of the tech-industry center building in Lehi. The U.S. Census Bureau says the city has 4,761 housing units, of which 91.1% are occupied.

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