Cottonwood Heights is a city located in

Salt Lake County Salt Lake County is located in the U.S. state of Utah. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 1,185,238, making it the most populous county in Utah. Its county seat and largest city is Salt Lake City, the state capital. The cou ...

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to its ...

, the United States, along the east bench of the

Salt Lake Valley Salt Lake Valley is a valley in Salt Lake County in the north-central portion of the U.S. state of Utah. It contains Salt Lake City and many of its suburbs, notably Murray, Sandy, South Jordan, West Jordan, and West Valley City; its total ...

. It lies south of the cities of

Holladay Holladay is a city in central Salt Lake County, Utah, United States. It is part of the Salt Lake City, Utah Metropolitan Statistical Area and abuts the Wasatch National Forest. The population was 31,965 at the 2020 census, a significant increa ...

and

Murray Murray may refer to: Businesses * Murray (bicycle company), an American manufacturer of low-cost bicycles * Murrays, an Australian bus company * Murray International Trust, a Scottish investment trust * D. & W. Murray Limited, an Australian who ...

, east of Midvale, and north of

Sandy Sandy may refer to: People and fictional characters *Sandy (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Sandy (surname), a list of people * Sandy (singer), Brazilian singer and actress Sandy Leah Lima (born 1983) * (Sandy) ...

within the

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the capital and most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in Utah. With a population of 200,133 in 2020, th ...

, Utah

Metropolitan Statistical Area In the United States, a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) is a geographical region with a relatively high population density at its core and close economic ties throughout the area. Such regions are neither legally incorporated as a city or tow ...

. Following a successful incorporation referendum in May 2004, the city was incorporated on January 14, 2005. Cottonwood Heights had been a

Census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counterparts of incorporated places, suc ...

(CDP) before incorporation. The population as of the 2010 census was 33,433. This is a significant increase over the CDP's 2000 census count of 27,569. The corporate offices of

Dyno Nobel Dyno Nobel is a manufacturer of explosives. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Incitec Pivot Limited operating in Australia, Canada, the United States, Africa, Indonesia, Mexico, South America, Papua New Guinea and Turkey. They provide the ...

, the defunct Fusion-io,

Extra Space Storage Extra Space Storage is a real estate investment trust headquartered in Salt Lake City, UT that invests in self storage facilities. The company rents storage units, including climate controlled units, drive-up units, lockers, boat storage, RV sto ...

Breeze Airways Breeze Airways is a low-cost U.S. airline headquartered in Cottonwood Heights, Utah. The airline was founded by David Neeleman, who previously co-founded Morris Air, WestJet, JetBlue, and Azul Linhas Aereas. Breeze's operations launched on Ma ...

, and

JetBlue JetBlue Airways Corporation (stylized as jetBlue) is a major American low cost airline, and the seventh largest airline in North America by passengers carried. The airline is headquartered in the Long Island City neighborhood of the New York C ...

are located in the city. In 2007, Money magazine rated Cottonwood Heights at #100 on their Best Places to Live list.

Geography

As the city's name suggests, its geography is dominated by a high ridge separating the valleys of the Big and Little Cottonwood Creeks. At the eastern edge of the city, these valleys narrow into the Big and Little Cottonwood Canyons within the

Wasatch Mountains The Wasatch Range ( ) or Wasatch Mountains is a mountain range in the western United States that runs about from the Utah-Idaho border south to central Utah. It is the western edge of the greater Rocky Mountains, and the eastern edge of the G ...

, respectively; this is reflected by the city's official nickname, "City between the canyons". The ridge is covered in suburban housing, but most commercial development has been restricted to the lower-lying areas north of the ridge (along Fort Union Boulevard, in Fort Union itself, and near Big Cottonwood Creek and the " Old Mill" in the northeast corner of the city). State Route 190 and State Route 210 run near the eastern edge of the city and provide access to the canyons; they are the only state routes that enter the city. Interstate 215 runs along the northern border of the city, and State Route 152 touches the city at a point. The city is building a

multi-use trail A shared-use path, mixed-use path or multi-use pathway is a path which is 'designed to accommodate the movement of pedestrians and cyclists'. Examples of shared-use paths include sidewalks designated as shared-use, bridleways and rail trails. A ...

along the full length of Big Cottonwood Creek within its borders. Cottonwood Heights is in the Canyons School District; Brighton High School is the only public high school in the city. Butler Middle school is the only middle school within city limits. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of th ...

, the CDP had a total area of 6.8 square miles (17.6 km), all land.

Demographics

According to estimates from the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute of the

University of Utah The University of Utah (U of U, UofU, or simply The U) is a public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is the flagship institution of the Utah System of Higher Education. The university was established in 1850 as the University of De ...

, as of 2015, there were 34,234 people in Cottonwood Heights. The racial makeup of the county was 86.57% non-Hispanic

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White ...

, 0.81%

Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ha ...

, 0.60% Native American, 4.51% Asian, 0.88%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/ racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of O ...

, and 2.34% from two or more races. 4.29% of the population were

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties for ...

or Latino of any race.

Local media

* The Cottonwood/Holladay City Journal (tabloid style newspaper), covering local government, schools, sports, and features.

Police services

On January 8, 2008, the Cottonwood Heights City Council voted to create its own police department and withdraw from its current contract with the Salt Lake County Sheriff's Department.

Notable people

* Jackson Barton,

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

tackle * Cody Barton, American football linebacker * Greg Curtis, former Speaker of the Utah House of Representatives * Tristan Gale, Olympic gold medalist *

Gordon Hudson Gordon Lynn Hudson (June 22, 1962 — September 27, 2021) was an American professional football player who was a tight end in the United States Football League (USFL) and National Football League (NFL) for three seasons during the 1980s. Huds ...

tight end * Bryan Kehl, American football linebacker *

Trevor Lewis Trevor ( Trefor in the Welsh language) is a common given name or surname of Welsh origin. It is an habitational name, deriving from the Welsh ''tre(f)'', meaning "homestead", or "settlement" and ''fawr'', meaning "large, big". The Cornish l ...

, hockey player * Reno Mahe, American football running back *

Post Malone Austin Richard Post (born July 4, 1995), known professionally as Post Malone, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. Known for his variegated vocals, Malone has gained acclaim for blending genres and subgenres of hip ...

, American musician * David Neeleman, former CEO of JetBlue Airways *

Boyd K. Packer Boyd Kenneth Packer (September 10, 1924 – July 3, 2015) was an American religious leader and educator who served as president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) from 2008 until h ...

, Latter-Day Saint leader *

Mark Shurtleff Mark Leonard Shurtleff (born August 9, 1957) is an American attorney, former three-term Utah Attorney General, and founder of the Shurtleff Law Firm and the Shurtleff Group. He was a partner in the Washington, D.C. office of the law firm Troutma ...

, former Utah Attorney General * Scott Johnson, Cartoonist * William R. Walker, Canadian-American Mormon leader

References

External links

* {{Authority control Cities in Utah Cities in Salt Lake County, Utah Former census-designated places in Utah Salt Lake City metropolitan area Populated places established in 2005