Holladay & Cottonwood Heights, UT

What Holladay & Cottonwood Heights is actually like

Holladay traces to some of the earliest Mormon pioneer settlement of the Salt Lake Valley, in 1847-48, and takes its name from John D. Holladay, one of the area's original settlers -- making it, by founding date, one of the oldest communities in this entire cluster even though it didn't incorporate as its own city until 1999. Cottonwood Heights, immediately south and east, developed later as a distinct suburban area and stayed unincorporated even longer, not becoming its own city until 2005 -- part of a broader wave of Salt Lake County communities that incorporated in the late 1990s and early 2000s rather than remain unincorporated county land or be absorbed by a larger neighbor.

What defines both cities today is geography more than any single civic event: both sit directly at the base of the Wasatch Range, at the mouths of Big Cottonwood Canyon (bordering Holladay and Cottonwood Heights alike) and Little Cottonwood Canyon (Cottonwood Heights' southern edge) -- the two canyon corridors that carry Utah state highways up to four of the Wasatch's best-known ski resorts: Brighton and Solitude up Big Cottonwood Canyon, Alta and Snowbird up Little Cottonwood Canyon. That's a genuinely different, resort-adjacent identity from the valley-floor suburbs elsewhere in this cluster, where the nearest mountain recreation is a drive rather than a ten-minute trip up the road.

Holladay's population runs an estimated 31,099, up 18.3% since the 2010 Census figure of 26,299; Cottonwood Heights runs an estimated 32,828, down 2.1% from its 2010 figure of 33,544 -- a real point of contrast between the two, with Holladay still growing while Cottonwood Heights has held roughly steady or contracted slightly as a largely built-out city (HomeSnacks).

Home values in Holladay & Cottonwood Heights

Zillow's statewide Home Value Index for Utah was $539,949 as of July 31, 2026, up 1.5% year-over-year (Zillow) -- a statewide, not city-specific, figure, offered here as honest context rather than a substitute for a city-level number. Both cities' east-bench, canyon-adjacent locations typically carry a premium within the Salt Lake Valley, though this research did not pull a city-specific Zillow or Redfin figure for either Holladay or Cottonwood Heights -- check either platform directly by ZIP code for a current number before relying on one. Utah taxes income at a flat 4.45% rate for every individual filer (Tax Foundation), on top of which the state levies a 6.10% sales tax with an average combined state-and-local rate of 7.19% statewide -- though Salt Lake County's own combined rate runs slightly above that average, at 7.45% (4.85% state plus a 2.6% county-and-local add-on) (Avalara). Property taxes work differently than in most states: Utah's constitution shields 45% of a primary, owner-occupied home's fair market value from taxation entirely, so only 55% of assessed value is actually taxed -- a structural exemption open to any qualifying primary residence, not tied to the owner's age or income, administered through a one-time Residential Property Declaration filed with the county assessor (Utah State Tax Commission). That exemption helps keep Utah's statewide average effective property tax rate low -- the Tax Foundation puts it at roughly 0.48% of home value, a separate AskDoss analysis at roughly 0.55%, both well under the national average near 0.9% (AskDoss).

Evenings and weekends

Evenings here run toward dinner and après-ski, not a bar district. Porcupine Pub & Grille (3698 Fort Union Blvd, Cottonwood Heights), open since 1998 right at Big Cottonwood Canyon's mouth, is the closest thing to a real après-ski spot in this part of the valley -- 24 drafts and a full bar, open until 10 or 11pm most nights for skiers and mountain bikers coming down off the canyon (Porcupine Pub & Grille). Holladay Village Plaza, on Holladay Boulevard, holds a denser cluster of sit-down restaurants, Taqueria 27 among them, but most close by 9 or 10pm rather than running late. The Holladay Summer Concert Series brings free outdoor shows to Holladay City Hall Park on summer evenings, and Cottonwood Heights' Butlerville Days, a multi-day July festival, is the area's biggest recurring gathering. Weeknights go quiet early in both cities; people wanting a late bar scene head downhill to Sugar House or downtown Salt Lake City.

Getting around

Cottonwood Heights (41 Walk Score) and Holladay (36) are both more walkable than the valley-floor suburbs elsewhere in this cluster, but neither approaches a car-free lifestyle -- a car remains standard for most errands. What's genuinely different here is what an "errand" often means: with Big and Little Cottonwood canyons both a short drive away, many residents' regular trips are up-canyon for recreation rather than local commercial errands, especially during ski season when UTA's seasonal ski-bus routes add a transit option most of this cluster doesn't have.

Holladay & Cottonwood Heights FAQ