West Valley City

History

The earliest known residents of the western Salt Lake Valley were Native American bands of the Ute and Shoshoni tribes. The first European people to live in the area were the Latter-day Saints. The Euro-Americans arrived in the Salt Lake Valley in 1847. The area was first staked out by settler Joseph Harker and his family in the area they named as "over Jordan" (referring to the land west of the Jordan River, which runs through the valley). The Granger area was settled by Welsh pioneers who came to Utah with Dan Jones in 1849. Irrigation systems and agriculture were developed in the area, and Elias Smith proposed the area's name on account of its successful farming. The population of Granger and its vicinity was about 1,000 people in 1930. Hunter was not settled until 1876. This settlement was started by Rasmus Nielson, Edward Rushton, August Larsen and about seven others along with their families. Irrigation began in 1881 and the main crop was fruit trees.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 35.5 square miles (91.8 km2), of which 35.4 square miles (91.7 km2) is land and 0.1 square miles (0.2 km2) (0.17%) is water. West Valley is located on the northwest side of the Salt Lake Valley between Salt Lake City on the north, South Salt Lake on the east, Magna on the west, and Taylorsville and Kearns Township on the south. The Oquirrh Mountains loom over the city to the west, while the Jordan River marks the eastern boundary. The Eastern side of West Valley City consists of the Redwood, Chesterfield and East Granger neighborhoods. The neighborhood population in 2013 was 54,832. This area of West Valley City has a median household income of $42,512, which is lower when compared to the rest of the city and region. The neighborhood's racial makeup was 51.17% White, 35.08% Hispanic or Latino, 4.73% Asian, 3.24% Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander and 2.51% African-American. Much of Eastern West Valley's residential architecture is based on common brick ranch styles from the 1960s and 1970s. To the north of Parkway Boulevard exists a significant number of light industrial development. South of Parkway is mostly residential and commercial, including Valley Fair Mall and the Maverik Center. The Westshire neighborhood is located directly south of Valley Fair Mall and consists of 160 homes built by modernist architect Ron Molen. This neighborhood is unique in that all homes were built in the 1960s and 1970s in the Mid-Century Modern style and are excellent examples of modernist residential architecture. West Valley City planners are currently developing a planned mass-transit anchored Downtown area near the Valley Fair Mall with the emergence of the Fairbourne…

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• House Finch

  Haemorhous mexicanus (P.L.Statius Müller, 1776) · Aves
  35,156
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  26,494
• Black-capped Chickadee

  Poecile atricapillus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  26,295
• Mallard

  Anas platyrhynchos Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  23,849
• Song Sparrow

  Melospiza melodia (A.Wilson, 1810) · Aves
  23,676
• House Sparrow

  Passer domesticus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  22,732
• Lesser Goldfinch

  Spinus psaltria (Say, 1822) · Aves
  22,374
• European Starling

  Sturnus vulgaris Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  21,989

Largest nearby schools

• Granger High
  High · WEST VALLEY CITY · 3,481 students · 26:1 ratio
• Copper Hills High
  High · WEST JORDAN · 2,841 students · 25.6:1 ratio
• Taylorsville High
  High · TAYLORSVILLE · 2,770 students · 26.1:1 ratio
• Cyprus High
  High · MAGNA · 2,709 students · 26.6:1 ratio
• West High
  High · SALT LAKE CITY · 2,600 students · 22.2:1 ratio
• Hunter High
  High · WEST VALLEY CITY · 2,595 students · 25.2:1 ratio
• Bingham High
  High · SOUTH JORDAN · 2,482 students · 24.6:1 ratio
• Kearns High
  High · KEARNS · 2,382 students · 25.9:1 ratio

Most recent

• M 2.86 — 2026-08-07
  6 km NNW of Saratoga Springs, Utah
• M 3.52 — 2026-02-14
  4 km NNW of West Valley City, Utah
• M 3.5 — 2026-02-05
  6 km WNW of Lehi, Utah
• M 2.71 — 2026-02-05
  41 km ENE of Oakley, Utah
• M 2.97 — 2026-01-22
  41 km SSE of Evanston, Wyoming
• M 4.65 — 2026-01-22
  40 km S of Evanston, Wyoming