Utah dark-sky map — light pollution by town
Utah has 63 towns rated for light pollution here, from its darkest — West Haven (Bortle 5) — to its brightest city cores. 0 rate as genuinely dark or rural sky (Bortle 4 or better). Sort the table by darkness to find the best stargazing near you, then open any town for its exact rating, what you can see, the nearest darker skies to drive to, and tonight's live Moon, cloud, and aurora conditions. Ratings are a VIIRS satellite proxy for planning, not survey-grade sky-brightness readings.
- Towns rated
- 63
- Darkest town
- West Haven
- Genuinely dark towns
- 0
0 rate as genuinely dark or rural sky (about Bortle 4 or better).
All Utah towns by darkness
Darkest sky first. Click a column heading to sort, or filter by name. A satellite reading, not a survey-grade measurement — and the real dark skies are usually a short drive out of any town.
| Sky | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| West Haven | 5 | Suburban sky | 6.1 |
| Saratoga Springs | 5 | Suburban sky | 7.0 |
| North Logan | 5 | Suburban sky | 7.1 |
| Smithfield | 5 | Suburban sky | 7.1 |
| Grantsville | 6 | Bright suburban sky | 9.2 |
| Bluffdale | 6 | Bright suburban sky | 10 |
| Alpine | 6 | Bright suburban sky | 10 |
| Cedar Hills | 6 | Bright suburban sky | 11 |
| Cottonwood Heights | 6 | Bright suburban sky | 12 |
| Highland | 6 | Bright suburban sky | 12 |
| Santaquin | 6 | Bright suburban sky | 12 |
| Centerville | 6 | Bright suburban sky | 13 |
| Eagle Mountain | 6 | Bright suburban sky | 14 |
| West Point | 6 | Bright suburban sky | 15 |
| North Ogden | 6 | Bright suburban sky | 16 |
| East Millcreek | 6 | Bright suburban sky | 16 |
| Payson | 6 | Bright suburban sky | 16 |
| Washington | 6 | Bright suburban sky | 16 |
| Hurricane | 6 | Bright suburban sky | 16 |
| Clinton | 6 | Bright suburban sky | 17 |
| Magna | 6 | Bright suburban sky | 17 |
| Oquirrh | 6 | Bright suburban sky | 18 |
| Herriman | 7 | Suburban / urban transition | 21 |
| Farmington | 7 | Suburban / urban transition | 21 |
| Canyon Rim | 7 | Suburban / urban transition | 22 |
| Kearns | 7 | Suburban / urban transition | 23 |
| Holladay | 7 | Suburban / urban transition | 24 |
| Lehi | 7 | Suburban / urban transition | 24 |
| Spanish Fork | 7 | Suburban / urban transition | 24 |
| West Valley City | 7 | Suburban / urban transition | 24 |
| Springville | 7 | Suburban / urban transition | 25 |
| Kaysville | 7 | Suburban / urban transition | 28 |
| Lindon | 7 | Suburban / urban transition | 28 |
| South Ogden | 7 | Suburban / urban transition | 28 |
| Layton | 7 | Suburban / urban transition | 29 |
| Draper | 7 | Suburban / urban transition | 29 |
| Tooele | 7 | Suburban / urban transition | 29 |
| Syracuse | 7 | Suburban / urban transition | 30 |
| North Salt Lake | 7 | Suburban / urban transition | 30 |
| Pleasant Grove | 7 | Suburban / urban transition | 31 |
| Millcreek | 7 | Suburban / urban transition | 32 |
| American Fork | 7 | Suburban / urban transition | 32 |
| Vernal | 7 | Suburban / urban transition | 33 |
| Riverton | 7 | Suburban / urban transition | 34 |
| Midvale | 7 | Suburban / urban transition | 35 |
| Roy | 7 | Suburban / urban transition | 37 |
| Saint George | 7 | Suburban / urban transition | 37 |
| Taylorsville | 7 | Suburban / urban transition | 38 |
| Bountiful | 7 | Suburban / urban transition | 39 |
| Cedar City | 7 | Suburban / urban transition | 39 |
| Clearfield | 8 | City sky | 42 |
| Logan | 8 | City sky | 44 |
| Brigham City | 8 | City sky | 45 |
| South Jordan | 8 | City sky | 47 |
| Orem | 8 | City sky | 48 |
| Sandy | 8 | City sky | 49 |
| Woods Cross | 8 | City sky | 57 |
| West Jordan | 8 | City sky | 58 |
| South Salt Lake | 8 | City sky | 69 |
| Provo | 8 | City sky | 85 |
| Ogden | 8 | City sky | 96 |
| Murray | 8 | City sky | 97 |
| Salt Lake City | 9 | Inner-city sky | 185 |
Frequently asked questions
- Where are the darkest skies in Utah?
- The darkest town tracked here is West Haven. Sort the table on this page by darkness to see the full ranking, from the most rural, star-filled skies down to the brightest city cores.
- How many dark-sky towns does Utah have?
- Of 63 towns rated here, 0 rate as genuinely dark or rural sky (about Bortle 4 or better) — good for seeing the Milky Way on a clear, moonless night.
- How are these light-pollution ratings measured?
- From VIIRS 2024 annual-average satellite night-lights, sampled at each town's center and mapped to a darkness class and an estimated Bortle band. It is a satellite upward-radiance proxy for planning, not a survey-grade sky-brightness reading. See the methodology page for details.
Explore
Learn to read the Bortle scale, check the meteor shower calendar, or search all towns from the home page.