City · Emery County, Utah

Castle Dale, Utah

Castle Dale is a city in Emery County, Utah. It has 1,546 residents. Castle Dale, Utah has a quality-of-life score of 64 out of 100 (high), ranking #5,574 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Utah it ranks #112 of 175 cities and towns. It ranks best on public libraries (high), public EV charging ports (high) and income inequality (Gini index) (low). It ranks worst on social associations (low), arts, entertainment and recreation (low) and drought exposure (high).

64High

Quality-of-life score: #5,574 of 15,651 cities and towns
Utah: #112 of 175 in UT
Population: 1,546 (2020-2024)
Land area: 2 mi²
Density: 683.1 /mi²
FIPS code: 4910660

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 71 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.

Open in the map

Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.

Safety62#5,957/15,637
Economy83#2,683/15,631
Housing88#1,828/14,977
Health40#9,374/15,609
Healthcare17#12,953/15,650
Environment95#743/15,453
Education72#4,339/15,649
Infrastructure70#4,738/15,650
Community32#10,625/15,651
Leisure & amenities13#13,613/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Castle Dale, Utah ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Emery County value” are the county’s: the source publishes no figure for this city or town, and the county holding most of its residents stands in.

Strengths

Public libraries · high7.9 /10k
100/100Utah 0.4 /10kUnited States 0.5 /10k2024Institute of Museum and Library ServicesEmery County value
Public EV charging ports · high48.2 /10k
99/100Utah 9.0 /10kUnited States 7.6 /10kOct 2026U.S. Department of EnergyEmery County value
Income inequality (Gini index) · low0.292
99/100Utah 0.427United States 0.4832020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B19083
Grocery stores · high3.9 /10k
98/100Utah 1.1 /10kUnited States 1.7 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsEmery County value
Natural hazard risk · low2.8
96/100Utah 47.92025Federal Emergency Management AgencyEmery County value
Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) · low5.0 µg/m³
96/100Utah 7.3 µg/m³United States 8.0 µg/m³2022Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyEmery County value

Weaknesses

Social associations · low0.0 /10k
0/100Utah 3.6 /10kUnited States 9.1 /10k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteEmery County value
Arts, entertainment and recreation · low0.0 /10k
1/100Utah 5.6 /10kUnited States 5.5 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsEmery County value
Drought exposure · high100%
1/100Utah 98%United States 43%Oct 2025–Sep 2026National Drought Mitigation Center (University of Nebraska–Lincoln), USDA and NOAAEmery County value
Primary care physicians · low10 /100k
1/100Utah 56 /100kUnited States 76 /100k2022University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteEmery County value
Distance to an emergency room · high23.0 mi
2/100Utah 5.2 miUnited States 5.5 miJul 2026Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesEmery County value
Traffic deaths · high39.9 /100k
3/100Utah 8.7 /100kUnited States 12.3 /100k2020-2024National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationProvisional dataEmery County value

Trends

The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.

PopulationRising
1,368 (2015-2019) → 1,546 (2020-2024)
+13%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Bachelor's degree or higherImproving
15.8% (2015-2019) → 34.1% (2020-2024)
+18 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%
Median household incomeImproving
$43,333 (2015-2019) → $82,958 (2020-2024)
+91%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Child poverty rateImproving
26.3% (2015-2019) → 11.8% (2020-2024)
−14 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
80.6% (2015-2019) → 91.1% (2020-2024)
+11 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Rent as share of incomeImproving
30.0% (2015-2019) → 19.6% (2020-2024)
−10 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%

What changed in five years

How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.

Over about five years, Castle Dale, Utah improved on 3 of 8 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 5 moved within the margin of error and 0 barely changed.

Earlier (2015-2019)
Latest (2020-2024)
Lower standingHigher standing

Position is the place's standing among cities and towns: further right is better, whichever way the measure counts.

Improved3

Household income+91%$43,333 → $82,958
Bachelor's++18 points15.8% → 34.1%
Inequality−0.0940.386 → 0.292

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 8 measures

Change of every measure of Castle Dale, Utah between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	22.2 min2015-2019	22.3 min2020-2024	+0.1 min	Within the margin of error	47%
Bachelor's degree or higher	15.8%2015-2019	34.1%2020-2024	+18 points	Improved	99%
Broadband subscriptions	80.6%2015-2019	91.1%2020-2024	+11 points	Within the margin of error	62%
Effective property tax rate	0.66%2015-2019	0.78%2020-2024	+0.1 points	Within the margin of error	5%
High school diploma or higher	93.9%2015-2019	95.7%2020-2024	+1.8 points	Within the margin of error	56%
Home price to income ratio	3.2×2015-2019	2.6×2020-2024	−0.6×	Within the margin of error	95%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.3862015-2019	0.2922020-2024	−0.094	Improved	95%
Median household income	$43,3332015-2019	$82,9582020-2024	+91%	Improved	98%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 14640 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.

Sources: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Values are the latest and the one five years earlier of the same publisher dataset; datasets that changed publisher in between are never compared.

Survey estimates (American Community Survey) compare the two most recent 5-year windows that do not share years, so the margin of error of the difference holds. The 2015-2019 window predates the pandemic and 2020-2024 includes it.
A change counts only when it is larger than 1.645 times the square root of the two standard errors squared, summed (a 90% margin). Measures published without a margin must change by at least 5% to count.
“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 15651 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.
Standing is a percentile among the same places: 0 is the lowest value on the measure (or the worst when lower is better), 100 the best.

Cities and towns like Castle Dale, Utah five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Castle Dale, Utah in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.

For comparison, Castle Dale, Utah itself moved +15.7 points in standing on average over the same 8 measures (standings of all places average about zero).

How the ranking works

Similarity is the root-mean-square difference of standings in the earlier period over the measures most places have. Places are ranked by measures that improved beyond the margin of error minus those that declined (a count that estimation noise in small places cannot inflate), then by the mean change of standing over the measures a place has in both periods. Only places with more improvements than declines and a rise in standing are listed. Standings are relative, so a place can improve in absolute terms and still lose standing.

Who lives here

Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).

Age and sex

1,546 residents (±287)

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79†
60–69†

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

496 households (±112)

Castle Dale, Utah
Utah share

Under $25k5.0%†25
$25k–50k19%†93
$50k–75k20%

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Owners and renters

496 households (±112)

Castle Dale, Utah
Utah share

Own82%409
Rent18%†87

No change since 2015–2019 is larger than the margin of error.

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

How people get to work

552 workers (±148)

Castle Dale, Utah
Utah share

Drive alone87%†482
Carpool6.9%†38
Public transit

Local businesses

Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.

The Census Bureau publishes business counts by county, not by city, so these are the figures of Emery County, the county holding most of Castle Dale's residents.

Emery County has 194 employer establishments, 191 for every 10,000 residents (0.77× the US rate of 248; 0.69× Utah's), with 2,354 paid employees at an average annual pay of $58,645. The Census Bureau also counts 679 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 194; 679 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 191; US 248 · Utah 277
Paid employees: 2,354
Average annual pay: $58,645; US $68,342

Employer establishments, employees, average pay and nonemployers of Emery County by industry, with the density per resident against the nation

Gasoline stations	13	12.8	3.96×More than typical	238	$26,895	—
Specialty trade contractors	12	11.8	0.76×Fewer than typical	80	$57,175	47
Truck transportation	12	11.8	2.34×More than typical	47	$41,681	21
Ambulatory health care services	11	10.9	0.52×Fewer than typical	70	$52,086	21
Restaurants and other eating places	10	9.9	0.54×Fewer than typical	122	$17,516	—
Traveler accommodation	10	9.9	5.47×More than typical	122	$25,828	7
Automotive repair and maintenance	9	8.9	1.76×Too few to compare	25	$34,960	7
Services to buildings and dwellings	7	6.9	1.02×Too few to compare	9	$38,778	33
Architectural, engineering and related services	6	5.9	1.70×Too few to compare	53	$59,340	5
Banks and credit unions	6	5.9	1.83×Too few to compare	33	$35,485	—
Grocery and convenience stores	5	4.9	1.66×Too few to compare	134	$18,627	4
Limited-service restaurants	5	4.9	0.62×Too few to compare	31	$13,323	—

Rank places for an industry Open Emery County

County Business Patterns (2023); Nonemployer Statistics (2024)

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 10,134 residents here, 336,755,052 in the United States. County Business Patterns counts establishments in 2023; the Nonemployer Statistics count businesses in 2024.
“More than typical” is a density at least 1.25 times the nation's per resident, “fewer” at most 0.8 times, with at least 10 establishments. It compares counts of businesses with counts of people: it says nothing about demand, incomes, size, quality or profit, and visitors and commuters are not residents.
The Census Bureau adds noise to employment and payroll to protect confidentiality, and withholds some figures: an industry with few establishments can show employees or pay as unavailable.
Industries overlap: a narrower industry (full-service restaurants) is part of a broader one (restaurants), so the rows do not add up.
Industries follow the North American Industry Classification System; the two surveys use different editions (NAICS 2017 and 2022), which this page matches industry by industry.

Federal contracts performed here

In FY2026, an estimated $3,224 of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Castle Dale, Utah: $2.09 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $3,224; −28% vs FY2025
Per resident: $2.09; US $1,994
Sole-source: 100%; US 30%
Single offer: 0.0%; US 8.8%

A signal is a reason to look closer, not evidence of wrongdoing: most sole-source awards are lawful and justified.

Top buying agencies

Bureau of Land Management$3,224100%

Top recipients

COUNTY OF EMERY$3,224100%

Spending by fiscal year

5KFY2017
8.2KFY2018
-3.9KFY2019
4.4KFY2020
7.1KFY2021
3.8KFY2022
4.7KFY2023
3.5KFY2024

Top industries (NAICS)

Services to buildings and dwellings · 5617$1,74254%
Investigation and security services · 5616$1,48146%

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 3, 2026, loaded Oct 3, 2026.

How this is estimated

Agencies report each contract action's place of performance as a county and a ZIP code. A ZIP code's money is split among the cities it covers by the share of its land inside each (Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation areas); the part outside city limits stays with the county.

The place of performance is what the contracting agency reports, often the contractor's office rather than where the work happens.
Shares are of land, not of people or businesses: a ZIP code that is mostly rural land but has its offices in town gives the town less than it should.
ZIP codes that are not mapped areas (post office boxes, the unique ZIP codes of large federal sites and companies) stay with their county, unless one city covers nearly all of it.
Counts of actions and awards include those only partly in Castle Dale, Utah, so they do not add up across cities.

Castle Dale, Utah's figures are part of those of Emery County, UT ($128.7K in FY2026), never added to them: 2.5% of that total.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Castle Dale is mostly in Emery County.

See federal money in Emery County

Representation in Congress

Members serving today, with their record in the current Congress (party-unity votes cast with their caucus, roll calls missed). Not a grade.

Castle Dale, Utah is represented in the 119th Congress by these members.

House

Mike KennedyR-UT-3 · 100% of residentsWith party 99%Missed 1.8%

Senate

Explore Congress The 2026 races

County

A city can lie in several counties. Some indicators are published for counties only: the page marks them.

Emery County61100% of residents

Other cities and towns in Emery County

Largest first.

Similar cities and towns

Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).

Data and sources

Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.

PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
Building Permits SurveyU.S. Census Bureau · release 2026-08
Population Estimates ProgramU.S. Census Bureau · release 2025
Small Area Health Insurance EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
Small Area Income and Poverty EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement

JSON · /api/v1/places/4910660

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends