Small Town Guide
Menu

Towns / Utah

Manti, Utah

Manti is a small town of about 3,800 people in Sanpete County, Utah, about 5,600 feet above sea level. It's the county seat. It's growing fast: its population is up 10% since 2020. A typical home costs about 5 years of the typical household's income, compared with 4.1 across the U.S. The nearest metro area of about a million people or more, Salt Lake City, is about 106 miles away as the crow flies.

Boom townCounty seat

Population
3,794
up 10% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$310,700
Sanpete County prices up 11% since 2022
Household income
$62,614
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, rural Utah
93.1
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
12 miles
Gunnison, UT
To Salt Lake City
106 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 6.9% below the U.S. average in the parts of Utah outside metro areas.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 5 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhoodThe FBI has no 2025 figures for Manti itself. Many small towns are patrolled by the county sheriff, so call the sheriff's office and ask what calls they get most.
  • Schools in town2 public schools: 1 elementary and 1 high school.
  • A hospital close byGunnison Valley Hospital in Gunnison, about 12 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big citySalt Lake City is about 106 miles away as the crow flies. The book suggests staying within about 60 miles if you'll miss big-city sports, concerts and theater.

A check means Manti meets the rule of thumb from Frank and Dave's book. An empty box isn't a deal breaker: it's something to weigh for your family. A question mark means there isn't enough data.

What kind of town

Boom town. The population is up 10% since 2020. Growing fast, with rising home values. Watch for chain stores and big apartment complexes: the small-town feel may not last.

The book sorts small towns into six types. These labels come only from the numbers; take the quiz to see which type fits your family.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024
$310,700U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 11%Sanpete County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$995 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$62,614U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
75%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$1,664 a yearUtah: $2,525
Homes built before 1940
34%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
10%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
2%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
93.1U.S. average = 100 (the parts of Utah outside metro areas)

Home values and rents are what households told the Census Bureau across 2020 to 2024, so they trail today's market: county prices have moved up 11% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the parts of Utah outside metro areas, not Manti alone. Check current listings before you budget.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates; Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions); U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024.

The people

Population, 2025 estimate
3,7942020: 3,447
Median age
38 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
17%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
27%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
24%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
5%U.S.: 6%
College students
5%share of all residents

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025); U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Work

Biggest lines of work
Schools, health care and social services (29%); arts, recreation, lodging and restaurants (11%); manufacturing (10%)
Unemployment rate
2%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
22 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
5%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
15%U.S.: 12%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Gunnison Valley Hospital, Gunnison, UT, about 12 miles away. It's a critical access hospital (a small rural hospital with 25 or fewer beds). Medicare gives it 3 of 5 stars.

Nearest general hospital: Intermountain Health Sevier Valley Hospital, Richfield, UT, about 41 miles away. Medicare gives it 4 of 5 stars.

Look up doctors, clinics and the hospitals themselves on Medicare's Care Compare. Ask where the most serious cases are sent.

Sources: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information.

Schools

2 public schools in Manti, run by South Sanpete District.

See each school on the federal school search, then check test scores and graduation rates on Utah's school report card.

Sources: National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal); National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024.

Internet

Homes with cable, fiber or DSL internet
72%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
82%U.S.: 91%

Before you buy, look up the address on the FCC's National Broadband Map to see which providers serve it.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Weather

January average low
18°F
July average high
87°F
Days 90°F or hotter
18 a year
Nights at or below freezing
167 a year
Rain and melted snow
13.1 inches a year
Snow
53 inches a year
Elevation
5,637 feet

Weather station: Manti (1 mile away). Averages for 1991 to 2020.

Sources: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020; U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program.

Getting around

Straight-line miles. The road is always longer, and as the book says, an interstate at 70 is a different trip from a farm road at 45. Check the real drive: Gunnison Valley Hospital, Provo, Salt Lake City.

Sanpete County is outside any metro area, with 5,000 to 20,000 people in its towns, next to a metro area (USDA rural-urban code 6, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

22 places on the National Register of Historic Places.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Capitol Reef National Park53 miles

Read about Manti's history on Wikipedia.

Know Manti?

Tell us what a visitor shouldn't miss, and what living there is really like. Write to Main Street at mainstreet@smalltownguide.com. The best notes from people who know the town will be added here.

Nearby

Straight-line miles.

Small towns

Smaller places

  • Sterling, UT306 people, 6 miles
  • Mayfield, UT615 people, 11 miles
  • Fayette, UT274 people, 12 miles

Sources

  1. U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025)
  2. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates
  3. Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions)
  4. U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
  5. FBI, Crime in the United States, Table 8 (offenses known to law enforcement by city)
  6. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information
  7. National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal)
  8. National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024
  9. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020
  10. U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program
  11. National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places listings
  12. National Park Service, park unit boundaries
  13. USDA Economic Research Service, Rural-Urban Continuum Codes, 2023
  14. U.S. Census Bureau, 2025 Gazetteer files and 2020 urban areas

Census survey figures are estimates with a margin of error; we leave out any figure whose margin is too wide to be useful. Data last gathered October 5, 2026. See something wrong? Write to mainstreet@smalltownguide.com.