Salt Lake City ranks among America's "stickiest" downtowns
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You're not the only one spending more time downtown.
The big picture: Salt Lake City ranked No. 9 for the "stickiest" downtown among 30 U.S. cities, per a new Gensler Research Institute report.
- That's a combined measure of how often people say they visit a place, and how long they say they linger.
What they're saying: Dee Brewer, executive director of the Downtown Alliance, told Axios the study reaffirms what he's been seeing on the ground.
- Visits to downtown have been fueled by events at venues like the Eccles Theater, Delta Center, Abravanel Hall and more.
- Collective ticket sales at 16 venues downtown were up 16.5% last year compared to the year prior.
- And then there's downtown's nightlife hub, with dozens of bars and restaurants within walking distance.
State of play: Salt Lake City scored highly because of its popularity as a destination for shopping and errands, Sofia Song, global leader of cities research at Gensler Research Institute, told Axios.
- Downtown also benefits from a large number of people living there, which contributes to the number and duration of visits, she noted.
What's inside: Respondents were asked to judge downtown based on a variety of factors.
- Here's how many rated us "good" or "excellent" by category:
👣 Enjoyable to walk around: 77%
🤩 Authentic: 65%
🌹 Beautiful: 65%
🧠 Memorable: 62%
👋 Welcoming to everyone: 56%
☀️ Vibrant: 55%
💅 Iconic: 51%
Between the lines: Song suggested our low vibrancy scores may be partly due to the city's unusually large blocks, which can limit visibility of the spontaneous street activity that can make a downtown feel alive.
What they're saying: "Salt Lake City is notably clean and safe, which is great, but it's not enough to make people feel welcome, or to make people feel that the downtown is vibrant," she said.
How it works: The design, architecture and urban planning firm's research wing gathered feedback from 35,000 residents of 75 cities worldwide via an online survey conducted from July 8 to Nov. 4, 2025.
- The data only includes visits by city residents and excludes trips made for work.
What we're watching: Song said many of downtown's biggest investments have yet to materialize, with the planned sports, culture and entertainment district and the 2034 Winter Games still on the horizon.