As the city's name suggests, its geography is dominated by a high ridge separating the valleys of the Big and Little Cottonwood Creeks. At the eastern edge of the city, these valleys narrow into the Big and Little Cottonwood Canyons within the Wasatch Mountains, respectively. This is reflected by the city's official nickname, "City between the canyons". The ridge is covered in suburban housing, but most commercial development has been restricted to the lower-lying areas north of the ridge (along Fort Union Boulevard, in Fort Union itself, and near Big Cottonwood Creek and the "Old Mill" in the northeast corner of the city).
State Route 190 and State Route 210 run near the eastern edge of the city and provide access to the canyons; they are the only state routes that enter the city. Interstate 215 runs along the northern border of the city, and State Route 152 touches the city at a point. The city is building a multi-use trail along the full length of Big Cottonwood Creek within its borders.
Cottonwood Heights is in the Canyons School District; Brighton High School is the only public high school. Butler Middle School is the only middle school within city limits.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP had a total area of 6.8 square miles (17.6 km2), all land.
According to estimates from the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute of the University of Utah,[7] as of 2015, there were 34,234 people living in Cottonwood Heights. The racial makeup of the county was 86.57% non-Hispanic White, 0.81% Black, 0.60% Native American, 4.51% Asian, 0.88% Pacific Islander, and 2.34% from two or more races. 4.29% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
On January 8, 2008, the Cottonwood Heights City Council voted to create its own police department and withdraw from its current contract with the Salt Lake County Sheriff's Department.
