Kane County is a county in the U.S. state of Utah. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 7,667.^[3] Its county seat and largest city is Kanab.^[4]

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Kane County
County
Narrows in Diana's Throne Canyon, also known as the Huntress Slot in vicinity of Mount Carmel Junction.[2]
Location within the U.S. state of Utah
Utah's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 37°17′N 111°53′W
Country	United States
State	Utah
Founded	January 16, 1864
Named for	Thomas L. Kane
Seat	Kanab
Largest city	Kanab
Area
• Total	4,109 sq mi (10,640 km2)
• Land	3,990 sq mi (10,300 km2)
• Water	118 sq mi (310 km2)  2.9%
Population  (2020)
• Total	7,667
• Density	1.9/sq mi (0.72/km2)
Time zone	UTC−7 (Mountain)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−6 (MDT)
Congressional district	2nd
Website	kane.utah.gov

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The county was created on January 16, 1864, by the Utah Territory legislature, with areas partitioned from Washington County. It was named for Col. Thomas L. Kane,^[5] a friend of the Latter Day Saint settlers in the 1840s and 1850s. The county boundary was adjusted in 1869, when a portion was returned to Washington County; in 1880, when San Juan County was created; and in 1883, when portions were partitioned from Kane and added to Iron and Washington counties.^[6]

Kane County lies on the south line of the state of Utah. Its south border abuts the northern border of the state of Arizona. The Colorado River, reformed as Lake Powell, forms its eastern border. Grand Staircase–Escalante National Monument covers much of the county. A rugged and inhospitable country of deserts, mountains, and cliffs make up the terrain, with breathtaking scenery in every area. Parts of Bryce Canyon National Park and Zion National Park extend into the northern and western portions of the county. The eastern part of the county is part of the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area.^[7] The county has a total area of 4,109 square miles (10,640 km²), of which 3,990 square miles (10,300 km²) is land and 118 square miles (310 km²) (2.9%) is water.^[8]

Kane is one of the most reliably Republican counties in the nation. Of "straight-ticket" voters in the 2008 election, there were 992 Republicans and 326 Democrats. In the Utah gubernatorial election, 2004 nearly 70% of the county's vote went for Jon Huntsman, Jr. and in the 2008 election he received around 75% of the vote. Kane County is part of Utah's 2nd congressional district and thus was represented by moderate Democrat Jim Matheson for several years until 2013. The second district is now represented by Republican Chris Stewart, elected in 2012 when Jim Matheson ran for election to the newly created fourth district instead of remaining in the second.

In Presidential elections, Kane County has only been won once by a Democratic candidate when Woodrow Wilson carried the county in 1916. It was the only county in Utah carried by Alf Landon, the Republican opponent who lost to Franklin Delano Roosevelt in the 1936 Presidential election in the most lopsided Presidential election in over a century. It has solidly favored the Republican candidate since at least 1956, when Dwight D. Eisenhower received approximately 90% of the vote. In 1964, by over thirty-nine percent, the county went for Barry Goldwater, who lost the overall in the state by over nine percent. Since 1920, only in the Democratic landslides of 1936, 1940, and 1964 did the Democratic candidate for president receive even 30% of the county's vote.^[15]

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Kane County, Utah