After a population decline following the shutdown of the area's mining industry, the city rebounded during the 1980s and 1990s through an expansion of its tourism business. The city has three major ski resorts: Park City Mountain Resort, Deer Valley Resort, and The Canyons Resort. The Park City and Deer Valley ski resorts were the major locations for ski and snowboarding events at the 2002 Winter Olympics. Although they receive less snow and have a shorter ski season than do their counterparts in Salt Lake County, such as Snowbird resort, they are much easier to access.
Additionally the city is the main location of the United States' largest independent film festival, the Sundance Film Festival, home of the United States Ski Team, training centre for members of the Australian Freestyle Ski Team, the largest collection of factory outlet stores in northern Utah, the 2002 Olympic bobsled/skeleton/luge track at the Utah Olympic Park, and golf courses. Some scenes from 1994's Dumb and Dumber were shot in the city. Outdoor-oriented businesses such as backcountry.com and Rossignol have their headquarters based in Park City. The city has many upscale luxury national retailers, clubs, bars, and restaurants, and has nearby reservoirs, hot springs, forests, and hiking and biking trails. Park City is also the original home of the Mrs. Fields Cookies chain.
In the summertime many valley residents of the Wasatch Front visit the town to escape high temperatures. Park City is usually 11°F (6°C) cooler than Salt Lake City, as it lies mostly above 7,000 feet above sea level, while Salt Lake City is situated at an altitude of about 4,000 feet. It is one of the wealthiest cities in the United States and is notable for having a large number of Northern and Central European immigrants. It is also generally thought to be the most liberal city in Utah, with supermajorities usually supporting Democratic Party candidates and issues.
In 2008, Park City was named by Forbes Traveler Magazine among one of the 20 'prettiest towns' in the United States.
As of the census of 2000, there were 7,371 people, 2,705 households, and 1,687 families residing in the city. The population density was 781.4 people per square mile (301.8/km²). There were 6,661 housing units at an average density of 706.1/sq mi (272.7/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 80.50% White, 0.42% African American, 0.30% Native American, 1.86% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 15.71% from other races, and 1.19% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 19.64% of the population.
There were 2,705 households out of which 32.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.9% were married couples living together, 7.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.6% were non-families. 21.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 3.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.72 and the average family size was 3.11.
In the city the population was spread out with 23.3% under the age of 18, 11.4% from 18 to 24, 35.1% from 25 to 44, 25.6% from 45 to 64, and 4.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 118.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 118.9 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $65,800, and the median income for a family was $77,137. Males had a median income of $40,032 versus $26,341 for females. The per capita income for the city was $45,164. About 5.3% of families and 10.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.6% of those under age 18 and 6.6% of those age 65 or over.