Moving to Kanab: Pros, Cons & What to Know
Moving to Kanab means moving to Kane County's seat and a real, distinct Southern Utah tourism-gateway town with an unusually broad four-destination park access, a genuine "Little Hollywood" film heritage, and the specific, genuine home of Best Friends Animal Sanctuary.
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Learn moreAn unusually broad, genuine tourism-gateway position
Kanab sits at the junction of US-89 and US-89A, within roughly 90 minutes of Zion National Park, Bryce Canyon National Park, the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, and Glen Canyon/Lake Powell -- four major, real, distinct destinations reachable from one small town, an unusually broad position even by Southern Utah standards (base record).
A real, well-documented "Little Hollywood" film heritage
Director William Wellman coined Kanab's "Little Hollywood" nickname; more than 100 Western movies have been shot in Kane County since 1924's "Deadwood Coach," including "She Wore a Yellow Ribbon," "Fort Apache" (1948), and "The Outlaw Josey Wales," preserved today at the free, nonprofit Little Hollywood Museum -- though the stream of productions genuinely slowed by the 1970s (base record).
The genuine home of Best Friends Animal Sanctuary
Best Friends Animal Sanctuary, founded in 1984 and spanning nearly 5,800 acres in Angel Canyon five miles north of Kanab, is genuinely the largest no-kill sanctuary for companion animals in the country, housing up to 1,600 animals on any given day -- a real, specific draw for animal-welfare-minded movers and volunteers, not a marginal local claim (base record).
A small, tourism-oriented population
Kanab's 2026 population runs an estimated 5,470, within a broader Kane County population estimated at 8,703 -- a genuinely small town whose economy and identity run disproportionately through tourism relative to its size.
Key takeaways
- Kanab offers unusually broad, genuine access to four major destinations (Zion, Bryce Canyon, Grand Canyon North Rim, Lake Powell) within roughly 90 minutes.
- Kanab's "Little Hollywood" film heritage is real and well-documented, with a free museum preserving genuine artifacts, though the industry's local activity has genuinely declined since its mid-20th-century peak.
- Best Friends Animal Sanctuary, the nation's largest no-kill animal sanctuary, is genuinely headquartered five miles north of Kanab.
- Kanab's 2026 population runs an estimated 5,470, a genuinely small tourism-oriented town.
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