PCSing to Camp Williams: where should I live?

Bluffdale, Herriman or Riverton, for most families on orders to Camp Williams. Those three towns sit closest to the post, they are where most Guard and Reserve families in the south valley live, and the choice between them comes down to housing age, budget and where the rest of the household drives each day.

Camp Williams is the Utah National Guard’s training site at the far south end of the Salt Lake Valley, with its address on Redwood Road in Bluffdale (Utah National Guard). It straddles the county line, so the towns on the Utah County side — Saratoga Springs, Lehi and Eagle Mountain — are also close. My market as a Realtor with Keller Williams South Valley is the Salt Lake County side, and that is what this post covers honestly; I will point at the Utah County towns where they matter.

The towns, compared for a Camp Williams posting

Town	Distance to the post	Housing	Feel	Best for
Bluffdale	Closest — the post is in Bluffdale	Mix of older semi-rural lots and newer subdivisions; smaller inventory	Semi-rural, quiet, at the valley’s south edge	Families who want land and the shortest drive to the gate
Herriman	Close, west of the post along the Oquirrh foothills	Newest and most plentiful; large master-planned areas still building	Young, growing, outdoor-oriented	Families who want new construction and choice
Riverton	Close, straight up Redwood Road	Established; older homes, mature trees, less new inventory	Settled, central, convenient	Families who want a finished neighborhood and short drives everywhere
South Jordan / Daybreak	A little further north	Wide range; Daybreak is master-planned with small lots	Convenient, amenity-heavy, TRAX Red Line	A spouse commuting to downtown by rail
Draper	Across the valley on the east side, up I-15	Mixed ages; generally costs more	Wasatch-side, FrontRunner and TRAX	A spouse working in Lehi or along I-15

All five are ordinary drives to the post. None of them is a hardship posting for commute. The differences are in everything else.

Bluffdale: closest and smallest

Bluffdale is where the post is, and it is smaller and less built up than Herriman or Riverton, with more land per dollar and a semi-rural feel that survives in parts of it. For a family that wants an acre, a shop, animals, or simply the shortest possible drive to the gate, Bluffdale is the first place to look.

The trade is inventory and services. Bluffdale has fewer homes for sale at any moment than its neighbors, and a family on a short timeline can find the right house is simply not listed that month. Most shopping and dining is in Riverton, Draper or Herriman. And Bluffdale sits at the very south end of the valley, so anything north — downtown, the airport, the university — is a longer drive.

Two Bluffdale-specific checks: the NSA’s Utah Data Center sits at Camp Williams in Bluffdale, and parts of the city are close to the post’s training land. Ask about noise and what is planned nearby for any specific parcel.

Herriman: the most housing, and the newest

Herriman is where the volume is. It has grown fast for years, much of the city is new, and the master-planned areas on the west side and along the foothills are still building. It suits young families who want newer construction and space, and for a PCS family that wants a house built this decade with a real yard, Herriman offers the most choices of any south valley town.

Herriman’s neighborhoods vary more than its size suggests — the older core sits lower and closer to services, the bench and foothill areas sit higher with views, and the newest areas are still under construction around you. For a Camp Williams family, the southern and western parts of Herriman are nearest the post; the Rosecrest area on the south bench sits directly above the training land.

The trade is the commute for anyone going north. Herriman has no TRAX and no FrontRunner, and it is a car-commuting city — the drive to downtown Salt Lake is the most common regret I hear from Herriman buyers. For a household where one person drives to the post and the other drives downtown, that second drive is the one to measure.

Riverton: established and central

Riverton is the mature option. It sits directly north of the post up Redwood Road, it is more built out than Herriman, and it is closer to the freeway system with older housing, mature trees and shorter drives. A family that wants a finished neighborhood — no construction next door, established schools, retail nearby — usually prefers Riverton.

The trade is age and inventory. Riverton’s housing stock is older on average and there is less new construction than in Herriman. A family that wants a new build will find fewer options here.

South Jordan and Daybreak: for the rail commuter

If the non-military spouse works downtown, South Jordan is worth a serious look. The TRAX Red Line’s Daybreak Parkway station is in South Jordan, and rail transit is the main reason to choose South Jordan over Herriman. Daybreak itself is a large master-planned community built around a lake, with unusual walkability, an HOA with real governance, and homes that resemble each other. Some families love it; some do not. It is further from the post than Bluffdale, Herriman or Riverton, but not by a lot.

Draper: the east side option

Draper is across the valley on the Wasatch side, up I-15 from the post. It has both a FrontRunner station and the end of the TRAX Blue Line, exceptional trail access, and it generally costs more than the southwest valley towns. For a spouse working in Lehi’s tech corridor or anywhere along I-15, Draper is the natural fit, because it sits on the freeway that reaches both. For a family whose life is entirely on the west side, it is a detour.

How to decide on orders

Families on a PCS timeline do not have six months to explore. Here is the short decision path I use with them.

Start with the second commute, not the first. Everyone in the south valley is close to the post. Where does the spouse work? Where do the children go to school, or where will they? Point the search at that drive.

Decide new versus established. New construction means Herriman, and it means understanding builder contracts, upgrades and timelines before you sign. Established means Riverton, and it means an inspection that takes older systems seriously. Bluffdale offers both, in smaller quantity.

Set the budget honestly, including what the housing allowance covers. I am not going to quote allowance figures — they change and vary by rank, dependents and location. Get the current number from your housing office and your lender, then shop within it. A lender familiar with VA financing and military timelines is worth finding before you look at a single house.

Buy from a distance carefully. Most PCS families see the house once, or not at all. Get an independent inspection with someone attending on your behalf, drive the commute on video if you cannot drive it in person, and do not choose a town from a listing photo.

Consider renting first if the orders are short. A three-year posting can justify buying; a one-year posting often cannot, once selling costs are counted. Be honest about the timeline before you commit.

The honest caveat

The south valley is a good place to be posted, and I would say that to anyone. But it is not cheap, it is growing fast, and Herriman in particular is still being built around the people living in it. A family arriving from a base town elsewhere may find the housing costs more than they expected and the commute north longer than the map suggests. Neither is a reason not to come. Both are reasons to decide with the real numbers in hand.

Two related questions for families on orders: whether to rent or buy on a PCS to Utah, and, at the other end of the posting, how to sell a south valley house when the next orders come.

If orders land before you can get here, buying sight unseen is genuinely doable with the right protections written in.

If you are on orders and want a straight read on which town fits your household and timeline, the answer sheet is where I put the questions I ask every relocating family, and I am glad to work through it with you.

— Kelsey Earl, Realtor, Keller Williams South Valley