Tooele, Utah, is the closest major city to Dugway Proving Ground, and Dugway is the nearest small town. Tooele has about 31,000 people, and is in the county seat of Tooele County, which has a population of about 59,000 people. Dugway has a population of about 2,000. Other nearby small communities include Grantsville (about 9,000), Erda and Stansbury Park (about 5,000 each), Rush Valley (about 500), and Stockton (about 600).

The community of Dugway is on the Proving Grounds military reservation. It is about 39 miles from downtown Tooele to the village of Dugway; this takes about 48 minutes to commute under good conditions, and this area is remote enough that traffic is not especially a concern, although winter road conditions can be. The average commute in Tooele County is about 30 minutes.

Local Housing Rental Prices: The average apartment rent in the Tooele area ranges from $550 to $800 per month.

Local Housing Purchase Prices: The average price for a house in Tooele is about $183,000, compared to $225,000 for Utah.

Short Description of the Area: Dugway Proving Ground is in the Great Salt Desert, in western Utah, and takes up much of Tooele County, a very large county. This area is thinly populated, hot in summer and cold in winter, and generally very dry. About half an hour east of the city of Tooele is Salt Lake City, a fairly large city of over a million people, and center of most of Utah's activity.

Climate and Weather: The area has a variable dry climate, with winter temperatures of the high 30s to low 20s and summer temperatures in the low 90s to low 60s. The area has cool winters, with light snow, less than a foot a month, and light rain year round. Summers are hot and dry, with rare thunderstorms. Spring and fall are more moderate, with a bit more rain and some temperate days.