The 10 Most Dangerous Cities In Utah For 2023


We used data and science to identify the most dangerous cities in the Beehive State for 2023.

Most dangerous cities in Utah research summary. We analyzed the most recent FBI crime data to determine the most dangerous cities in Utah based on violent and property crimes per capita. Here are the results of our analysis:

  • The most dangerous city in Utah is South Salt Lake based on the most recent FBI crime data.

  • The violent crime rate in Utah is 1,026 per 100k people.

  • The property crime rate in Utah is 7,615 per 100k people.

  • The safest city in Utah is Salem.

  • Utah is the 23rd most dangerous state in the United States.


Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Table | FAQs | References


It turns out that Utah has more to worry about than Polygamy and alcohol stores operating without a state license, the state has its fair share of super dangerous places too.

And because RoadSnacks thinks it’s important to provide important information to the public, we created a list of the most dangerous places in Utah for 2023. We suggest you take a look at them before you make any life changing decisions. How’d we do it? We consulted the numbers. In total, we analyzed 66 cities. We looked at the FBI’s latest crime report for violent crime and property crime statistics for every place with over 5,000 residents. We discovered that Utah’s overall violent and property crime numbers, while above the national average, the numbers in the state’s most dangerous places could be better.

If you asked most Utahns, they would say that their little corner of this western state is the best, but that’s not the case for the people who live in Utah’s most dangerous places. The residents in these places are not only witnessing high crime, they are dealing with unemployment, low wages, and lack of rehabilitation programs. This is shocking because Utah is the sixth wealthiest state in the country. Do we think that the state needs to reevaluate their income and sales tax so that they can take care of their problems? We’re not entirely sure, but one thing we know is that the trickle down effect must be stopping after Utah’s best cities are compensated.

Want to know the places in Utah where jobs are scarce, wages low, and crime is high? Keep reading.

The Most Dangerous Cities In Utah For 2023

  1. South Salt Lake
  2. Salt Lake City
  3. Murray
  4. Ogden
  5. West Valley
  6. Roosevelt
  7. Riverdale
  8. Moab
  9. Tooele
  10. Park City

Let’s be real, we’re not talking about snowboarding in Park City without a helmet kind of danger. The type of danger we’re talking about gets people on Salt Lake City’s KUTV at six. That’s because the cities that made our list have robberies happening in broad daylight, car jackings, and daily shootings. There are neighborhoods in these cities that you shouldn’t drive thru, ever.

So, what’s the most dangerous place in Utah? That would be, South Salt Lake.

The Utah cities on our most dangerous list could definitely use some TLC. If you’re looking to be that diamond in the rough, or you’re just curious to see if your city made the list, take a look at our list below. And if you don’t see your city there, head to the bottom.

Learn more about the safest places in Utah.

If you’re looking for something more national, check out the most dangerous cities in America or the most dangerous states in America.

For more Utah reading, check out:

The 10 Most Dangerous Places To Live In Utah For 2023

South Salt Lake is Utah’s most dangerous city, beating out the capital for the top spot once again. The property crime rate in South Salt Lake hasn’t changed much over the last year, but the violent crime rate dropped by a solid amount.

Even with that impressive drop, South Salt Lake remains the most violent place in Utah, with residents facing a 1 in 97 shot of being assaulted, robbed, raped, or murdered over 2021. All the more reason to buddy up and get home before dark if you’re at one of South Salt Lake’s parks.

South Salt Lake is also the place with the most property crime in the state. That includes the fourth highest burglary rate in Utah, with about five burglaries going down each week.

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 25,422
Rank Last Year: 1 (No Change)
Violent Crimes Per 100k: 1,026 (Most dangerous)
Property Crimes Per 100k: 7,615 (Most dangerous)
More on South Salt Lake:  | Cost Of Living | Crime Report

South Salt Lake, UT

The capital and most populous city in Utah, Salt Lake City is, unfortunately, the second most crime-ridden spot in the state. Sure, you can get away to Big Cottonwood Canyon and forget about crime for a while, but the streets of Salt Lake City will be waiting for you.

Salt Lake City had the second highest violent crime rate over 2021, recording 1,996 such crimes. That includes a murder a month and a robbery every day, on average.

You don’t want to leave your doors unlocked here because Salt Lake City had the highest burglary rate statewide. You should also make sure your car alarm works, or you may join the 2,122 residents who had their cars stolen over the year.

Still, if you steer clear of Salt Lake City’s worst neighborhoods, you should be plenty safe.

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 205,929
Rank Last Year: 2 (No Change)
Violent Crimes Per 100k: 969 (Second most dangerous)
Property Crimes Per 100k: 6,840 (Second most dangerous)
More on Salt Lake City:  | Cost Of Living | Crime Report

Salt Lake City, UT

Located just south of Salt Lake City, Murray ranks as the third least safe place to live in Utah for 2023. Murray had the third highest property crime rate statewide, with residents facing a whopping 1 in 17 chance of having their stuff stolen or damaged over 2021 — the last reporting year.

Which means it may be a good idea to start padlocking your picnic baskets before a visit to Murray City Park. Oh, and make sure you lock your doors — more than one burglary and one car theft a day go down in Murray, on average.

It’s not like you don’t have to worry about violent crime here, either — Murray had the 15th highest rate of rape cases in Utah.

Overall SnackAbility

8
/10

Population: 48,524
Rank Last Year: 4 (Up 1)
Violent Crimes Per 100k: 393 (Ninth most dangerous)
Property Crimes Per 100k: 5,840 (Third most dangerous)
More on Murray:  | Cost Of Living | Crime Report

Murray, UT

Back in 2010, Forbes named Ogden the 6th best place to raise a family in America.

That’s awfully surprising considering Ogden’s abysmal crime rate. Ogden had the ninth highest burglary rate in Utah for 2021, and there was a car theft nearly every day of the year. We just hope criminals don’t put those two crimes together and steal a plane from the Hill Aerospace Museum.

Still, there’s 83% less violent crime and 100% less property crime in Ogden than South Salt Lake, so that’s decent news for Ogden’s families.

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 87,828
Rank Last Year: 6 (Up 2)
Violent Crimes Per 100k: 552 (Fourth most dangerous)
Property Crimes Per 100k: 3,071 (Eighth most dangerous)
More on Ogden:  | Cost Of Living | Crime Report

Ogden, UT

Source: Public domain

5. West Valley

Utah’s second most populous city, West Valley comes in as the fifth most dangerous place to call home in the state.

West Valley residents have to contend with the fifth highest violent crime rate in Utah. That includes the 16th highest rate of rape cases and the eighth highest murder rate in the state — that’s about one murder a month.

West Valley might benefit from staging a production of “Crime and Punishment” at the local Hale Centre Theatre, to teach residents that crime doesn’t pay.

At least property crime in West Valley dropped slightly from last year, so that’s a start.

Population: 134,329
Rank Last Year: 5 (No Change)
Violent Crimes Per 100k: 543 (Fifth most dangerous)
Property Crimes Per 100k: 3,097 (Seventh most dangerous)
More on West Valley:

West Valley, UT

We’re taking a trip out of the capital area to reach Utah’s sixth most dangerous city, Roosevelt. Roosevelt saw a shocking rise in violent crime over the last year, while property crime pretty much stayed level.

That’s bad news for the Roosevelt Police Department, who have to protect residents from a 1 in 210 chance of being violently attacked. That includes the highest rate of rape cases in the state.

To give you an idea of how bad of a problem it is in Roosevelt, consider that South Salt Lake had the same amount of rape cases, with triple the population.

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 7,377
Rank Last Year: 3 (Down 3)
Violent Crimes Per 100k: 474 (Sixth most dangerous)
Property Crimes Per 100k: 2,833 (11th most dangerous)
More on Roosevelt:  | Cost Of Living | Crime Report

Roosevelt, UT

We’re heading back to the Ogden area to reach Utah’s seventh least safe place to live, Riverdale. While Riverdale occupies the #7 spot on this list, it actually had the fourth highest overall crime rate in Utah, with a crime rate more than twice as high as the national average.

How’d that happen? Well, Riverdale has the fourth highest property crime rate statewide, with residents up against a 1 in 21 chance of having their valuables stolen or vandalized over 2021.

On the bright side, there were only two violent crimes committed per month in Riverdale, on average. And if you need to take your mind off the high property crime rate, you can play a round of golf.

Overall SnackAbility

7
/10

Population: 9,038
Rank Last Year: 8 (Up 1)
Violent Crimes Per 100k: 188 (17th most dangerous)
Property Crimes Per 100k: 4,558 (Fourth most dangerous)
More on Riverdale:  | Cost Of Living | Crime Report

Riverdale, UT

The least populated city on this list, Moab has become a popular tourist destination for mountain bikers, off-roaders, and hikers looking to see what all the fuss is about at Arches National Park. The city’s crime rate is what’s becoming extreme, though.

While property crime fell over the last reporting year, violent crime went up by a good margin. That left residents to deal with a 1 in 154 chance of being the victim of a violent attack over 2021, the third highest rate in Utah.

Unfortunately, a big part of the violence is down to Moab having the third highest rate of rape cases in Utah.

Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 5,400
Rank Last Year: 7 (Down 1)
Violent Crimes Per 100k: 648 (Third most dangerous)
Property Crimes Per 100k: 2,000 (19th most dangerous)
More on Moab:  | Cost Of Living | Crime Report

Moab, UT

Tooele might mean “tumbleweed” in the language of the local Ute people. Or maybe not. People aren’t quite sure. What’s more clear: the amazing views of the mountains you get from this community in north-central Utah, located about 45 minutes outside of Salt Lake City.

The potential tumbleweed connection points to a Wild West past. Some of that might carry through to modern crime statistics. The area has a problem with violent crime, with the state’s number 8 highest pace of such violations. There are also a large number of arsons and burglaries, given the population of 37,626.

Overall SnackAbility

8
/10

Population: 37,626
Rank Last Year: 10 (Up 1)
Violent Crimes Per 100k: 401 (Eighth most dangerous)
Property Crimes Per 100k: 2,168 (15th most dangerous)
More on Tooele:  | Cost Of Living | Crime Report

Tooele, UT

Just 30 miles southeast of downtown Salt Lake City, Park City is a lovely, artsy community that’s one of the main sites of the Sundance Film Festival.

But that charm hasn’t protected Park City from seeing a massive spike in crime over the past few years. Folks had a 1 in 234 shot of being violently attacked over 2021, which is about three times more likely than it was a few years back.

Property crime jumped up after falling a bit last year. However, the vast majority of those crimes are just larcenies, so keep an eye on your wallet and phone, and you should be all right.

Overall SnackAbility

8
/10

Population: 8,679
Rank Last Year: 9 (Down 1)
Violent Crimes Per 100k: 426 (Seventh most dangerous)
Property Crimes Per 100k: 1,889 (20th most dangerous)
More on Park City:  | Cost Of Living | Crime Report

Park City, UT

Methodology: How we determined the most dangerous cities in Utah for 2023?

Every year the FBI release two crime datasets on cities in Utah. First a preliminary dataset limited to the biggest cities in Utah, followed by a more detailed release at the end of the year.

For our analysis, we focused on the 2021 data, specifically the 2021 Crime In The United States Report for Utah. We will update the results when data becomes available in September 2023.

So what criteria did we use? Have a look:

  • Violent Crimes Per Capita
  • Property Crimes Per Capita

In order to make the analysis as apples to apples as possible, we only considered Utah cities over 5,000 in population. That left us with 66 cities in Utah.

We then ranked each city from 1 to 66 for the two criteria with a #1 ranking being the most dangerous for the particular criteria.

Next, we averaged the two rankings into one “Dangerous Index”.

Finally, we ranked every city on the “Dangerous Index” with the lowest index being the most dangerous in Utah — South Salt Lake. Any ties went to the smaller city.

Most Dangerous Places To Live In Utah FAQs

No, Utah is not a dangerous state as it ranks as the #28 safest state in the United States based on our analysis of the latest FBI Crime Data. The violent crime rate in utah ranks 39th highest in the United States — 32.79% better than US average violent crime rate. The property crime rate in the Beehive State ranks 11th highest in the United States — 25.85% worse than US average property crime rate. The latest reporting year from the FBI was 2020.

Yes, Salt Lake City is a dangerous city. Salt Lake City ranks as the #2 most dangerous out of 320 major cities over 100,000 people in the United States based on our analysis of the latest FBI Crime Data. Keep in mind that are always safe and dangerous parts of any city, so even though Salt Lake City might be considered dangerous you still need to be aware of where you are. For example, Greater Avenues is the safest in Salt Lake City, while Poplar Grove is considered dangerous by many based on recent crime stats.

Compared to other big cities, the violent crime rate in Salt Lake City ranks 48th highest in America — 68.05% worse than US average violent crime rate. The property crime rate in the ranks highest in the United States — 176.84% worse than US average property crime rate. Note the latest reporting year from the FBI was 2020 and that no city in America is ‘dangerous’. Despite the uptick in murders, it’s nothing like you’d see in Tijuana or Caracas where the murder rate is 2x any American city.

Graphing The Most Dangerous And Safest Places In Utah

Most Dangerous Cities In Utah Graph

Click To Enlarge

Summary: Locking It All Up In Utah

So what is the most dangerous city in Utah? After analyzing 66 cities in Utah, South Salt Lake takes the top spot as the most dangerous city in Utah based on the most recently reported FBI data — 2021.

The latest FBI crime data shows that South Salt Lake ranks as the most dangerous city in Utah for 2023.

We want to point out again that there’s still safes places in South Salt Lake and that this isn’t a comment on the people that live there. So please don’t beat us up.

Let’s be real, we’re not talking about snowboarding in Park City without a helmet kind of danger. The type of danger we’re talking about gets people on Salt Lake City’s KUTV at six. That’s because the cities that made our list have robberies happening in broad daylight, car jackings, and daily shootings. There are neighborhoods in these cities that you shouldn’t drive thru, ever.

So, what’s the most dangerous place in Utah? That would be, South Salt Lake.

The Utah cities on our most dangerous list could definitely use some TLC. If you’re looking to be that diamond in the rough, or you’re just curious to see if your city made the list, take a look at our list below. And if you don’t see your city there, head to the bottom.

Learn more about the safest places in Utah.

If you’re looking for something more national, check out the most dangerous cities in America or the most dangerous states in America.

Here are the safest cities in Utah:

  1. Herriman (Pop. 61,086)
  2. Syracuse (Pop. 33,340)
  3. Kaysville (Pop. 33,139)
  4. Mapleton (Pop. 11,497)
  5. Santaquin/Genola (Pop. 15,647)
  6. Santa Clara/Ivins (Pop. 18,948)
  7. North Park (Pop. 16,529)
  8. Lone Peak (Pop. 30,210)
  9. Enoch (Pop. 7,780)
  10. Salem (Pop. 9,151)

For more Utah reading, check out:

Crime By City In Utah

Rank City Population Violent Crimes Per Capita Property Crimes Per Capita
1 South Salt Lake 25,422 1,026 7,615
2 Salt Lake City 205,929 969 6,840
3 Murray 48,524 393 5,840
4 Ogden 87,828 552 3,071
5 West Valley 134,329 543 3,097
6 Roosevelt 7,377 474 2,833
7 Riverdale 9,038 188 4,558
8 Moab 5,400 648 2,000
9 Tooele 37,626 401 2,168
10 Park City 8,679 426 1,889
11 Sandy 97,091 180 3,068
12 West Jordan 117,862 251 2,069
13 Sunset 5,354 205 2,054
14 Richfield 7,947 163 2,894
15 Price 8,291 301 1,640
16 Centerville 17,765 174 2,195
17 West Bountiful 5,988 183 1,870
18 Cottonwood Heights 33,301 141 2,267
19 Layton 80,230 175 1,718
20 Orem 100,060 175 1,640
21 Tremonton 9,038 165 1,759
22 St. George 94,601 223 1,279
23 Draper 49,671 126 2,208
24 South Ogden 17,187 162 1,652
25 Hurricane 20,594 344 1,063
26 Woods Cross 11,870 160 1,516
27 Brigham City 19,792 166 1,384
28 North Salt Lake 21,768 105 2,149
29 Nephi 6,598 181 1,076
30 Clearfield 32,375 157 1,386
31 Roy 39,765 173 1,136
32 Logan 52,015 151 1,368
33 Kanab 5,045 237 812
34 Harrisville 6,983 57 3,465
35 Grantsville 12,819 202 850
36 Lindon 11,609 51 3,169
37 Perry 5,471 109 1,480
38 American Fork/Cedar Hills 44,725 80 1,862
39 Provo 116,642 117 1,344
40 South Jordan 81,919 93 1,452
41 Cedar City 36,903 130 1,094
42 Springville 33,977 100 1,330
43 North Ogden 21,379 130 963
44 Washington 33,668 130 974
45 Farmington 26,218 99 1,216
46 Saratoga Springs 37,985 157 721
47 Payson 21,291 84 1,075
48 Pleasant Grove 38,730 100 952
49 Pleasant View 11,139 125 727
50 Bluffdale 19,428 108 782

References

  • FBI UCR 2022

  • Census – American Cumminity Survey

This article is an opinion based on facts and is meant as infotainment. It is our tenth time ranking the most dangerous places to live in Utah and is updated for 2023.
About Chris Kolmar

Chris Kolmar has been in the real estate business for almost ten years now. He originally worked for Movoto Real Estate as the director of marketing before founding HomeSnacks.

He believes the key to finding the right place to live comes down to looking at the data, reading about things to do, and, most importantly, checking it out yourself before you move.

If you've been looking for a place to live in the past several years, you've probably stumbled upon his writing already.

You can find out more about him on LinkedIn or his website.