The 10 Most Dangerous Cities In Utah


The most dangerous places in Utah are South Salt Lake and Salt Lake City for 2024 based on Saturday Night Science.

Most dangerous cities in Utah research summary. We analyzed the most recent FBI crime data using Saturday Night Science to determine the most dangerous cities in Utah.

We examined the violent and property crime per capita statistics for every place with over 5,000 residents. In total, we analyzed 69 Utah cities. 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 Smithfield.

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

Most Dangerous Cities In Utah Map


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


Utah has its fair share of dangerous places.

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.

And because we believe it’s essential to provide crime information to the public, we created a list of the most dangerous places in Utah for 2024.

We used Saturday Night Science to compare the FBI’s latest crime report for violent and property crime rates for every place with over 5,000 residents. Utah’s overall violent and property crime numbers, while better than the national average, are significantly higher in the state’s most dangerous places.

The Most Dangerous Cities In Utah For 2024

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

What’s the most dangerous place in Utah? The most dangerous place in Utah is South Salt Lake.

If you want to know where the rest of the most dangerous places in Utah are, look at the list below. Or head to the bottom for a complete list of crime everywhere in Utah.

For more Utah reading, check out:

The 10 Most Dangerous Places To Live In Utah For 2024

South Salt Lake, UT

Source: Wikipedia User SSLaker3 | CC BY-SA 3.0

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 25,422
Violent Crimes Per 100k: 1,026 (Most dangerous)
Property Crimes Per 100k: 7,615 (Most dangerous)
Murders: 3
More on South Salt Lake: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living

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 2022. 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 second highest burglary rate in Utah, with about five burglaries going down each week.

Salt Lake City, UT

Source: Wikipedia User | CC BY-SA 3.0

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 201,373
Violent Crimes Per 100k: 978 (Second most dangerous)
Property Crimes Per 100k: 6,422 (Second most dangerous)
Murders: 13
More on Salt Lake City: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living

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 2022, recording 1,970 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 1,731 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.

Murray, UT

Source: Wikipedia User CountyLemonade/CL | CC BY 3.0

Overall SnackAbility

8
/10

Population: 48,884
Violent Crimes Per 100k: 357 (Eighth most dangerous)
Property Crimes Per 100k: 5,052 (Third most dangerous)
Murders: 1
More on Murray: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living

Located just south of Salt Lake City, Murray ranks as the third least safe place to live in Utah for 2024. Murray had the third highest property crime rate statewide, with residents facing a whopping 1 in 19 chance of having their stuff stolen or damaged over 2022 — 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 16th highest rate of rape cases in Utah.

Riverdale, UT

Source: Flickr User Teresa Trimm | CC BY-SA 2.0

Overall SnackAbility

7
/10

Population: 9,408
Violent Crimes Per 100k: 318 (Tenth most dangerous)
Property Crimes Per 100k: 4,708 (Fourth most dangerous)
Murders: 0
More on Riverdale: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living

We’re heading back to the Ogden area to reach Utah’s fourth least safe place to live, Riverdale. While Riverdale occupies the #4 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 2022.

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.

Ogden, UT

Source: Public domain

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 86,870
Violent Crimes Per 100k: 554 (Fourth most dangerous)
Property Crimes Per 100k: 2,537 (12th most dangerous)
Murders: 3
More on Ogden: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living

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 seventh highest burglary rate in Utah for 2022, 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.

6. West Valley

West Valley, UT

Source: Flickr User CountyLemonade | CC BY 2.0

Population: 138,020
Violent Crimes Per 100k: 441 (Seventh most dangerous)
Property Crimes Per 100k: 2,869 (Ninth most dangerous)
Murders: 8
More on West Valley:

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

West Valley residents have to contend with the seventh highest violent crime rate in Utah. That includes the 19th highest rate of rape cases and the ninth 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.

Park City, UT

Source: Wikipedia User PeteysHead | CC BY-SA 4.0

Overall SnackAbility

8
/10

Population: 8,516
Violent Crimes Per 100k: 493 (Fifth most dangerous)
Property Crimes Per 100k: 2,395 (13th most dangerous)
Murders: 0
More on Park City: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living

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 202 shot of being violently attacked over 2022, 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.

Moab, UT

Source: Wikipedia User Hurricanehink | CC BY-SA 3.0

Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 5,263
Violent Crimes Per 100k: 741 (Third most dangerous)
Property Crimes Per 100k: 2,014 (16th most dangerous)
Murders: 0
More on Moab: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living

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 134 chance of being the victim of a violent attack over 2022, the third highest rate in Utah.

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

Roosevelt, UT

Source: Flickr User Chovee | CC BY 2.0

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 7,004
Violent Crimes Per 100k: 314 (11th most dangerous)
Property Crimes Per 100k: 2,555 (11th most dangerous)
Murders: 0
More on Roosevelt: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living

We’re taking a trip out of the capital area to reach Utah’s ninth 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 318 chance of being violently attacked. That includes the 2highest 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.

West Jordan, UT

Source: Wikipedia User Scott Hughes from Dallas, TX, US | CC BY-SA 2.0

Overall SnackAbility

8.5
/10

Population: 115,900
Violent Crimes Per 100k: 333 (Ninth most dangerous)
Property Crimes Per 100k: 2,155 (14th most dangerous)
Murders: 5
More on West Jordan: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living

West Jordan is Utah’s fourth biggest and tenth most dangerous place to live. Folks come from all over to enjoy the brick-lined paths and boutique-style shops in West Jordan.

They’d be well advised to keep an eye on their pockets because there were 2,023 larcenies recorded in 2022. It’s also good practice to park in good areas, or you may join the 273 people who had their cars robbed over the year.

West Jordan also reported 386 violent crimes, which isn’t horrible for a city of 115,900. But it’s certainly nothing to be proud of either.

Crime By City In Utah

Rank City Population Total Crimes Per 100K Violent Crimes Per 100K Property Crimes Per 100K Murders
1 South Salt Lake 25,422 8,642 1,026 7,615 3
2 Salt Lake City 201,373 7,401 978 6,422 13
3 Murray 48,884 5,410 357 5,052 1
4 Riverdale 9,408 5,027 318 4,708 0
5 Ogden 86,870 3,091 554 2,537 3
6 West Valley 138,020 3,310 441 2,869 8
7 Park City 8,516 2,888 493 2,395 0
8 Moab 5,263 2,755 741 2,014 0
9 Roosevelt 7,004 2,869 314 2,555 0
10 West Jordan 115,900 2,488 333 2,155 5
11 Tooele 38,318 2,267 461 1,805 3
12 Taylorsville City 58,059 2,860 217 2,643 2
13 Sandy 97,091 3,248 180 3,068 2
14 Richfield 8,379 3,210 179 3,031 0
15 West Bountiful 5,988 2,054 183 1,870 0
16 Sunset 5,557 1,781 269 1,511 0
17 Clearfield 32,586 1,770 236 1,534 2
18 Orem 97,430 1,872 186 1,685 6
19 Tremonton 9,038 1,925 165 1,759 0
20 Hurricane 23,607 1,580 199 1,380 0
21 Centerville 16,719 1,937 155 1,782 0
22 Price 8,230 1,494 291 1,202 0
23 Cottonwood Heights 32,191 2,103 124 1,978 0
24 Woods Cross 11,846 1,907 135 1,772 0
25 Layton 84,636 1,829 163 1,665 0
26 Washington 33,535 1,455 184 1,270 0
27 South Ogden 17,585 1,370 204 1,165 0
28 Brigham City 19,792 1,551 166 1,384 0
29 North Salt Lake 22,679 1,891 123 1,768 0
30 Logan 56,267 1,450 177 1,272 0
31 Provo 114,120 1,546 147 1,399 0
32 American Fork/Cedar Hills 45,310 1,794 101 1,692 0
33 Harrisville 6,948 3,310 71 3,238 0
34 Lindon 11,922 3,145 75 3,069 1
35 Roy 39,305 1,200 167 1,032 0
36 St. George 104,158 1,256 163 1,093 3
37 Draper 53,049 1,751 96 1,655 0
38 Tremonton Garland 13,682 1,629 95 1,534 0
39 Kanab 5,324 864 187 676 0
40 Bountiful 45,098 1,308 110 1,197 0
41 Perry 5,921 2,094 50 2,043 0
42 Clinton 23,784 1,307 100 1,206 0
43 Grantsville 14,431 983 159 824 1
44 Farmington 26,218 1,315 99 1,216 0
45 Springville 36,907 1,151 108 1,043 3
46 Ephraim 5,834 857 137 719 0
47 Cedar City 39,266 1,395 78 1,316 0
48 Heber 17,659 906 96 809 1
49 Spanish Fork 45,005 1,090 88 1,002 2
50 South Jordan 82,250 1,423 65 1,358 0

Methodology: How we determined the most dangerous cities in Utah for 2024?

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 2022 data, specifically the 2022 Crime In The United States Report for Utah.

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 69 cities in Utah.

We then ranked each city from 1 to 69 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.

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 2024.

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 most dangerous in the United States — 29.51% better than US average violent crime rate. The property crime rate in the Beehive State ranks 11th most dangerous in the United States — 26.1% worse than US average property crime rate. The latest reporting year from the FBI was 2022.

Yes, Salt Lake City is a dangerous city. Salt Lake City ranks as the #7 most dangerous out of 328 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 4highest in America — 76.74% worse than US average violent crime rate. The property crime rate in the ranks sixth highest in the United States — 135.38% worse than US average property crime rate. Note the latest reporting year from the FBI was 2022 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 69 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 — 2022.

The latest FBI crime data shows that South Salt Lake ranks as the most dangerous city in Utah for 2024.

The most dangerous cities in Utah are .

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.

What’s the most dangerous place in Utah? The most dangerous place in Utah is South Salt Lake.

If you want to know where the rest of the most dangerous places in Utah are, look at the list below. Or head to the bottom for a complete list of crime everywhere in Utah.

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. Syracuse (Pop. 34,354)
  2. Herriman (Pop. 60,138)
  3. Pleasant View (Pop. 11,234)
  4. Kaysville (Pop. 33,004)
  5. Enoch (Pop. 8,518)
  6. Santa Clara/Ivins (Pop. 18,948)
  7. Lone Peak (Pop. 30,258)
  8. Salem (Pop. 10,308)
  9. Santaquin/Genola (Pop. 18,616)
  10. Smithfield (Pop. 14,455)

For more Utah reading, check out:

References

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.

3 thoughts on “The 10 Most Dangerous Cities In Utah

  1. apparently this tard has never spent anytime in Utah, or he’d know there is no difficulty finding alcohol…..

  2. This is interesting, but the mitigating details weren’t considered. First of all, the majority of rapes in Utah are considered date rapes. This means a tourist walking down the street, is very unlikely to be jumped and raped. I live in a small city just outside of Ogden. I would not walk alone after dark in Ogden, but I have no problem doing so in downtown Salt Lake City. Also, the timing of the crime rate makes a difference. For instance, theft rises dramatically in Park City during the winter tourist season. Park City is very beautiful and safe. Unfortunately, I think this article makes it seem like walking down the street in South Salt Lake or even Salt Lake City, is equal to walking down the street in the worst parts of Chicago. It simply isn’t true. Utah is a very safe place compared to many big cities in the US. Come visit and see!

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