Do you live in one of the murder capitals of Utah?
We all watch the news with horror when we hear about a homicide that happens not that far away from us. While a murder just blocks or even a couple of towns away from your house would make anyone uneasy, in the long run, most likely, where you live is relatively safe.
To find the cities in Utah with the most murders and the highest murder rates per capita, we used Saturday Night Science to compare the FBI crime data on murders for the 25 cities in the Beehive State with over 8,000 residents.
Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table
Cities With Highest Murder Rates In Utah
- Price
- Park City
- Murray
- Vernal
- Clinton
- Washington
- South Salt Lake
- Tooele
- West Valley
- American Fork/Cedar Hills
What city has the highest murder rate in Utah? The city with the highest murder rate in Utah is Price with 48.4 murders per 100,000 people.
What is the city in Utah with highest number of murders? The city in Utah with the highest number of murders is Salt Lake City with 11 murders.
Read on below to see how we crunched the numbers and how your town in Utah ranked. There were ‘only’ 25 cities in Utah where a city reported a murder to the FBI, meaning 42 places had no murder.
For more reading on the Beehive State check out:
The 10 Murder Capitals Of Utah For 2026
/10
Population: 8,271
Murders: 4 (4th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 48.4 (Most)
More on Price: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
/10
Population: 8,201
Murders: 1 (19th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 12.2 (2nd Most)
More on Park City: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
/10
Population: 49,238
Murders: 5 (3rd Most)
Murders Per 100k: 10.2 (3rd Most)
More on Murray: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
/10
Population: 10,718
Murders: 1 (19th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 9.3 (4th Most)
More on Vernal: Data | Cost Of Living | Movers
/10
Population: 23,630
Murders: 2 (11th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 8.5 (5th Most)
More on Clinton: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
/10
Population: 35,835
Murders: 3 (6th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 8.4 (6th Most)
More on Washington: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
/10
Population: 25,930
Murders: 2 (11th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 7.7 (7th Most)
More on South Salt Lake: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
/10
Population: 40,402
Murders: 3 (6th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 7.4 (8th Most)
More on Tooele: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
9. West Valley
Population: 132,686
Murders: 9 (2nd Most)
Murders Per 100k: 6.8 (9th Most)
More on West Valley: Movers
10. American Fork/Cedar Hills
Population: 50,121
Murders: 3 (6th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 6.0 (10th Most)
More on American Fork/cedar Hills: Movers
Methodology: How we calculated the murder capitals of Utah
While there are surveys and public polls on what cities in a state are the most dangerous, we wanted to rely on something other than speculation and opinion. Instead, we used Saturday Night Science to compare the hard numbers from the FBI’s last year of reporting. Specifically, we analyzed the FBI’s Uniform Crime Report, which summarizes the number of murders in each city annually.
We only looked at every single city in Utah for which FBI data was available for the most recent FBI Crime In The United States. That left us with 25 cities to rank.
We took the number of murders per capita as the ranking factor. The place with the most murders per capita based on the most recent data is Price. It is our eleventh time ranking the places with the most murders per capita in Utah. We updated the list for 2026.
Summary: The Places With The Most Murders In Utah For 2026
If you’re looking at the places in Utah with the most murders, and where residents have the highest chances of being killed themselves, this is an accurate list. Again, these statistics are an indication of where crimes occur, not a statement about the effectiveness of the law enforcement in the areas they serve.
The cities with the highest murder per capita in Utah are Price, Park City, Murray, Vernal, Clinton, Washington, South Salt Lake, Tooele, West Valley, and American Fork/Cedar Hills.
For more Utah reading, check out:
- Best Places To Raise A Family In Utah
- Fastest Growing Cities In Utah
- Safest Places In Utah
- Best Cities For Singles In Utah
- Worst Places To Live In Utah
Murder Rates By City In Utah
| Rank | City | Population | Murders | Murders/100K |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Price, UT | 8271 | 4 | 48.36 |
| 2 | Park City, UT | 8201 | 1 | 12.19 |
| 3 | Murray, UT | 49238 | 5 | 10.15 |
| 4 | Vernal, UT | 10718 | 1 | 9.33 |
| 5 | Clinton, UT | 23630 | 2 | 8.46 |
| 6 | Washington, UT | 35835 | 3 | 8.37 |
| 7 | South Salt Lake, UT | 25930 | 2 | 7.71 |
| 8 | Tooele, UT | 40402 | 3 | 7.43 |
| 9 | West Valley, UT | 132686 | 9 | 6.78 |
| 10 | American Fork/Cedar Hills, UT | 50121 | 3 | 5.99 |
| 11 | Salt Lake City, UT | 212675 | 11 | 5.17 |
| 12 | Taylorsville City, UT | 56047 | 2 | 3.57 |
| 13 | Lehi, UT | 95189 | 3 | 3.15 |
| 14 | Cottonwood Heights, UT | 31778 | 1 | 3.15 |
| 15 | Clearfield, UT | 35374 | 1 | 2.83 |
| 16 | Cedar City, UT | 41556 | 1 | 2.41 |
| 17 | Ogden, UT | 87258 | 2 | 2.29 |
| 18 | Riverton, UT | 44711 | 1 | 2.24 |
| 19 | Draper, UT | 49166 | 1 | 2.03 |
| 20 | Provo, UT | 112763 | 2 | 1.77 |
| 21 | Saratoga Springs, UT | 58400 | 1 | 1.71 |
| 22 | Herriman, UT | 61387 | 1 | 1.63 |
| 23 | Layton, UT | 84017 | 1 | 1.19 |
| 24 | Orem, UT | 94571 | 1 | 1.06 |
| 25 | St. George, UT | 107595 | 1 | 0.93 |
It is sad that your reporting doesn’t include the numbers within Indian country for the State of Utah. I hope that with the awareness out now that it will change. Native communities are not “District 9”.