The 10 Worst Places To Live In Utah For 2023


The worst places to live in Utah are South Salt Lake and Roosevelt for 2023 based on Friday Night Science.

Utah is possibly one of the most misunderstood states in the nation. You’ve got a very right-leaning group, the dominance of the LDS church, and then you have Salt Lake City, which is ranked as one of the largest in terms of LGBT populations in the nation.

It’s a really beautiful state, no question. And it stays quiet, remaining out of the headlines, despite being one of the most hard-working and wealthiest states in the U.S.

Is it all rosy in the Beehive State? Of course not. Just like every other state, Utah has its least desirable spots. The purpose of this post is to use science and data to determine which places are the worst you could possibly live in if you make Utah your home.

After analyzing 83 of the state’s most populous cities (over 5,100 people), we came up with this list as the 10 worst places to live in the state of Utah:

Where are these places, you wonder? And before you get all riled up and say we’re picking on small towns in Utah, that’s not the case.

We understand there’s a lot of good in every place. For example, the best place to live in Utah is Syracuse.

However, according to data (which doesn’t measure things like beauty and ‘friendly people’), the state has far better options for making a place home. And the worst place to live in Utah? The worst place to live in Utah is South Salt Lake.

Read below to see how we crunched the numbers and how your city fared in 2023.

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

For more Utah reading, check out:


Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table


The 10 Worst Places To Live In Utah For 2023

South Salt Lake, UT

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 26,086
Rank Last Year: 2 (Up 1)
Median Home Value: $287,200
Unemployment Rate: 6.0%
More on South Salt Lake:  Data | Photos

When you’re looking at the worst places you could live in Utah, South Salt Lake came in 1st. Let’s see why.

Welcome to the 4th most dangerous city in Utah. Is that surprising?

There were two murders here in 2023, and when you’re in SSL, you have a 1 in 99 chance of being raped, attacked or murdered yourself every year. Plus, you have a 1 in 13.5 chance of being robbed here as well.

Not only is there a lot of crime here, the residents here earn just about the lowest salaries in Utah, bringing in $50,589 a year combined. Education and home values are also far below the state average.

Roosevelt, UT

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 6,757
Rank Last Year: 1 (Down 1)
Median Home Value: $212,200
Unemployment Rate: 8.8%
More on Roosevelt:  Data | Photos

Roosevelt was founded in 1906. Can you guess who was president at the time? That’s right: Theodore Roosevelt. Lucky too, because the town’s original name was Dry Gulch. That just doesn’t have the same ring.

This community of 6,757 residents, located in the northeast part of the state, has a boom-bust relationship with the local oil reserves. Sometimes, the oil is pumping and life in town gets flush. Other times, wells run dry and the town suffers.

Currently, Roosevelt faces an unemployment rate of 8.8%, though those oil jobs help to support a median income of $62,375. Crime runs about 40% above the national average.

Tooele, UT

Overall SnackAbility

8
/10

Population: 35,223
Rank Last Year: 3 (No Change)
Median Home Value: $233,800
Unemployment Rate: 3.9%
More on Tooele:  Data | Photos

Tooele stands in the north-central part of the state, just south of the Great Salt Lake and about 40 minutes outside of Salt Lake City. The town’s economy chugs along rather nicely. The unemployment rate hovers at an elevated 3.9%, but the median income comes in at a healthy $76,618. Housing and education are relatively strong as well.

Still, Tooele ends up on this list. What’s the issue? Well, given its location, commutes are difficult. At the same time, crime presents a modest problem, with a crime rate slightly above the national average.

Ogden, UT

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 86,110
Rank Last Year: 6 (Up 2)
Median Home Value: $221,400
Unemployment Rate: 4.5%
More on Ogden:  Data | Photos

Would you believe that Ogden is the 11th most dangerous place in Utah? That’s the case, as every year, you have a 1 in 31.9 chance of being the victim of a property crime when you’re within Ogden city limits.

In addition, every year, you have a 1 in 177 chance of being a victim of a violent crime in Ogden. That means raped, attacked or killed. Again, for Utah, that’s just unacceptable.

Beyond the crime numbers, Ogden’s unemployment rate is the 14th highest in Utah (4.5%), and homes are the 6th cheapest in the state ($221,400). Say what you want about ‘cheap living’, the fact is homes are priced on demand, and there’s not a lot of demand to live in Ogden.

Taylorsville, UT

Overall SnackAbility

7.5
/10

Population: 60,295
Rank Last Year: 8 (Up 3)
Median Home Value: $291,500
Unemployment Rate: 4.9%
More on Taylorsville:  Data | Photos

Here’s another suburb of Salt Lake City that winds up ranked among the least appealing spots in the state. And, once again, affordability represents the community’s major sin.

After all, the economy in town underpins a median income of $73,325. And the unemployment rate comes in at a respectable 4.9%. Diversity, housing, and education are all strong as well.

Then you get to the cost of living. Different story. In Taylorsville, you’ll spend more than the national average on groceries, healthcare, and transportation. At the same time, the median home value hovers at $291,500.

Price, UT

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 8,192
Rank Last Year: 9 (Up 3)
Median Home Value: $153,700
Unemployment Rate: 8.2%
More on Price:  Data | Photos

Price has a small university presence and a museum, but that’s just about it. Located out in the middle of nowhere, (a long drive from Provo), you can imagine why home prices are just about as cheap as you can get. In fact, at $153,700, homes are a steal here if you can tolerate the isolation.

Few other city have cheaper homes.

As you can imagine, finding work way out here can be tough. The unemployment rate (8.2%) is the 4th highest in the state.

But the schools are highly rated. At least they have that.

Midvale, UT

Overall SnackAbility

7.5
/10

Population: 35,313
Rank Last Year: 5 (Down 2)
Median Home Value: $301,600
Unemployment Rate: 3.9%
More on Midvale:  Data | Photos

A suburb of Salt Lake City, Midvale stands just 15 minutes from the center of the state’s biggest metropolitan area. This gives the local economy a major boost. The median income hovers at $65,897 and the unemployment rate comes in at 3.9%.

This financial good fortune comes with a downside, though. The cost of living makes it difficult for many of the town’s 35,313 residents. Services, groceries, and healthcare are all more expensive than the national average. At the same time, locals struggle to afford housing, thanks to Midvale’s $301,600 median home value.

Washington Terrace, UT

Source: Wikipedia
Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 9,215
Rank Last Year: 13 (Up 5)
Median Home Value: $238,000
Unemployment Rate: 7.0%
More on Washington Terrace:  Data | Photos

Richfield, UT

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 8,086
Rank Last Year: 7 (Down 2)
Median Home Value: $202,600
Unemployment Rate: 5.8%
More on Richfield:  Data | Photos

Ivins, UT

Overall SnackAbility

7
/10

Population: 8,786
Rank Last Year: 17 (Up 7)
Median Home Value: $369,000
Unemployment Rate: 7.4%
More on Ivins:  Data | Photos

Methodology: How we determined the worst places to live in Utah for 2023

To figure out the worst places to live in Utah, we only needed to know what kinds of things people like and then decide what cities have the least amount of those things.

We don’t think it’s a stretch to assume that people like the following things:

  • Good education
  • Lots of jobs
  • Low crime
  • Low poverty
  • Nice homes
  • High incomes
  • High population density (Lots of things to do)
  • Short work commutes
  • Health insurance

The data comes from the Census’s most recent American Community Survey and the FBI Uniform Crime Report.

We broke crime down into violent crime and property crime to give violent crime a more significant weight. If you did a simple calculation of all crimes per capita, property crimes are typically 7x more common and bias that ranking.

Furthermore, only cities with at least 5,000 people were considered — leaving 83 cities.

We then ranked each city from 1 to 83 for all the criteria, with a #1 ranking being the worst for the particular criteria.

Next, we averaged the rankings into one “Worst Place To Live Score.”

Finally, we ranked every city on the “Worst Place To Live Score,” with the lowest score being the worst city in Utah — South Salt Lake. Read on for a detailed look at the ten worst cities in Utah.

Editor’s Note: This article is an opinion based on facts meant as infotainment. We updated this article for 2023. This is our tenth time ranking the worst places to live in Utah.

Summary: Wrapping Up The Worst In Utah

If you’re looking at areas in Utah with the worst economic situations, where there’s higher than average crime and little to do, this is an accurate list.

And in the end, South Salt Lake ranks as the worst city to live in Utah for 2023.

If you’re curious enough, here are the best cities to live in Utah:

  1. Farmington (Pop. 23,990)
  2. Kaysville (Pop. 32,438)
  3. Syracuse (Pop. 31,715)

For more Utah reading, check out:

Worst Places To Live In Utah?

Rank City Population Unemployment Rate Home Value
1 South Salt Lake 26,086 6.0% $287,200
2 Roosevelt 6,757 8.8% $212,200
3 Tooele 35,223 3.9% $233,800
4 Ogden 86,110 4.5% $221,400
5 Taylorsville 60,295 4.9% $291,500
6 Price 8,192 8.2% $153,700
7 Midvale 35,313 3.9% $301,600
8 Washington Terrace 9,215 7.0% $238,000
9 Richfield 8,086 5.8% $202,600
10 Ivins 8,786 7.4% $369,000
11 Moab 5,329 2.2% $271,300
12 Sunset 5,454 3.7% $213,200
13 Santa Clara 7,418 3.1% $375,700
14 Santaquin 13,602 3.3% $313,500
15 West Jordan 116,045 4.4% $342,600
16 Grantsville 12,331 4.5% $300,900
17 Riverdale 9,279 4.0% $257,700
18 Hurricane 19,501 1.5% $286,400
19 Harrisville 6,858 5.0% $285,000
20 St. George 92,875 3.6% $344,200
21 Ephraim 5,671 8.7% $290,800
22 Murray 50,183 4.4% $338,700
23 West Haven 16,918 2.2% $392,600
24 Vernal 10,037 8.2% $168,800
25 Eagle Mountain 42,905 3.6% $356,600
26 Tremonton 9,727 0.7% $221,800
27 Hooper 8,941 1.3% $371,900
28 Hyrum 9,330 2.9% $256,900
29 Provo 113,538 4.6% $328,500
30 Clearfield 31,802 2.7% $241,300
31 Payson 21,093 4.2% $278,100
32 Orem 96,734 3.5% $329,000
33 Nephi 6,334 1.2% $291,100
34 South Ogden 17,363 1.6% $258,400
35 Farr West 7,581 1.0% $356,600
36 Logan 52,420 3.0% $238,400
37 Enoch 7,307 1.8% $242,700
38 Washington 27,689 1.0% $369,500
39 Layton 80,858 2.2% $320,000
40 American Fork 32,822 3.9% $351,400
41 Springville 34,750 2.9% $322,100
42 Woods Cross 11,372 2.7% $339,000
43 Roy 39,076 3.0% $252,100
44 Vineyard 11,579 2.2% $431,300
45 Sandy 96,272 2.2% $418,700
46 North Salt Lake 21,411 3.2% $364,100
47 Clinton 23,192 5.7% $305,400
48 South Weber 7,801 3.5% $376,200
49 Midway 5,881 3.6% $609,900
50 Lindon 11,346 4.1% $478,800
51 Holladay 31,738 2.8% $541,800
52 North Ogden 20,703 3.5% $328,500
53 Heber 16,416 2.9% $381,200
54 Hyde Park 5,116 3.4% $338,100
55 Lehi 73,911 4.2% $416,800
56 Nibley 7,160 1.5% $296,400
57 Draper 49,978 1.7% $569,700
58 Pleasant Grove 37,228 3.3% $348,800
59 Pleasant View 10,733 2.1% $391,500
60 West Point 10,963 1.0% $335,100
61 Herriman 52,860 3.6% $435,900
62 Cottonwood Heights 33,597 3.3% $454,700
63 North Logan 10,705 2.0% $338,500
64 Alpine 10,209 2.2% $698,900
65 West Bountiful 5,871 0.9% $390,700
66 Riverton 44,773 3.3% $397,000
67 Saratoga Springs 36,977 2.1% $400,900
68 Highland 18,913 3.3% $644,400
69 Fruit Heights 5,969 1.4% $472,800
70 Perry 5,444 0.4% $312,400
71 Bluffdale 16,576 3.1% $504,200
72 South Jordan 75,617 2.4% $460,600
73 Smithfield 13,263 2.6% $274,600
74 Spanish Fork 41,953 1.7% $334,200
75 Centerville 16,711 1.3% $374,800
76 Salem 9,097 3.2% $393,900
77 Cedar Hills 9,975 3.2% $445,100
78 Providence 8,199 2.9% $356,900
79 Bountiful 45,496 2.5% $375,100
80 Mapleton 11,226 2.6% $502,200
81 Farmington 23,990 2.0% $431,900
82 Kaysville 32,438 2.4% $410,900
83 Syracuse 31,715 1.4% $375,800

About Nick Johnson

Nick Johnson earned his masters in Business Administration from the Drucker School At Claremont Graduate University. He has written for 39 publications across the country and ran the media relations department at Movoto, a real estate portal based in San Francisco. He has been featured in over 500 publications as an expert in real estate and as an authority on real estate trends.

Nick's the creator of the HomeSnacks YouTube channel that now has over 260,000 subscribers and is an excellent source to learn about different parts of the country.