The 10 Worst Small Towns In Utah For 2023


We used Saturday Night Science to determine the worst small towns in Utah.

By: Nick Johnson | About HomeSnacks
Last Updated: October 14, 2023

Most Americans have never been to small town Utah. However, as the Utahan who live there know, small town Utah is an awesome place to call home.

But is it all roses? Definitely not. Just like any other state, Utah has its trouble spots. This article aims to determine, using Saturday Night Science, the absolute worst small towns to live in the Beehive State. Don’t freak out, we will use data to show which places have high crime, poverty, and unemployment.

After analyzing more than 76 of Utah’s smallest cities, we came up with this list as the 10 worst small towns in Utah where you’d never want to live:

These are the worst small towns in Utah for 2023:

  1. Wendover
  2. East Carbon
  3. Wellington
  4. Ballard
  5. La Verkin
  6. Salina
  7. Milford
  8. Fillmore
  9. Apple Valley
  10. Hildale

So what is the worst small town to call home in Utah for 2023? According to the most recent census data, Wendover is the worst small town to live in Utah.

While many of these small towns have seen better days, they have wonderful communities and people. This report in no way means to knock the folks that call towns like Wendover home. Everyone

Read on below to see how we crunched the numbers, or scroll to the bottom to see how your town ranked.

And if you already know about the small towns, check out the best places to live in Utah or the worst places to live in Utah.

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

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

The 10 Worst Small Towns In Utah For 2023

1. Wendover

Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 1,161
Median Home Value: $136,700 (3rd worst)
Unemployment Rate: 3.5% (32nd worst)

2. East Carbon

Overall SnackAbility

3
/10

Population: 1,524
Median Home Value: $64,200 (worst)
Unemployment Rate: 12.3% (4th worst)

3. Wellington

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 1,439
Median Home Value: $132,300 (2nd worst)
Unemployment Rate: 8.5% (8th worst)

4. Ballard

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 1,511
Median Home Value: $174,000 (13th worst)
Unemployment Rate: 8.7% (7th worst)

5. La Verkin

La Verkin, UT

Source: Wikipedia User Elin Beckmann | CC BY 2.0
Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 4,286
Median Home Value: $239,000 (35th worst)
Unemployment Rate: 4.6% (20th worst)

6. Salina

Salina, UT

Source: Wikipedia User Ken Lund | CC BY-SA 2.0
Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 2,488
Median Home Value: $174,600 (14th worst)
Unemployment Rate: 10.4% (6th worst)

7. Milford

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 1,928
Median Home Value: $145,700 (5th worst)
Unemployment Rate: 10.5% (5th worst)

8. Fillmore

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 2,550
Median Home Value: $197,300 (22nd worst)
Unemployment Rate: 4.8% (19th worst)

9. Apple Valley

Overall SnackAbility

/10

Population: 1,062
Median Home Value: $367,400 (59th worst)
Unemployment Rate: 8.4% (9th worst)

10. Hildale

Hildale, UT

Source: Wikipedia User No machine-readable author provided. Ricardo630 assumed (based on copyright claims). | CC BY-SA 2.5
Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 1,069
Median Home Value: $340,600 (54th worst)
Unemployment Rate: 7.6% (11th worst)

Methodology: How do you decide if a small place in Utah is lousy or not?

To rank the worst small towns to live in Utah, we had to determine what criteria people like or dislike about a place. Assuming that people like low crime, solid education, things to do, and a stable economy isn’t a stretch.

We then analyzed the criteria using Saturday Night Science, the thinking you’d use at a bar. It seems like even your crazy Uncle would agree that a town with high crime is worse than a town with low crime; all else the same.

Using FBI crime data and the Census’s 2017-2021 American Community Survey, this is the criteria we used:

  • Population Density (The lower, the worse)
  • Highest Unemployment Rates
  • Low housing costs (meaning there’s no demand)
  • Adjusted Median Income (Median income adjusted for the cost of living)
  • Education (Number of high school dropouts)
  • High Crime

We looked at cities with populations between 1,000 and 5,000 people, of which there were many – 76 to be exact.

We get the crime numbers from the FBI, which gets them from the cities. Dropout numbers are based on the adult population, not just the current graduation rates of teenagers.

We base all our research on facts, which is meant as infotainment. We updated this article for 2023, which is our tenth time ranking the worst small places to live in Utah.

There You Have It – The Worst Small Towns In Utah

If you’re analyzing teeny places in the Beehive State with the worst economic situations, where there’s high crime and there’s not a lot to do, this is an accurate list.

If you’re curious enough, here are the best small towns to live in Utah, according to science:

  1. Silver Summit (Pop. 1,421)
  2. Mendon (Pop. 1,317)
  3. Mountain Green (Pop. 3,870)

For more Utah reading, check out:

Detailed List Of The Worst Small Towns In Utah

Rank Town Population Unemployment Rate Home Value
1 Wendover 1,161 3.5% $136,700
2 East Carbon 1,524 12.3% $64,200
3 Wellington 1,439 8.5% $132,300
4 Ballard 1,511 8.7% $174,000
5 La Verkin 4,286 4.6% $239,000
6 Salina 2,488 10.4% $174,600
7 Milford 1,928 10.5% $145,700
8 Fillmore 2,550 4.8% $197,300
9 Apple Valley 1,062 8.4% $367,400
10 Hildale 1,069 7.6% $340,600
11 Duchesne 1,997 3.1% $165,600
12 Blanding 3,343 2.1% $191,700
13 Parowan 2,974 6.8% $195,600
14 Thatcher 1,090 1.2% $220,900
15 Castle Dale 1,375 4.5% $143,800
16 Mount Pleasant 3,621 3.7% $200,800
17 Huntington 1,978 4.5% $151,100
18 Hideout 1,225 0.5% $586,500
19 Fountain Green 1,128 6.6% $205,000
20 Delta 3,568 1.6% $173,200
21 Garland 2,559 3.3% $215,200
22 Spring Glen 1,039 0.0% $168,600
23 Panguitch 1,662 6.6% $192,200
24 Moroni 1,239 4.0% $178,100
25 Kanab 4,692 2.5% $268,100
26 Coalville 2,152 3.4% $277,900
27 Benson 2,005 7.1% $241,700
28 Gunnison 3,656 0.0% $214,800
29 Enterprise 1,516 4.3% $234,400
30 Helper 2,558 4.5% $154,400
31 Manti 3,460 1.7% $190,200
32 Ferron 1,516 14.9% $163,800
33 Maeser 4,222 4.1% $263,000
34 Stockton 1,031 5.4% $264,800
35 Spring City 1,069 4.3% $221,700
36 Kamas 2,579 1.0% $361,700
37 Fairview 1,382 1.7% $192,800
38 Beaver 3,354 1.1% $248,400
39 Monroe 2,497 2.6% $202,100
40 Riverside 1,417 0.0% $235,300
41 Carbonville 1,041 0.0% $177,500
42 Centerfield 1,217 4.4% $244,000
43 Lewiston 2,043 0.5% $248,600
44 Genola 1,701 1.2% $445,100
45 Naples 2,975 3.2% $231,300
46 South Willard 1,567 2.3% $320,700
47 Monticello 2,237 0.0% $199,000
48 West Wood 1,068 7.8% $235,300
49 Elwood 1,496 6.4% $337,000
50 Marriott-Slaterville 1,934 1.4% $381,500
51 Willard 1,813 0.7% $278,000
52 Honeyville 1,665 1.8% $325,000
53 West Mountain 1,398 4.1% $445,500
54 Mona 1,871 0.0% $312,700
55 Wellsville 4,036 1.2% $310,100
56 Lake Shore 1,128 15.6% $590,300
57 Richmond 2,881 3.0% $256,900
58 Elk Ridge 4,475 5.7% $436,800
59 Oakley 1,613 1.3% $399,600
60 Erda 3,163 17.3% $442,400
61 Millville 1,844 0.5% $291,200
62 Toquerville 1,818 3.7% $352,200
63 Orangeville 1,072 0.0% $154,900
64 Mantua 1,075 1.8% $395,600
65 Benjamin 1,018 0.0% $584,100
66 River Heights 2,156 1.9% $297,700
67 Wolf Creek 2,133 0.0% $578,300
68 Daniel 1,200 0.8% $550,000
69 Liberty 1,382 0.0% $509,400
70 Uintah 1,417 2.7% $337,000
71 Francis 1,489 0.0% $518,400
72 Morgan 4,105 2.2% $351,800
73 Woodland Hills 1,590 0.9% $592,500
74 Silver Summit 1,421 1.1% $1,316,500
75 Mendon 1,317 0.0% $350,800
76 Mountain Green 3,870 0.0% $538,100
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.

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