Utah: The Best and Worst Cities for Crime

Utah’s capital city, Salt Lake City, has the worst rates of violent and property crime in the state.
utah-header-map
Derek Prall
July 23, 2024 Derek Prall Derek Prall , Home Security Expert | July 23, 2024
Statewide Crime Property Crime

Though Utah has one of the lowest violent crime rates in the country, its capital city of Salt Lake City has the highest rate of rape compared to all other cities of similar size.

Despite that unfortunate superlative, Utah is famous for its natural desert and mountain beauty, outdoor activities, and many landmarks, such as the Four Corners and Great Salt Lake. It is also home to the world’s largest population of Mormons, or the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Its main temple and corporate headquarters are in Salt Lake City.

utah-city-mapCrime in the state of Utah is not as big a problem as it is in other states with cities of comparable size, but it is still an issue, especially in some crime-ridden areas.

The most famous crimes committed in Utah's history were carried out by Ted Bundy, a serial killer active in the 1970s who abducted and murdered several young women. But residents and guests to Utah are more likely to face run-of-the-mill property crimes like theft of personal property or a car break-in if anything.

Visitors to Utah may want to take basic personal safety precautions. Long-term residents may find it worthwhile to find long-term home security solutions for their and their family’s safety.

Statewide Crime Trends in Utah

According to one Salt Lake City-based law firm, the most common crimes in Utah in the following order (descending order) are theft, drug violations, property destruction, assault, fraud, burglary, intimidation, sexual assault, forgery and counterfeiting, and impersonation.

So far in 2024, the Utah state legislature has enacted policy reforms to reduce recidivism (rates of re-offending by previous criminals) and protect children from domestic violence.

Utah’s violent crime rate is 242 per 100,000 annually, according to the latest FBI uniform crime data report. This is 37 percent lower than the national average and places Utah No. 40 among states for violent crime.

The state’s property crime rate of 1,895 per 100,000 is 3 percent below the national average and ranks Utah No. 22 nationally.

Property Crime in Utah

With a near-average property crime rate ranking Utah No. 22 among the 50 states, residents living anywhere in the Beehive State may want to consider taking extra security precautions to keep their homes safe.

utah-property crime ratesThe burglary rate per 100,000 in the last year for which statistics were available was 202, the motor vehicle theft rate was 208, and the larceny-theft rate was 1,485.

The cities in Utah with the highest rates of property crime were Salt Lake City (6,423 per 100,000 people), Murray (5,035), and Riverdale (4,709). The cities with the lowest reported property crime rates were Enoch (270), Smithfield (325), and Santaquin (333).

Violent Crime in Utah

Utah tends to be safer than many other areas, with 242 violent crimes reported per 100,000 residents. That is 37 percent lower than the national average violent crime rate. However, across the state of Utah, rape is the only violent crime in Utah with higher rates than the national average.

utah-violent crime ratesStatewide, there were two murders or nonnegligent manslaughters per 100,000 people, 60 rapes, 30 robberies, and 151 aggravated assaults in the most recent year for which statistics are available.

The least safe cities in Utah from violent crime were Salt Lake City (978 per 100,000 annually), Moab (741), and Ogden (555). The safest cities were Salem (19), Smithfield (21), and Lone Peak (23).

Our Data

Our data comes from comprehensive reporting compiled by the FBI and accessed via the Crime Data Explorer website. Property and violent crime state figures were drawn from Table 5 of the 2022 Crime in the U.S. Report. Metropolitan figures were found in Table 6, “Crime in the U.S. by Metropolitan Statistical Area.” City-level figures were drawn from Table 8, “Offenses Known to Law Enforcement by State by City.” The population figures in that table are U.S. Census Bureau provisional estimates as of July 1, 2020.

Limitations: According to the FBI, the data in the publication tables may differ from those released on the Explorer Pages of the CDE. These variations are due to the difference in methodologies between the publication tables and data displayed on the CDE. Please note that crime statistics are not the sole measure of a city’s safety.

Navigate Crime Data by State