UTAH (ABC4) – With the demographic and landscape of Utah ever-changing, many locals and new residents have settled into the Beehive State, proudly calling it home.
When searching for a place to settle down or raise a family, arguably, the most important factor to consider is safety. Ensuring your future neighborhood and the wider community is a safe place remains high on most homebuyers’ and residents’ minds.
A new report by SafeWise takes a deeper dive into Utah crime and safety. Using the latest FBI crime data on cities throughout Utah, researchers narrowed down the safest cities to live in the state.
“To identify the safest and most dangerous metro areas in the country, we analyzed FBI crime report statistics and population data,” researchers say. “We set a population threshold at 300,000 and higher.”
Metro areas were ranked based on the number of reported violent crimes (aggravated assault, murder, rape, and robbery) and property crimes (burglary, larceny-theft, and motor vehicle theft). Crimes were calculated per 1,000 people in every city.
“Utah is less concerned overall about crime and safety than most of the country,” the study says. “Chances are people who live in one of Utah’s 10 safest cities have even less to worry about, especially when it comes to violent and property crime.”
Did your city make the list?
Here are the Top 10 Safest Cities in Utah in 2022:
- Lone Peak
- Farmington
- Syracuse
- Herriman
- Bountiful
- Pleasant Grove
- Clinton
- North Ogden
- Saratoga Springs
- Spanish Fork
Facts about Utah’s safest cities:
- There was only one reported murder in the safest cities this year compared to 102 statewide.
- Half of the safest cities reported fewer than 25 total violent crimes.
- Lone Peak has the lowest violent crime rate in the state at 0.2 incidents per 1,000 people. The city had only five violent crime reports this year.
- The property crime rate in the safest cities is 9.2 incidents per 1,000 people — 63% lower than the state rate (24.6).
- Syracuse reported the lowest property crime rate for the second consecutive year with just 7.2 incidents per 1,000 people.
- None of the safest cities reported fewer than 232 total property crimes.
Despite reported crime rates remaining low in Utah’s safest cities, the study also found that “Utah is one of only nine states to see rises in both violent and property crime rates this year. Utah’s violent crime rate continued a multi-year rise in 2022 — increasing from 2.4 incidents per 1,000 people in 2021 to 2.6 in 2022.”
Within the mountain region, Utah (2.6) has the third-lowest violent crime rate, trailing just behind Wyoming (2.3) and Idaho (2.4).
Compared to the rest of the U.S., Utah is “well below the collective violent crime rate,” but 26% higher than the national average property crime rate. Officials say among all 50 states, Utah has the “tenth-lowest violent crime rate and the eleventh-highest property crime rate.”
What do most Utahns worry about when it comes to potential crime?
The study found most residents worry about gun violence, with 41% naming it their top safety concern along with package theft, rape and general property crime.
Overall in 2022, 54% of Utahns think crime is increasing versus 7% who think it’s decreasing.
“In 2019, we launched our sentiment survey, the State of Safety, to help us better understand and contextualize crime and how people across the country feel about safety — at home and in their community,” the researchers say. “Each year that we’ve conducted the survey, we’ve made modifications and additions in order to respond to changing times, attitudes, and trends. Starting with our 2021 State of Safety survey, we narrowed our focus to the most impactful crime issues and added questions about the pandemic and other trending concerns (including package theft and police violence).”
To check out the full study on the safest cities in Utah, click here.
To see the full report on the safest cities across the nation, click here.
