Crime in South Salt Lake, Utah

South Salt Lake's crime rate

There were 2,070 crimes reported in South Salt Lake, Utah in 2019, the most recent year crime data is available. Adjusted for population, the city’s annual crime rate is 8,086 incidents for every 100,000 people.

How does South Salt Lake compare?

South Salt Lake has one of the highest overall crime rates of any U.S. city. For comparison, the national total crime rate is 2,489 incidents for every 100,000 people.

South Salt Lake's overall crime rate is 236% higher than the overall crime rate in Utah. Statewide, there were 77,099 crimes reported in 2019, or 2,405 for every 100,000 people.

What types of crimes are being committed?

The FBI's crime rate includes seven crime categories: three property crimes -- larceny, burglary, and motor vehicle theft, and four violent crimes -- aggravated assault, robbery, rape, and murder.

Property crime

The vast majority of crimes in America are property crimes, accounting for 85% of total crimes in 2019. In South Salt Lake, however, property crimes account for about 90% of all offenses.

Property crime is much more prevalent in South Salt Lake than it is nationwide. There were 1,865 property crimes in South Salt Lake in 2019, or 7,285 for every 100,000 residents. Meanwhile, the national property crime rate is 2,110 incidents per 100,000 people.

Larceny

Larceny is by far the most common type of property crime in the U.S. It is also the most commonly committed type of property crime in South Salt Lake. There were 1,260 larcenies reported in South Salt Lake in 2019, or 4,922 for every 100,000 people. Nationwide, the larceny rate is 1,550 per 100,000.

Burglary

There were 255 break-ins reported in South Salt Lake in 2019, or 996 for every 100,000 residents. For reference, there were 341 reported burglaries for every 100,000 people nationwide in 2019.

Motor Vehicle Theft

Across the United States, the annual motor vehicle theft rate is 220 for every 100,000 people. In South Salt Lake, meanwhile, there were 350 motor vehicle thefts in 2019, or 1,367 for every 100,000 people.

Violent crime

Violent crime accounts for a relatively small share of crimes nationwide. These offenses, which are generally more egregious than property crimes, account for about 15% of the nearly 8.2 million offenses reported across the U.S. in 2019. In South Salt Lake, however, violent offenses account for a smaller 10% share of all reported crime.

At 801 incidents for every 100,000 people, the violent crime rate in South Salt Lake is well above the national violent crime rate of 379 offenses per 100,000 people. Law enforcement in South Salt Lake reported a total of 205 violent crimes in 2019.

Aggravated Assault

Aggravated assault is by far the most common type of violent crime reported in the U.S. It is also the most commonly reported violent offense in South Salt Lake. There were 131 aggravated assaults reported in South Salt Lake in 2019, or 512 for every 100,000 people. Nationwide, the rate is far lower, standing at 250 aggravated assaults per 100,000 people.

Robbery

Robbery is the second most common type of violent crime in America. There were 49 robberies reported in South Salt Lake in 2019, a rate of 191 robberies for every 100,000 residents. For comparison, the national robbery rate was 82 per 100,000 in 2019.

Rape

There were 24 rapes reported in South Salt Lake in 2019, or 94 for every 100,000 people. Nationwide, there were 139,815 rapes in 2019, a rate of 43 per 100,000 people.

Murder

There was one homicide reported in the city in 2019. Adjusted for population, the murder rate in South Salt Lake is 3.9 for every 100,000 people, lower than the national murder rate of 5 per 100,000 people.

South Salt Lake compared to other cities in Utah

South Salt Lake has the highest crime rate of all comparable cities in Utah. To be considered comparable, a city must have a complete 2019 FBI crime report and population of 5,000 or more.

Here are all comparable cities ranked by total crime rate. Click any bar or city name to see more about crime in that city.

Click here to see a list of all city crime pages.

Click here to see a list of all state crime pages.

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