Why Ephraim, Utah's Reports of Property Crime Are So Low

Samuel Stebbins

Published: November 24, 2020 5:33 pm

Property crime is a broad category of offenses comprising three subcategories: burglary, larceny, and motor vehicle theft. A total of 6.9 million property crimes were committed in the United States in 2019 — or 2,110 for every 100,000 people.

Though property crime offenses are not as severe as violent crime offenses, such as aggravated assault or robbery, their impact on victims can be substantial. An estimated $14.3 billion worth of personal property — from clothing and jewelry to firearms and motor vehicles — were stolen in the United States in 2019. During the COVID-19 pandemic, certain forms of property crime have spiked. According to a recent study from the University of Pennsylvania, car thefts are up considerably in major cities around the country. And while home burglaries are down, commercial retailers are reporting a substantial spike in burglary cases.

In Ephraim, Utah, property crime is far less common than it is nationwide. In 2019, the most recent year of available data, there were a total of 46 property crimes reported in the city — or 618 for every 100,000 people. Click here to see the full crime report for Ephraim.

The FBI tracked property crime in 4,543 U.S. cities with populations of at least 5,000 in 2019 — and nearly all of those cities reported at least one property crime that year. Of those 4,537 cities that reported one or more incidents of property crime, Ephraim ranks No. 3,938 by property crime rate, which puts it in the top 25% lowest property crime U.S. cities.

Although property crime is less common in Ephraim than it is nationwide, property crime is about as common in Utah as it is nationwide. A total of 69,546 property crimes were reported in Utah in 2019, or 2,169 for every 100,000 people. Of all 50 states, Utah has the 24th highest property crime rate.

The property crime rate in Ephraim ranks as No. 55 of the 59 cities in Utah for which the FBI has data.

Across the United States, larceny-theft is the most common form of property crime. Of the 6.9 million property crimes committed in the U.S. in 2019, about 73% were incidents of larceny-theft. In Ephraim, larceny-theft accounted for 89% of all reported violent crimes in 2019.

Of the three types of property crime, burglary ranks the highest on the FBI’s hierarchy of crime severity. In Ephraim, a city of about 7,450 residents, there were four burglaries reported in 2019, or 54 for every 100,000 people. The national burglary rate stands at 341 incidents for every 100,000 people.

Property crimes are just one component of crime in an area. To provide a more comprehensive view of overall crime levels across the country, 24/7 Wall St. recently published extensive crime reports with data visualizations for over 4,000 cities and all 50 states. Click here to see the complete crime report for Ephraim here.