This article, the thirty-second in a 50-state series, ranks the best places to live in Utah based on three criteria: (1) median household income (adjusted for cost of living); (2) educational attainment (% of residents 25 years and over who have earned a bachelor’s degree or higher); and (3) property crime rates per 1,000 residents (burglary and automobile thefts). For purposes of these rankings, “places” are incorporated municipalities with populations greater than 2,000.
Among the twenty best places to live in Utah, seven are suburbs of Provo, five are suburbs of Salt Lake City, four are suburbs of Logan, and four are suburbs of Ogden. By county, seven of the best places to live in Utah are located in or partially in Utah County, five in Davis County, three in Cache County, two in Weber County, two partially in Salt Lake and Wasatah Counties respectively, and one partially in Summit County.
After reading “Best Places to Live in Utah (2011),” return to this link to read “Largest Cities in Utah (2011).” A collection of similar articles for the remaining 49 states can be found at these links: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming.
For the culmination of the 50-state series, read “Best Places to Live in America (2011).”
1. Best Places to Live in Utah (2011) – Fruit Heights, UT (Davis County)
Population: 5,102
Median household income (adjusted for cost of living): $116,726
Bachelor’s degree or higher (25 years and over): 52.4%
Property crime rate per 1,000 residents (burglary and auto thefts): 3.6*
Distance to Familiar Cities:
Salt Lake City, UT: 21 miles S
Ogden, UT: 16 miles N
2. Best Places to Live in Utah (2011) – Alpine, UT (Utah County)
Population: 9,651
Median household income (adjusted for cost of living): $118,274
Bachelor’s degree or higher (25 years and over): 51.1%
Property crime rate per 1,000 residents (burglary and auto thefts): 3.8*
Distance to Familiar Cities:
Salt Lake City, UT: 32 miles NNW
Provo, UT: 18 miles SSE
3. Best Places to Live in Utah (2011) – Highland, UT (Utah County)
Population: 15,230
Median household income (adjusted for cost of living): $101,364
Bachelor’s degree or higher (25 years and over): 52.5%
Property crime rate per 1,000 residents (burglary and auto thefts): 3.8*
Distance to Familiar Cities:
Salt Lake City, UT: 31 miles NNW
Provo, UT: 17 miles SSE
4. Best Places to Live in Utah (2011) – Cedar Hills, UT (Utah County)
Population: 8,974
Median household income (adjusted for cost of living): $100,291
Bachelor’s degree or higher (25 years and over): 45.9%
Property crime rate per 1,000 residents (burglary and auto thefts): 3.8*
Distance to Familiar Cities:
Salt Lake City, UT: 33 miles NNW
Provo, UT: 15 miles SSE
5. Best Places to Live in Utah (2011) – Farmington, UT (Davis County)
Population: 16,276
Median household income (adjusted for cost of living): $90,055
Bachelor’s degree or higher (25 years and over): 43.7%
Property crime rate per 1,000 residents (burglary and auto thefts): 2.19
Distance to Familiar Cities:
Salt Lake City, UT: 17 miles S
Ogden, UT: 19 miles NNW
6. Best Places to Live in Utah (2011) – Kaysville, UT (Davis County)
Population: 24,624
Median household income (adjusted for cost of living): $90,525
Bachelor’s degree or higher (25 years and over): 42.2%
Property crime rate per 1,000 residents (burglary and auto thefts): 3.6
Distance to Familiar Cities:
Salt Lake City, UT: 21 miles S
Ogden, UT: 16 miles N
7. Best Places to Live in Utah (2011) – Midway, UT (Wasatah County)
Population: 3,384
Median household income (adjusted for cost of living): $72,808
Bachelor’s degree or higher (25 years and over): 40.7%
Property crime rate per 1,000 residents (burglary and auto thefts): 1.39*
Distance to Familiar Cities:
Salt Lake City, UT: 44 miles NW
Provo, UT: 27 miles SSW
8. Best Places to Live in Utah (2011) – North Logan, UT (Cache County)
Population: 8,009
Median household income (adjusted for cost of living): $65,594
Bachelor’s degree or higher (25 years and over): 46.0%
Property crime rate per 1,000 residents (burglary and auto thefts): 3.42*
Distance to Familiar Cities:
Salt Lake City, UT: 84 miles S
Logan, UT: 4 miles SSW
9. Best Places to Live in Utah (2011) – Hyde Park, UT (Cache County)
Population: 3,736
Median household income (adjusted for cost of living): $91,449
Bachelor’s degree or higher (25 years and over): 44.1%
Property crime rate per 1,000 residents (burglary and auto thefts): 4.7*
Distance to Familiar Cities:
Salt Lake City, UT: 85 miles S
Logan, UT: 5 miles S
10. Best Places to Live in Utah (2011) – Elk Ridge, UT (Utah County)
Population: 2,808
Median household income (adjusted for cost of living): $99,687
Bachelor’s degree or higher (25 years and over): 41.4%
Property crime rate per 1,000 residents (burglary and auto thefts): 6.3*
Distance to Familiar Cities:
Salt Lake City, UT: 61 miles N
Provo, UT: 17 miles N
11. Best Places to Live in Utah (2011) – Syracuse, UT (Davis County)
Population: 20,590
Median household income (adjusted for cost of living): $91,765
Bachelor’s degree or higher (25 years and over): 30.1%
Property crime rate per 1,000 residents (burglary and auto thefts): 2.23
Distance to Familiar Cities:
Salt Lake City, UT: 30 miles S
Ogden, UT: 14 miles NNE
12. Best Places to Live in Utah (2011) – Providence, UT (Cache County)
Population: 6,292
Median household income (adjusted for cost of living): $73,081
Bachelor’s degree or higher (25 years and over): 43.9%
Property crime rate per 1,000 residents (burglary and auto thefts): 3.42*
Distance to Familiar Cities:
Salt Lake City, UT: 80 miles S
Logan, UT: 3 miles NNW
13. Best Places to Live in Utah (2011) – Centerville, UT (Davis County)
Population: 15,449
Median household income (adjusted for cost of living): $92,365
Bachelor’s degree or higher (25 years and over): 39.9%
Property crime rate per 1,000 residents (burglary and auto thefts): 3.74
Distance to Familiar Cities:
Salt Lake City, UT: 13 miles S
Ogden, UT: 24 miles N
14. Best Places to Live in Utah (2011) – Mapleton, UT (Utah County)
Population: 7,678
Median household income (adjusted for cost of living): $81,011
Bachelor’s degree or higher (25 years and over): 33.5%
Property crime rate per 1,000 residents (burglary and auto thefts): 1.47
Distance to Familiar Cities:
Salt Lake City, UT: 54 miles NNW
Provo, UT: 10 miles NNW
15. Best Places to Live in Utah (2011) – Saratoga Springs, UT (Utah County)
Population: 12,584
Median household income (adjusted for cost of living): $80,608
Bachelor’s degree or higher (25 years and over): 37.2%
Property crime rate per 1,000 residents (burglary and auto thefts): 2.8
Distance to Familiar Cities:
Salt Lake City, UT: 35 miles N
Provo, UT: 24 miles SE
16. Best Places to Live in Utah (2011) – Pleasant View, UT (Weber County)
Population: 6,720
Median household income (adjusted for cost of living): $89,280
Bachelor’s degree or higher (25 years and over): 30.9%
Property crime rate per 1,000 residents (burglary and auto thefts): 2.37
Distance to Familiar Cities:
Salt Lake City, UT: 44 miles S
Ogden, UT: 8 miles S
17. Best Places to Live in Utah (2011) – North Ogden, UT (Weber County)
Population: 17,146
Median household income (adjusted for cost of living): $85,795
Bachelor’s degree or higher (25 years and over): 33.8%
Property crime rate per 1,000 residents (burglary and auto thefts): 2.85
Distance to Familiar Cities:
Salt Lake City, UT: 42 miles S
Ogden, UT: 7 miles S
18. Best Places to Live in Utah (2011) – Park City, UT (Summit and Wasatch County)
Population: 8,015
Median household income (adjusted for cost of living): $78,840
Bachelor’s degree or higher (25 years and over): 59.2%
Property crime rate per 1,000 residents (burglary and auto thefts): 8.13
Distance to Familiar Cities:
Salt Lake City, UT: 31 miles WNW
Provo, UT: 46 miles SSW
19. Best Places to Live in Utah (2011) – Draper, UT (Salt Lake and Utah Counties)
Population: 39,862
Median household income (adjusted for cost of living): $94,984
Bachelor’s degree or higher (25 years and over): 40.0%
Property crime rate per 1,000 residents (burglary and auto thefts): 6.74
Distance to Familiar Cities:
Salt Lake City, UT: 19 miles N
Provo, UT: 29 miles SSE
20. Best Places to Live in Utah (2011) – South Jordan, UT (Salt Lake County)
Population: 47,625
Median household income (adjusted for cost of living): $97,067
Bachelor’s degree or higher (25 years and over): 36.6%
Property crime rate per 1,000 residents (burglary and auto thefts): 5.33
Distance to Familiar Cities:
Salt Lake City, UT: 17 miles N
Provo, UT: 31 miles S
*In some cases, municipalities do not report their crime statistics to the FBI or they contract for services with the state or a county law enforcement agency. For those towns, crime rates are extrapolated from municipal, county, state, or contiguous municipality data.
The sources used in support of this article include the latest 1, 3, and 5-year estimates from the U.S. Census and the most recent FBI Uniform Crime Report.
More Articles from J.C. Grant
“Average ACT Scores by State (2010)”
“Average SAT Scores by State (2010)”
“Largest U.S. Cities: Population Size (2011)”
“Most_Dangerous_Cities_in_America – Murder Rates”
State Education Rankings: Graduation Rates for High School, College, and Grad/Professional School
“State Education Rankings: SAT Scores”
Source(s):
“All Cities in Utah,” City-Data.com
“2009 ACS 1-year Estimates,” U.S. Census Bureau
“2007-2009 ACS 3-year Estimates,” U.S. Census Bureau
“2006-2008 ACS 3-year Estimates,” U.S. Census Bureau
“2005-2009 ACS 5-Year Estimates,” U.S. Census Bureau
Uniform Crime Report,” Federal Bureau of Investigation
