Most Americans have never been to small town Utah. However, as the Utahan who live there know, small town Utah is an awesome place to call home.
But is it all roses? Definitely not. Just like any other state, Utah has its trouble spots. This article aims to determine, using Saturday Night Science, the absolute worst small towns to live in the Beehive State. Don’t freak out, we will use data to show which places have high crime, poverty, and unemployment.
After analyzing more than 73 of Utah’s smallest cities, we came up with this list as the 10 worst small towns in Utah where you’d never want to live:
2.7% unemployment · $44,173 median income
18.0% unemployment · $37,991 median income
8.0% unemployment · $87,037 median income
5.6% unemployment · $61,466 median income
10.5% unemployment · $64,129 median income
9.7% unemployment · $66,442 median income
8.0% unemployment · $86,250 median income
4.1% unemployment · $70,833 median income
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
9.0% unemployment · $65,833 median income
5.7% unemployment · $68,269 median income
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
The receipts
Compare the top ten
Pick a metric. The bars rescale. The red line is Utah’s statewide median.
Utah statewide median: $537,810
Utah statewide median: $95,166
Utah statewide median: 3.6%
On the map
Where Utah’s worst small towns are
Saturday Night Science
Methodology: How do you decide if a small place in Utah is lousy or not?
To rank the worst small towns to live in Utah, we had to determine what criteria people like or dislike about a place. Assuming that people like low crime, solid education, things to do, and a stable economy isn’t a stretch.
We then analyzed the criteria using Saturday Night Science, the thinking you’d use at a bar. It seems like even your crazy Uncle would agree that a town with high crime is worse than a town with low crime; all else the same.
Using FBI crime data and the Census’s 2020-2024 American Community Survey, this is the criteria we used:
- Population Density (The lower, the worse)
- Highest Unemployment Rates
- Low housing costs (meaning there’s no demand)
- Adjusted Median Income (Median income adjusted for the cost of living)
- Education (Number of high school dropouts)
- High Crime
We looked at cities with populations between 1,000 and 5,000 people, of which there were many – 73 to be exact.
We get the crime numbers from the FBI, which gets them from the cities. Dropout numbers are based on the adult population, not just the current graduation rates of teenagers.
We base all our research on facts, which is meant as infotainment. We updated this article for 2026, which is our eleventh time ranking the worst small places to live in Utah.
The full plate
Worst Small Towns In Utah
Click any column to sort. Search by town name.
| Rank | Town | Population | Unemployment Rate | Home Value | Median Income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wendover | 1,261 | 2.7% | $180,882 | $44,173 |
| 2 | East Carbon | 1,336 | 18.0% | $98,903 | $37,991 |
| 3 | Ballard | 1,803 | 8.0% | $299,125 | $87,037 |
| 4 | Wellington | 1,624 | 5.6% | $197,256 | $61,466 |
| 5 | Salina | 2,546 | 10.5% | $309,836 | $64,129 |
| 6 | Fillmore | 2,676 | 9.7% | $348,816 | $66,442 |
| 7 | Apple Valley | 1,181 | 8.0% | $543,776 | $86,250 |
| 8 | Gunnison | 3,562 | 4.1% | $319,675 | $70,833 |
| 9 | Moroni | 1,535 | 9.0% | $311,103 | $65,833 |
| 10 | La Verkin | 4,476 | 5.7% | $432,075 | $68,269 |
| 11 | Hildale | 1,372 | 8.9% | $491,240 | $78,523 |
| 12 | Spring Glen | 1,157 | 2.0% | $310,554 | $52,386 |
| 13 | Mount Pleasant | 3,805 | 4.0% | $387,589 | $68,920 |
| 14 | Delta | 3,705 | 8.3% | $352,168 | $78,506 |
| 15 | Huntington | 1,965 | 7.8% | $291,878 | $76,500 |
| 16 | Garland | 2,660 | 5.5% | $431,644 | $74,375 |
| 17 | Helper | 2,698 | 6.4% | $285,205 | $56,875 |
| 18 | Blanding | 3,275 | 3.4% | $330,637 | $71,797 |
| 19 | Benson | 1,776 | 7.9% | $535,677 | $93,194 |
| 19 | Thatcher | 1,170 | 2.1% | $444,072 | $100,750 |
| 21 | Parowan | 3,165 | 8.6% | $397,117 | $53,145 |
| 22 | Duchesne | 1,753 | 4.1% | $335,021 | $77,059 |
| 22 | Ferron | 1,517 | 7.6% | $316,165 | $70,947 |
| 24 | Fountain Green | 1,521 | 4.2% | $409,456 | $73,017 |
| 25 | Rocky Ridge | 1,060 | 1.6% | $630,119 | $95,625 |
| 26 | Centerfield | 1,240 | 2.9% | $346,379 | $77,778 |
| 27 | Panguitch | 1,701 | 8.1% | $223,178 | $76,750 |
| 28 | Fairview | 1,342 | 2.9% | $327,257 | $66,442 |
| 29 | Monroe | 2,616 | 3.5% | $390,015 | $66,172 |
| 30 | Coalville | 1,881 | 0.9% | $692,123 | $95,729 |
| 31 | Manti | 3,594 | 1.6% | $341,433 | $62,614 |
| 32 | Naples | 3,285 | 6.3% | $395,303 | $97,865 |
| 33 | Elwood | 1,547 | 6.5% | $575,751 | $101,771 |
| 34 | Spring City | 1,057 | 5.5% | $360,335 | $71,250 |
| 35 | Beaver | 3,681 | 0.0% | $357,403 | $75,960 |
| 36 | Carbonville | 1,636 | 0.0% | $369,676 | $67,193 |
| 37 | Riverside | 1,135 | 0.0% | $482,315 | $73,246 |
| 38 | Hideout | 1,253 | 0.8% | $1,263,315 | $98,929 |
| 39 | Maeser | 4,435 | 0.9% | $382,496 | $83,813 |
| 39 | Orangeville | 1,445 | 2.1% | $287,509 | $90,086 |
| 41 | Castle Dale | 1,546 | 2.1% | $300,994 | $82,958 |
| 42 | Monticello | 2,200 | 0.0% | $329,750 | $72,969 |
| 42 | Honeyville | 1,275 | 3.6% | $541,983 | $87,083 |
| 44 | Lake Shore | 1,129 | 20.0% | $783,748 | $99,058 |
| 45 | Lewiston | 2,408 | 3.6% | $465,014 | $98,583 |
| 46 | Marriott-Slaterville | 1,979 | 2.6% | $651,768 | $101,786 |
| 47 | Willard | 2,212 | 1.9% | $582,586 | $97,782 |
| 48 | Kamas | 2,096 | 0.5% | $1,211,445 | $96,638 |
| 49 | Milford | 1,547 | 2.3% | $245,614 | $82,368 |
| 50 | Silver Summit | 1,476 | 6.4% | $2,197,835 | $241,792 |
| 51 | Enterprise | 1,955 | 1.6% | $409,360 | $91,250 |
| 52 | Genola | 1,842 | 0.2% | $836,776 | $126,667 |
| 53 | Daniel | 1,044 | 2.6% | $880,115 | $106,471 |
| 54 | Oakley | 1,638 | 2.4% | $746,754 | $125,550 |
| 55 | South Willard | 1,532 | 0.0% | $640,669 | $119,327 |
| 56 | Mona | 1,674 | 1.0% | $582,706 | $115,179 |
| 57 | Toquerville | 2,344 | 2.3% | $590,881 | $97,813 |
| 58 | Mantua | 1,677 | 2.1% | $665,641 | $142,188 |
| 59 | Millville | 1,800 | 1.7% | $493,853 | $114,773 |
| 60 | Wellsville | 4,157 | 1.0% | $575,293 | $104,351 |
| 61 | Elk Ridge | 4,898 | 4.1% | $687,825 | $143,167 |
| 62 | River Heights | 2,282 | 2.2% | $501,421 | $117,708 |
| 63 | Francis | 1,989 | 0.3% | $871,111 | $117,054 |
| 64 | West Mountain | 1,282 | 2.0% | $1,266,206 | $111,791 |
| 65 | Liberty | 1,484 | 1.5% | $907,156 | $106,719 |
| 66 | Uintah | 1,754 | 3.5% | $595,017 | $108,125 |
| 67 | Wolf Creek | 1,339 | 0.0% | $973,640 | $130,729 |
| 68 | Richmond | 3,000 | 0.8% | $473,642 | $110,428 |
| 69 | Woodland Hills | 1,559 | 2.0% | $882,780 | $151,964 |
| 70 | Henefer | 1,005 | 0.0% | $595,750 | $93,654 |
| 71 | Morgan | 4,409 | 3.1% | $742,713 | $115,735 |
| 72 | Mendon | 1,482 | 0.8% | $664,128 | $148,261 |
| 73 | Mountain Green | 3,976 | 1.7% | $882,320 | $150,313 |
Source: FBI crime data + U.S. Census ACS 2020-2024 via Saturday Night Science. 73 Utah towns between 1,000 and 5,000 residents.
Summary
There You Have It – The Worst Small Towns In Utah
If you’re analyzing teeny places in the Beehive State with the worst economic situations, where there’s high crime and there’s not a lot to do, this is an accurate list.
The worst small towns in Utah are Wendover, East Carbon, Ballard, Wellington, Salina, Fillmore, Apple Valley, Gunnison, Moroni, and La Verkin. Not sold on Utah? Take the two-minute Find Your Place quiz and see which state actually fits you.
