Photo: National Scenic Byways Online · Public domainPayson reports less crime per resident than 71% of U.S. towns
On crimes reported to the FBI by Payson’s police in 2023–2025, it grades B+ for safety: #15 of 62 graded towns in Utah.
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. “Rest of UT” is every other Utah city and town in the FBI’s tables; the U.S. figure is the FBI’s national estimate as published, averaged over the three years. The FBI publishes no national homicide or robbery rate in our data, so those compare with all U.S. cities and towns in its tables.
What’s behind Payson’s grade
Property crimes plus four times violent crimes reported to the FBI per resident, 2023–2025, on a national curve. Both violent and property crime are lower than in most U.S. towns; property crime is the stronger of the two.
Violent crime, by year and by type
Payson’s police reported 89 violent crimes to the FBI over 2023–2025, about 1.2 per 1,000 residents a year, against 2.5 in the rest of Utah and the FBI’s national estimate of 3.6.
Show as a table
| Year | Payson | Rest of Utah | U.S. (FBI national estimate) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 0.9 | 2.7 | 4.0 |
| 2023 | 1.1 | 2.5 | 3.9 |
| 2024 | 1.3 | 2.6 | 3.6 |
| 2025 | 1.2 | 2.5 | 3.3 |
Violent crimes per 1,000 residents
By type 2023–2025, counts
For every 1,000 residents, about 5 property crimes reported
And about 1 violent crime, in 2025. Below are 1,000 dots, one per resident; each colored dot is one reported crime.
Violent crime per 1,000 residents, 2025
Property crime per 1,000 residents, 2025
Crimes reported to police in 2025 per resident; one person can be the victim of more than one, and some reports involve visitors.
Reported crime is steady
Reported crime per resident was steady from 2023 to 2025: the change is within ordinary year-to-year swings. Per 1,000 residents, 2022–2025, against the rest of Utah.
Show as a table
| Year | Payson property | Rest of Utah property | Payson violent | Rest of Utah violent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 8.4 | 20.8 | 0.9 | 2.7 |
| 2023 | 6.5 | 18.3 | 1.1 | 2.5 |
| 2024 | 7.0 | 16.0 | 1.3 | 2.6 |
| 2025 | 5.4 | 14.3 | 1.2 | 2.5 |
Crimes per 1,000 residents
169 crimes reported in 2025
31 violent and 138 property, as reported to the FBI by Payson’s police.
2025 offenses reported
Offenses reported to police, not convictions. FBI Uniform Crime Reporting. The last row is counted outside the property total.
Six people died in crashes on Payson’s roads in 2019–2023
Payson had 6 fatal crashes in five years, in which six people died. 2 died in crashes on an Interstate.
That is about what is typical for Utah towns of 5,000–25,000 people: at their median rate (4.3 deaths per 100,000 residents a year), a town of Payson’s size would see about 5 in five years. With numbers this small, a death or two either way changes the picture, so Payson’s own rate (5.2) is context, not a ranking.
Deaths are counted where the crash happened, not where the people lived: a highway through town adds through-traffic deaths, and residents’ own risk on roads elsewhere isn’t here. Town rates sit below state and U.S. rates because a third of fatal crashes happen outside any town. Road safety is described here and is not part of the Safety Grade. Source: NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), 2019–2023.
Payson and its neighbors
How reported crime compares across the town line. Tap a town to see its safety page.
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Payson | B+ | 1.2 | 6.3 |
| West Mountain | — | — | — |
| Elk Ridge | — | — | — |
| Salem | — | — | — |
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. West Mountain is an unincorporated community (a census-designated place) with no police department of its own. Elk Ridge has no FBI figures of its own for 2023–2025. Salem reported to the FBI for 2023 and 2024 but not 2025.
Utah towns of a similar size
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Payson | B+ | 1.2 | 6.3 |
| North Ogden | A− | 0.9 | 5.1 |
| Farmington | B+ | 0.6 | 10.6 |
| North Salt Lake | B | 0.8 | 10.0 |
| Hurricane | B− | 1.9 | 9.4 |
| South Salt Lake | D− | 7.1 | 52.1 |
The five graded Utah towns closest to Payson’s population (24,630), by grade.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- It’s reported crime. Only incidents reported to and recorded by police appear here. Many crimes are never reported to police.
- One number for all of Payson. A town-wide rate doesn’t show where incidents happen, and that can differ a lot from one part of town to another.
- Visitors count too. Incidents involving people who work, shop or visit are counted against Payson’s residents, which raises the per-resident rate.
- Whose population. Rates use the FBI’s population for the department (25,583 in 2025); our figure for Payson is 24,630 (2025 Census estimate).
- Gaps are real gaps. A missing year means the department didn’t report a full year, not that nothing happened.
How the grade is calculated, for every town: How TownRatings grades safety →
Questions about safety in Payson
Is Payson, UT safe?
On crimes reported to the FBI in 2023–2025, Payson reports less crime per resident than 71% of U.S. towns, a B+ Safety Grade and #15 of 62 in Utah. Its police reported 1.2 violent crimes per 1,000 residents a year, against 2.5 in the rest of Utah and the FBI’s national estimate of 3.6.
What is the crime rate in Payson?
1.2 violent and 6.3 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025, as reported to the FBI. The rest of Utah reports 2.5 and 16.2; the FBI’s national estimate is 3.6 and 17.6.
Is crime going up or down in Payson?
Reported crime per resident was steady from 2023 to 2025: the change is within ordinary year-to-year swings.
Who polices Payson?
Payson’s own police department, which reports to the FBI as “Payson”. Its figures are the ones on this page.
Heads-up board
Neighbors looking out for each other in Payson.
Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.
Please don’t name or describe individuals. In an emergency, call 911.
Crime: FBI Uniform Crime Reporting Program, Crime Data Explorer: offenses known to law enforcement by city, 2025, and state and national rates. Counts are crimes reported to police, not convictions. The Safety Grade is our own summary of that data, not an official rating. Road deaths: NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), 2019–2023. This isn’t an official statement of public safety. In an emergency, call 911.