Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
South Salt Lake earns a D, better than 14% of U.S. towns, mostly because of safety and schools. It reports more crime per resident than 98% of U.S. towns, including 188 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025. Its public schools trail 80% of Utah towns on state tests and graduation. What it does well: it is more walkable than 94% of U.S. towns. South Salt Lake’s violent crime rate is 7.1 per 1,000 residents, above both Utah’s towns (1.4) and U.S. towns (1.6). Only 1 of the 119 Utah towns we compare have a lower share of households owning their home than South Salt Lake. Kearns-St. Ann's Orphanage is on the National Register of Historic Places.
Where South Salt Lake beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
23,617 counted in 2010 and 26,777 in 2020; an estimated 26,934 in 2025.
Growth has leveled off: within 1% of 2020, after 13.4% in the decade before.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Utah), ordered by how far South Salt Lake is from typical.
Its grades run from A for walkability (better than 94% of comparable towns) to D− for safety (better than 2%), so the D overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Its founding year, 1847, comes before those of 95% of the Utah towns we grade with a known year.
Census counts: 1,599 in 1940, 26,777 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1997 and 4 maps from 1951 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around South Salt Lake. Close and well known come first.
Big draw4 mi Stadium & arenaDelta Center
5 mi Stadium & arenaRice–Eccles Stadium
23 mi LakeLake Bonneville
9 mi Stadium & arenaAmerica First Field
5 mi GardenTemple Square
3 mi Stadium & arenaMaverik CenterDelta Center: Lomrjyo, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Rice–Eccles Stadium: Brenton Walker, CC BY 2.0 · Lake Bonneville: Wilson44691, Public domain · America First Field: Scott Catron, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Temple Square: Carol M. Highsmith, Public domain · Maverik Center: Dave O, CC BY-SA 2.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in South Salt Lake, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Mar 13, 2026.
Ordered by what stands out in South Salt Lake.
South Salt Lake draws workers from Salt Lake City and beyond, but it reports violent crime at 3 times the Utah rate and has poverty well above the Utah rate.
Violent crime runs at 7.1 per 1,000 residents, 3 times the Utah rate; the Safety Grade counts each violent crime four times, so this weighs most on its D−. Property crime runs at 42.7 per 1,000 residents, 3 times the Utah rate, most of it theft.
South Salt Lake’s property crime rate is 42.7 per 1,000 residents. South Salt Lake reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 98% report less.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Its public schools are run by the Granite District. Two of its 9 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Granite Park Jr HighLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 800 | D− |
| Granite Connection HighLargest public high schoolGrades K–12 | Grades K–12 | 541 | C− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within UT on state tests and graduation
32,187 jobs are based in South Salt Lake, 2.7 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in.
Most working residents leave South Salt Lake for work: only 7% work in town. 16% of South Salt Lake residents live below the poverty line. Jobs based in South Salt Lake grew to 32,187 in 2023, 1,732 more than in 2013.
| South Salt Lake | Utah towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 16% | 6.2% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 20 minutes | 22 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $72,000 | $101,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 17% | 16% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 79% of U.S. communities. One flood insurance claim has been paid in South Salt Lake since 2023.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
15.8% of residents live below the poverty line, against 8.5% across Utah, which weighs on its B− for jobs and income. Only 38.2% of households own their home, against 70.2% across Utah.
Adults 18 to 34 are 40% of residents (26% statewide); children under 18 are 19% of residents (28% statewide). 7.8% of residents are 65 or older in South Salt Lake. Only 7 of the 119 Utah towns we compare have a lower share of children under 18 than South Salt Lake.
| South Salt Lake | Utah towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 18 | 19% | 30% | 22% |
| Aged 65 or older | 7.8% | 11% | 18% |
| Median age | 31.4 years | 32.7 years | 40.5 years |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 36% | 36% | 29% |
47% women, 53% men
About 113 men for every 100 women (the survey’s margin: ±2.5 points). Across Utah, 49.3% of residents are women. Median age: women 30.7, men 31.8.
| South Salt Lake | UT | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 8.5% | 14.6% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 10.3% | 13.2% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 13.4% | 11.6% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 26.1% | 14.8% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 15.9% | 13.8% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 11.8% | 11% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 6.2% | 9.1% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 4.8% | 7.3% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 2.9% | 4.6% | 7% |
| No diploma | 13.4% | 6.6% | 10.4% |
| High school | 25.4% | 22.3% | 26% |
| Some college | 18.8% | 23.5% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 6.6% | 9.9% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 22% | 24.7% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 13.8% | 13% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
South Salt Lake has chilly, snowy winters and hot summers, with very little rain. The July high in South Salt Lake is 92°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Within Utah it is less healthy than 85% of the 118 graded towns: Utah sets a high bar.
South Salt Lake beats the Utah average on 4 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 20. Among 118 Utah towns, just 2 have a higher share of adults who worry about having enough food than South Salt Lake.
| South Salt Lake | Utah towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 65% | 72% | 79% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 39% | 33% | 33% |
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 9.5% | 8.1% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 22% | 11% | 14% |
| What stands out | South Salt Lake | UT |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 4.9% | 7.2% |
| Fewer adults with arthritis | 18.1% | 21.7% |
| More adults facing food insecurity | 22.1% | 12.4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The typical South Salt Lake home is worth about $436,000, up 0.5% in a year, 18% below the Utah typical home.
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
| South Salt Lake | Utah towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.6 miles per square mile | 1.1 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 1% | 3.5% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Fitts Park | 0.8 mi | 11 |
| 2. Tracy Aviary's Nature Center at Pia Okwai | 0.1 mi | 11 |
| 3. Harmony Park | 0.2 mi | 10 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
8 within 15 miles of the center of South Salt Lake
About 9 of every 100 South Salt Lake residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Utah.
Where South Salt Lake’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
City in Utah, United States
South Salt Lake is a city in Salt Lake County, Utah and a core inner suburb of Salt Lake City proper, and thus part of the Salt Lake City metropolitan area. The population was 26,777 at the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
3 towns share a border with South Salt Lake.
All 3 graded towns on its borders grade higher than its D; Salt Lake City (C−) is closest.
| Town | UT rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Salt Lake | #117 | D | C | D− | C− | B |
| West Valley City | #113 | C− | C+ | C− | C− | B− |
| Salt Lake City | #114 | C− | C | D− | C− | A− |
| Millcreek | #95 | B− | C− | — | C− | A |
Millcreek reports no FBI crime data of its own. Compare South Salt Lake with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
South Salt Lake grades D overall, better than 14% of U.S. towns. It grades B for health, D− for safety and C− for schools. Safety is its weak spot, with a D−.
That is 4.4 years of the area's median household income ($98,083 across the Salt Lake City-Murray, UT metro area). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C.
