SALT LAKE CITY — In the shadow of the Wasatch Mountains, Salt Lake City might seem like a picture-perfect place for Halloween — but a new ranking reveals it’s the fifth most dangerous city in America for trick-or-treaters.
In a new study by SafeHome.org, Salt Lake City was ranked 5th among the most dangerous cities in America for trick-or-treating. According to the study's authors, they evaluated 161 cities using key safety metrics, including crime rates, pedestrian fatalities, the number of registered sex offenders, and the presence of local law enforcement.
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Here are the top 5 most dangerous cities for trick-or-treating:
- Memphis, Tennessee
- Richmond, Virginia
- Little Rock, Arkansas
- Oakland, California
- Salt Lake City, Utah
So what is behind Salt Lake City's low ranking? A combination of factors is contributing to the ranking given to Salt Lake City.
Comparing Salt Lake City to the safest city according to SafeHome shows some differences. For example, the safest city was determined to be Yonkers, New York.
In Yonkers, SafeHome says that in a one-year period reported no pedestrian fatalities. While here in the Beehive State, officials reported 0.3 pedestrian fatalities for every 10,000 residents.
Violent and property crime rates are also driving Salt Lake City's ranking. In Yonkers, property crime per every 10K residents was 101.5, and violent crime was at 31.2.
However, here in Salt Lake City, that ranking for property crime is at 520 per every 10,000 residents. Violent crime rates are at 86.42 per every 10K residents.
Another major factor is Salt Lake City's high number of registered sex offenders. In the city, 168 offenders are registered for every 10,000 residents. That is the 2nd highest in the nation according to SafeHome.
Here are the top 5 safest cities for trick-or-treating:
- Yonkers, New York
- Naperville, Illinois
- New York, New York
- Gilbert, Arizona
- Frisco, Texas
