What it's like to live in Roy
Roy is a small city in Utah with unemployment below the national average, household incomes running above the national average, and crime rates well below the national average. Those factors carry real weight for anyone weighing where to move next.
The tradeoffs are worth naming plainly. Roy deals with air quality that falls short of national benchmarks, larger class sizes than the national average, cold winters, and fewer dining and entertainment options than a bigger city.
The good
- Low unemployment
- Higher-than-average incomes
- Low crime rates
The not so good
- Air quality concerns
- High student-teacher ratio
- Cold winters
- Smaller place — fewer dining and entertainment options
- Car-dependent — few commuters use transit
How Roy compares
Median household income
Median rent (per month)
Median home value
What it takes to move to Roy
Based on Roy's median rent, home value and household income
To rent
$3,248
up front: first month plus a typical one-month deposit
- Income to keep rent under 30%: $64,960 a year
- 45% of Roy renters spend 30% or more of their income on rent
To buy
$76,600
a 20% down payment on the median home
- With 10% down: $38,300
- Homes cost 4.2× the typical local household income (US: 4.1×)
Moving costs, closing costs and taxes not included.
The details
Cost of living▲ 15% above US
$1,624/mo median rent
Rent is pretty middle of the road, at $1,624 a month median. Not a bargain, not a budget-buster. About typical for a city this size. Home prices run above average, with a median around $383,000. Buyers should expect to stretch their budget here.
Median home value $383,000 · 45% of renters cost-burdened
Job market▼ 16% below US
3.6% unemployment
Unemployment here is 3.6%, a little below the national average of 4.3%.
City-level (BLS)
Safety▼ 51% below US
161 violent crimes per 100k
Safety is genuinely one of the selling points here. Both violent and property crime run well below the national average, the kind of numbers that fade into the background after a week of living somewhere.
Property crime 768/100k · Roy Police Department · 2025 data
Getting aroundNear US average
25 min average commute
Commutes run about average, at 25 minutes. Fine day to day, but it adds up over a year, and where someone lives relative to where they work starts to matter. 8 in 10 workers drive to work; 16% work from home.
How workers get to work
Climate
Summers are warm, with highs around 87°F, and winters are cold, with lows around 23°F and snow a regular occurrence. It's a dry climate with limited rainfall.
Average month
30-year averages, 1991–2020
Education & workforce▼ 36% below US
23% bachelor's degree or higher
College degree attainment runs below average at 23%. That tends to reflect a more trade and working-class economy, which can be great or limiting depending on the industry.
Schools
10 public schools inside the boundary
There are 10 public schools inside the boundary. The student-to-teacher ratio is 21:1, above the national average of 16:1.
Parks & recreation
The nearest national park or historic site is Golden Spike National Historical Park (40 miles away). There are 3 national parks and sites within a day's drive.
Bottom line
Roy's strongest points are unemployment below the national average and household incomes running above the national average; the main tradeoffs are air quality that falls short of national benchmarks and cold winters. A year of median rent ($1,624/mo) equals 21% of the median household income here, about the same as the 21% typical nationwide. It tends to suit anyone prioritizing low crime and remote workers (16% of workers here already work from home). It may be a harder fit for anyone who doesn't drive.
Other places near Roy
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