Cost of Living
per year
per month
How Salt Lake City's prices compare to the US city average across major spending categories.
How far does your salary go in Salt Lake City?
Your $100,000 in Salt Lake City has the same purchasing power as $93,659 in the average US city. You'd need $6,341 more here to maintain that standard of living.
Demographics and workforce data from the US Census ACS 5-Year.
bachelor's or higher
Climate, safety, and walkability indicators.
See a side-by-side breakdown of cost of living, housing, and salaries.
Popular comparisons
Sorted by affordability — most affordable first.
Within 10 points of Salt Lake City's cost index of 107, sorted by closest match.
If you're weighing a move to Salt Lake City, the short answer is that the city has a few genuine arguments going for it — most obviously jobs are easy to find right now and it's an easy city to live in on a bike, plus 3 more things worth knowing. Here's the longer version.
Unemployment in Salt Lake City is running about 3.6% — below the typical US baseline of around 4%. That usually translates to a job market where employers compete for workers more than the other way around, which is the better side of that equation to be on if you're the one moving.
Salt Lake City's Bike Score is 78/100 — the kind of number you only get when a city has built real bike infrastructure (protected lanes, connected routes, drivers who expect cyclists). For commuting or just for getting around, the bike is a serious option here, not a hobby.
Salt Lake City's air quality index averages about 44 — comfortably in the EPA's "good" range. No daily ritual of checking the AQI before going for a run, no smoky-day plans, no surprise asthma flare-ups for the kids. The kind of background condition you notice mostly by its absence.
The average one-way commute in Salt Lake City is about 20 minutes — short by US standards (the national average is closer to 27). Over a year of working days, that's hundreds of hours that don't get spent in traffic, which is the kind of thing you notice in the weekend rather than the weekday.
50% of adults 25 and over in Salt Lake City hold a bachelor's degree or higher — meaningfully above the US average of around 36%. That correlates with the things you'd expect: stronger schools, more white-collar employers, more bookstores than the population alone would predict.
Reasons are pulled from Salt Lake City's actual data — Census ACS, BLS, BEA, NOAA, EPA AQS, FBI, and Walk Score. We don't list positives that aren't supported by the numbers, which is why different cities show different sections.
Yes, several times a winter. Salt Lake City's winter average of about 26°F sits right around freezing, so storms typically drop real snow that lingers a few days before slush sets in.
Cold but workable. Winter in Salt Lake City averages about 26°F — colder than the national norm, mild compared to the upper Midwest. A solid coat handles most days; the genuine cold snaps are short.
Hot, but not desert-hot. Summer in Salt Lake City runs about 90°F on average, with afternoons in the 90s and humidity that varies by region. AC is standard rather than optional.
Approximately USDA Hardiness Zone 8. That's the band gardeners use to pick plants — anything rated for Zone 8 or colder should survive a typical winter in Salt Lake City. (The estimate is derived from our winter-temperature data; the official USDA map uses station-level annual minimums and may differ by half a zone.)
Salt Lake City is at about 4,226 feet (1,288 m) — high enough that newcomers from sea level sometimes feel a touch winded the first few days, dehydrate faster than expected, and notice that water boils a little quicker. Acclimation is usually a week or so.
The citywide numbers are concerning — about 7,468 per 100,000 residents, well above the US average of around 3,500. As with all crime stats, the city aggregate hides huge variation between neighborhoods, but the overall picture is worse than most US cities.
Roughly average. Salt Lake City's cost-of-living index is 107, putting it in the band where rent, groceries, and utilities track the national norm. Not a bargain, not a premium.
Mostly car-dependent. Salt Lake City's Walk Score of 33/100 means a handful of errands work on foot — depending on the neighborhood — but most residents still need a car for the rest. Transit Score is 51 out of 100.
Roughly $74,739 a year would match the lifestyle of someone earning $70,000 in an average US city. That's a starting point, not a target — negotiate higher when you can. Median rent in Salt Lake City runs about $1,254/mo — keeping housing under 30% of gross income points to a similar floor on what you'd want to earn.