Cost of Living
per year
per month
How Utica's prices compare to the US city average across major spending categories.
How far does your salary go in Utica?
Your $100,000 in Utica has the same purchasing power as $114,129 in the average US city. You'd need $14,129 less 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 Utica's cost index of 88, sorted by closest match.
If you're weighing a move to Utica, the short answer is that the city has a few genuine arguments going for it — most obviously cheaper than the national average, with no fine print and you can walk to most of what you need, plus 2 more things worth knowing. Here's the longer version.
Utica sits at 88 on the composite cost-of-living index — about 12% under the national average. Not the cheapest place in the country, but enough of a discount to notice on rent and groceries every month. Median rent in town runs about $873/mo against a typical household income of $48,212, which is the kind of ratio that leaves room to save.
Utica earns a Walk Score of 78/100 — above the US median, with denser neighborhoods scoring higher than the citywide aggregate suggests. A car is still useful for longer trips, but everyday life works on foot for a lot of residents.
Utica's air quality index averages about 30 — 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 Utica is about 18 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.
Reasons are pulled from Utica'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.
Snow is just part of the winter in Utica. Average temperatures around 21°F mean the ground stays covered from December well into March, and a snowblower is less optional than aspirational.
Cold enough to plan around. Winter in Utica averages roughly 21°F, with stretches where daytime highs don't break freezing for weeks. Decent insulation, a real coat, and a car that starts in cold weather are non-negotiable.
Hot, but not desert-hot. Summer in Utica runs about 80°F on average, with afternoons in the 90s and humidity that varies by region. AC is standard rather than optional.
Approximately USDA Hardiness Zone 7. That's the band gardeners use to pick plants — anything rated for Zone 7 or colder should survive a typical winter in Utica. (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.)
Utica is at about 505 feet (154 m) above sea level. High enough to be solidly above any coastal concern, low enough that altitude isn't a factor.
Officially, Atlantic hurricane season runs June 1 through November 30, but most of the action lands between mid-August and mid-October. For Utica, that's when to keep half an eye on the National Hurricane Center forecast cone — and when an actual evacuation plan is worth having in the drawer if you're in a low-lying or coastal neighborhood.
Higher than average. Utica reports about 4,022 incidents per 100,000 residents, above the US average of around 3,500. Citywide numbers are often dragged up by a few hotspots; specific neighborhoods can be very safe in cities that don't look great on paper, and vice versa.
No — your dollar actually goes further here. Utica's composite cost-of-living index is 88, roughly 12% under the US average. Housing is usually the biggest driver of the discount.
Yes — Utica is one of the more walkable US cities. A Walk Score of 78/100 means most daily errands can be done on foot in most neighborhoods. Many residents go car-free comfortably.
Roughly $61,334 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 Utica runs about $873/mo — keeping housing under 30% of gross income points to a similar floor on what you'd want to earn.