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Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Families relocating within Utah face a complex equation: income, housing costs, healthcare, and quality schools. We ran the numbers on 4 cities. Salt Lake — index 111, rent $1,592/mo, healthcare index 115 — ranks #1 on our family-weighted model.
#1 Ranked: Salt Lake — cost index 111, rent $1,592/mo, income $74,925
Family-weighted scoring: income $74,925, healthcare index 115, population 209,593 — balancing career, care, and schools
Data sourced from Census Bureau, Zillow, BLS, and Tax Foundation — current as of 2026
Families relocating within Utah face a complex equation: income, housing costs, healthcare, and quality schools. We ran the numbers on 4 cities. Salt Lake — index 111, rent $1,592/mo, healthcare index 115 — ranks #1 on our family-weighted model.
Why Salt Lake ranks #1: the numbers tell a clear story. At 111 on the cost index, residents save roughly 1% less than the typical American. Rent sits at $1,592/month while the median household pulls in $74,925/year. The Utilities category is particularly strong at 102, though Housing (128) lags behind. Home prices average $565,484 — $98,114 above the national median.
Here's the thing: our family scoring model prioritizes four dimensions: household income above $60K (supporting a family-sized budget), cost index under 100 (keeping daily expenses manageable), healthcare index under 110 (critical for pediatric care and family premiums), and population above 200K (ensuring access to quality schools and youth programs). Salt Lake leads because it scores across all four. Provo and West Valley follow with even better healthcare costs.
And here's the trade-off: The 4 cities we track in Utah paint a surprisingly balanced picture. Average cost index: 109. Median rent: $1,563/month. Household income: $82,572. Utah is known for fastest-growing state economy with rising costs to match — and the data backs that reputation convincingly.
If you're ready to act on this, three things to do next: 1) Click into the city pages for the top 3 and check rent trends — direction matters more than the snapshot. 2) Run your income through the salary calculator for a personalized cost comparison. 3) Compare your top two picks head-to-head on our comparison page. The data is here; the decision is yours (that's pre-tax, of course).
| Rank | City | Cost Index | Median Rent | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Salt Lake | 111 | $1,592 | Details |
| 2 | Provo | 105 | $1,448 | Details |
| 3 | West Valley | 106 | $1,560 | Details |
| 4 | West Jordan | 112 | $1,651 | Details |
209,593 residents · Utah
Why Salt Lake ranks #1: the numbers tell a clear story. At 111 on the cost index, residents save roughly 1% less than the typical American. Rent sits at $1,592/month while the median household pulls in $74,925/year. The Utilities category is particularly strong at 102, though Housing (128) lags behind. Home prices average $565,484 — $98,114 above the national median.
113,343 residents · Utah
The #2 spot goes to Provo, and the breakdown explains why. And most of the time, renters here pay $1,448/month — saving renters $5,364 per year compared to the national average. Meanwhile, Utilities is the standout at index 97, keeping costs manageable. The weak spot? Housing at 113. A 28% rent-to-income ratio keeps most households inside the safe zone.
134,470 residents · Utah
A closer look at West Valley: the cost index of 106 breaks down to a Utilities index of 98 (strongest category) and a Housing index of 116 (weakest). Median rent is $1,560/month — 18% below the national median — while household income sits at $88,604, meaning locals spend about 21% of income on rent. That's a healthy margin by any standard.
114,908 residents · Utah
At $1,651/month for rent and a cost index of 112, West Jordan is pretty much what you'd expect from a mid-size city in this part of the country. Income is $103,960. That tracks (not adjusted for inflation, but still telling).
Salt Lake ranks #1 in Utah for this analysis with a cost index of 111 and median income of $74,925.
Salt Lake scores highest for families due to its strong income potential, median rent of $1,592/mo, and competitive median income of $74,925.
Our cost of living index uses real Zillow rent data as the foundation, indexed to 100 (national median). Sub-categories (housing, food, transport, utilities, healthcare) are derived from the overall index with regional adjustments. Data is updated monthly.
Salt Lake (ranked #1) has a cost index of 111 and rent of $1,592/mo, while West Jordan (ranked #4) has a cost index of 112 and rent of $1,651/mo — a 1-point difference in cost of living.
City data is refreshed monthly from Census Bureau population estimates, Zillow rent and home price indices, BLS salary data, and Tax Foundation tax rates. Last updated: 2026.
The median 1-bedroom rent in Salt Lake is $1,592/month as of 2026, based on Zillow's Observed Rent Index. This is $303 below the national median of $1,895/month.
The median home price in Salt Lake is $565,484, which is 7.5× the local median income. Most median-income households would stretch to buy at this ratio. The national median home price is $467,370.
Utah has a 4.55% state income tax rate. Combined state and local sales tax averages 7.21%, and the effective property tax rate is 0.52%.
This ranking was generated using data current as of early 2026. Population and income data comes from the Census Bureau's American Community Survey (5-year estimates). Rent and home price data is from Zillow's monthly releases. Tax rates are from the Tax Foundation's 2025 edition. Rankings are refreshed monthly.