Atlanta, GA vs Salt Lake City, UT
Moving from Atlanta to Salt Lake City? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($382,938 → $568,656 median home) and taxes.
Atlanta vs Salt Lake City at a glance
Bars scaled to the range across all 200 metros; labels show actual values.
To keep the same standard of living as $100,000 in Atlanta, GA, you'd need about $96,680 in Salt Lake City, UT (−$3,320).
Livability — Atlanta, GA: 66 · Salt Lake City, UT: 64 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,677 sqft in Atlanta vs 1,846 sqft in Salt Lake City ($187 vs $271 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Atlanta, GA | Salt Lake City, UT | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $22,080 | $19,692 | −$2,388 |
| Groceries | $4,926 | $4,736 | −$190 |
| Transportation | $3,515 | $3,450 | −$65 |
| Utilities | $1,656 | $1,440 | −$216 |
| Insurance | $2,100 | $1,200 | −$900 |
| Taxes | $10,533 | $9,729 | −$804 |
| Total | $44,810 | $40,246 | −$4,564 |
Side by side
| Metric | Atlanta, GA | Salt Lake City, UT |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 100.5 | 97.1 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.04% | 3.61% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 6.9% | 7.2% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 56 | 56 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.72 | $5.53 |
| Median home price | $382,938 | $568,656 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.6× | 6.3× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -2.1% | 1.3% |
| Price per square foot | $187 | $271 |
| Median rent | $1,840 | $1,641 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 8.9% | 12.1% |
| Combined sales tax | 7.38% | 7.19% |
| Capital gains tax | 5.39% | 4.65% |
| Property tax rate | 0.85% | 0.59% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,400 | $6,000 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $9,500 | $10,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 32 | 23 |
| Home insurance / yr | $2,100 | $1,200 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,900 | $1,500 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $700 | $500 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $450 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 15.4 | 13.3 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.15 | 3.60 |
| Violent crime /100k | 370 | 260 |
| Avg summer high °F | 89 | 92 |
| Avg winter low °F | 34 | 24 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 2 |