Boston, MA vs Salt Lake City, UT
Moving from Boston to Salt Lake City? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($741,868 → $568,656 median home) and taxes.
Boston 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 Boston, MA, you'd need about $87,999 in Salt Lake City, UT (−$12,001).
Livability — Boston, MA: 48 · Salt Lake City, UT: 64 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,146 sqft in Boston vs 1,846 sqft in Salt Lake City ($436 vs $271 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Boston, MA | Salt Lake City, UT | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $38,532 | $19,692 | −$18,840 |
| Groceries | $5,040 | $4,736 | −$304 |
| Transportation | $3,210 | $3,450 | +$240 |
| Utilities | $3,180 | $1,440 | −$1,740 |
| Insurance | $1,800 | $1,200 | −$600 |
| Taxes | $17,694 | $9,729 | −$7,965 |
| Total | $69,455 | $40,246 | −$29,209 |
Side by side
| Metric | Boston, MA | Salt Lake City, UT |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 110.4 | 97.1 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.02% | 3.61% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 2.9% | 7.2% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 43 | 56 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $6.28 | $5.53 |
| Median home price | $741,868 | $568,656 |
| Home price ÷ income | 6.9× | 6.3× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 1.6% | 1.3% |
| Price per square foot | $436 | $271 |
| Median rent | $3,211 | $1,641 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 11.5% | 12.1% |
| Combined sales tax | 6.25% | 7.19% |
| Capital gains tax | 9.00% | 4.65% |
| Property tax rate | 1.14% | 0.59% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $8,200 | $6,000 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $21,000 | $10,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 2.25% | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 31 | 23 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,800 | $1,200 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,500 | $1,500 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $800 | $500 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $450 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 29.4 | 13.3 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.30 | 3.60 |
| Violent crime /100k | 330 | 260 |
| Avg summer high °F | 82 | 92 |
| Avg winter low °F | 22 | 24 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 4 | 2 |