Minneapolis, MN vs Salt Lake City, UT
Moving from Minneapolis to Salt Lake City? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($393,774 → $568,656 median home) and taxes.
Minneapolis 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 Minneapolis, MN, you'd need about $93,138 in Salt Lake City, UT (−$6,862).
Livability — Minneapolis, MN: 54 · Salt Lake City, UT: 64 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,285 sqft in Minneapolis vs 1,846 sqft in Salt Lake City ($219 vs $271 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Minneapolis, MN | Salt Lake City, UT | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $20,652 | $19,692 | −$960 |
| Groceries | $5,227 | $4,736 | −$491 |
| Transportation | $3,375 | $3,450 | +$75 |
| Utilities | $1,776 | $1,440 | −$336 |
| Insurance | $2,200 | $1,200 | −$1,000 |
| Taxes | $16,345 | $9,729 | −$6,616 |
| Total | $49,575 | $40,246 | −$9,329 |
Side by side
| Metric | Minneapolis, MN | Salt Lake City, UT |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 104.3 | 97.1 |
| Unemployment rate | 3.90% | 3.61% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 4.3% | 7.2% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 47 | 56 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.93 | $5.53 |
| Median home price | $393,774 | $568,656 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.2× | 6.3× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 2.1% | 1.3% |
| Price per square foot | $219 | $271 |
| Median rent | $1,721 | $1,641 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 12.1% | 12.1% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.10% | 7.19% |
| Capital gains tax | 9.85% | 4.65% |
| Property tax rate | 1.10% | 0.59% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,800 | $6,000 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $16,000 | $10,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 1.58% | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 25 | 23 |
| Home insurance / yr | $2,200 | $1,200 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,600 | $1,500 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $600 | $500 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $450 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 16.4 | 13.3 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.15 | 3.60 |
| Violent crime /100k | 280 | 260 |
| Avg summer high °F | 83 | 92 |
| Avg winter low °F | 4 | 24 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 2 |