Phoenix, AZ vs Salt Lake City, UT
Moving from Phoenix to Salt Lake City? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($448,352 → $568,656 median home) and taxes.
Phoenix 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 Phoenix, AZ, you'd need about $92,805 in Salt Lake City, UT (−$7,195).
Livability — Phoenix, AZ: 62 · Salt Lake City, UT: 64 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,063 sqft in Phoenix vs 1,846 sqft in Salt Lake City ($242 vs $271 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Phoenix, AZ | Salt Lake City, UT | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $20,904 | $19,692 | −$1,212 |
| Groceries | $4,919 | $4,736 | −$183 |
| Transportation | $3,960 | $3,450 | −$510 |
| Utilities | $1,668 | $1,440 | −$228 |
| Insurance | $1,800 | $1,200 | −$600 |
| Taxes | $7,280 | $9,729 | +$2,449 |
| Total | $40,531 | $40,246 | −$285 |
Side by side
| Metric | Phoenix, AZ | Salt Lake City, UT |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 104.7 | 97.1 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.88% | 3.61% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 6.7% | 7.2% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 86 | 56 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.96 | $5.53 |
| Median home price | $448,352 | $568,656 |
| Home price ÷ income | 5.6× | 6.3× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -1.7% | 1.3% |
| Price per square foot | $242 | $271 |
| Median rent | $1,742 | $1,641 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.5% | 12.1% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.38% | 7.19% |
| Capital gains tax | 2.50% | 4.65% |
| Property tax rate | 0.51% | 0.59% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,300 | $6,000 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $12,500 | $10,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 1.68% | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 27 | 23 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,800 | $1,200 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,900 | $1,500 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $550 | $500 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $450 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 15.5 | 13.3 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.60 | 3.60 |
| Violent crime /100k | 430 | 260 |
| Avg summer high °F | 104 | 92 |
| Avg winter low °F | 41 | 24 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 2 |