Pittsburgh, PA vs Salt Lake City, UT
Moving from Pittsburgh to Salt Lake City? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($231,356 → $568,656 median home) and taxes.
Pittsburgh 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 Pittsburgh, PA, you'd need about $102,575 in Salt Lake City, UT (+$2,575).
Livability — Pittsburgh, PA: 70 · Salt Lake City, UT: 64 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 3,782 sqft in Pittsburgh vs 1,846 sqft in Salt Lake City ($132 vs $271 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Pittsburgh, PA | Salt Lake City, UT | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $18,324 | $19,692 | +$1,368 |
| Groceries | $4,915 | $4,736 | −$179 |
| Transportation | $3,440 | $3,450 | +$10 |
| Utilities | $2,316 | $1,440 | −$876 |
| Insurance | $1,200 | $1,200 | +$0 |
| Taxes | $8,069 | $9,729 | +$1,660 |
| Total | $38,264 | $40,246 | +$1,982 |
Side by side
| Metric | Pittsburgh, PA | Salt Lake City, UT |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 94.7 | 97.1 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.09% | 3.61% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 0.7% | 7.2% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 53 | 56 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.39 | $5.53 |
| Median home price | $231,356 | $568,656 |
| Home price ÷ income | 3.2× | 6.3× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 0.8% | 1.3% |
| Price per square foot | $132 | $271 |
| Median rent | $1,527 | $1,641 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.6% | 12.1% |
| Combined sales tax | 6.34% | 7.19% |
| Capital gains tax | 3.07% | 4.65% |
| Property tax rate | 1.44% | 0.59% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $7,000 | $6,000 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $12,000 | $10,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 27 | 23 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,200 | $1,200 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,600 | $1,500 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $650 | $500 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $450 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 21.5 | 13.3 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.55 | 3.60 |
| Violent crime /100k | 390 | 260 |
| Avg summer high °F | 85 | 92 |
| Avg winter low °F | 22 | 24 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 2 |