Providence, RI vs Salt Lake City, UT
Moving from Providence to Salt Lake City? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($524,867 → $568,656 median home) and taxes.
Providence 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 Providence, RI, you'd need about $95,699 in Salt Lake City, UT (−$4,301).
Livability — Providence, RI: 58 · Salt Lake City, UT: 64 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,524 sqft in Providence vs 1,846 sqft in Salt Lake City ($328 vs $271 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Providence, RI | Salt Lake City, UT | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $25,956 | $19,692 | −$6,264 |
| Groceries | $4,922 | $4,736 | −$186 |
| Transportation | $3,875 | $3,450 | −$425 |
| Utilities | $3,060 | $1,440 | −$1,620 |
| Insurance | $1,700 | $1,200 | −$500 |
| Taxes | $13,121 | $9,729 | −$3,392 |
| Total | $52,634 | $40,246 | −$12,387 |
Side by side
| Metric | Providence, RI | Salt Lake City, UT |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 101.5 | 97.1 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.82% | 3.61% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 3.6% | 7.2% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 56 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.78 | $5.53 |
| Median home price | $524,867 | $568,656 |
| Home price ÷ income | 6.5× | 6.3× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 3.1% | 1.3% |
| Price per square foot | $328 | $271 |
| Median rent | $2,163 | $1,641 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 11.4% | 12.1% |
| Combined sales tax | 7.00% | 7.19% |
| Capital gains tax | 5.99% | 4.65% |
| Property tax rate | 1.31% | 0.59% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $7,600 | $6,000 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $13,000 | $10,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 26 | 23 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,700 | $1,200 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,100 | $1,500 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $900 | $500 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $450 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 28.3 | 13.3 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.35 | 3.60 |
| Violent crime /100k | 240 | 260 |
| Avg summer high °F | 82 | 92 |
| Avg winter low °F | 21 | 24 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 4 | 2 |