Provo, UT vs Detroit, MI
Moving from Provo to Detroit? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($546,641 → $269,080 median home) and taxes.
Provo vs Detroit 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 Provo, UT, you'd need about $102,555 in Detroit, MI (+$2,555).
Livability — Provo, UT: 65 · Detroit, MI: 62 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,921 sqft in Provo vs 3,066 sqft in Detroit ($260 vs $163 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Provo, UT | Detroit, MI | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $21,900 | $18,000 | −$3,900 |
| Groceries | $4,736 | $4,896 | +$160 |
| Transportation | $3,450 | $4,575 | +$1,125 |
| Utilities | $1,440 | $2,316 | +$876 |
| Insurance | $1,200 | $1,300 | +$100 |
| Taxes | $9,160 | $9,547 | +$388 |
| Total | $41,885 | $40,634 | −$1,251 |
Side by side
| Metric | Provo, UT | Detroit, MI |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 95.7 | 98.2 |
| Unemployment rate | 3.41% | 6.60% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 15.5% | 1.7% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.45 | $5.59 |
| Median home price | $546,641 | $269,080 |
| Home price ÷ income | 6.0× | 3.7× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 1.9% | 2.8% |
| Price per square foot | $260 | $163 |
| Median rent | $1,825 | $1,500 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 12.1% | 10.0% |
| Combined sales tax | 7.19% | 6.00% |
| Capital gains tax | 4.65% | 4.25% |
| Property tax rate | 0.45% | 1.43% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,000 | $6,500 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $10,000 | $11,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 0.61% |
| Avg commute (min) | 22 | 27 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,200 | $1,300 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,500 | $2,700 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $500 | $600 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $450 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 13.3 | 21.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.60 | 3.35 |
| Natural gas / mo | $52 | $78 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $187 | $74 |
| Home internet / mo | $76 | $78 |
| Violent crime /100k | 260 | 460 |
| Avg summer high °F | 92 | 83 |
| Avg winter low °F | 24 | 16 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 15.5 | 34.3 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 51.9 | 45.0 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 66% | 53% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 3 |