Provo, UT vs New York, NY
Moving from Provo to New York? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($546,641 → $727,625 median home) and taxes.
Provo vs New York 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 $117,656 in New York, NY (+$17,656).
Livability — Provo, UT: 65 · New York, NY: 44 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,921 sqft in Provo vs 1,099 sqft in New York ($260 vs $455 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Provo, UT | New York, NY | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $21,900 | $42,036 | +$20,136 |
| Groceries | $4,736 | $5,415 | +$679 |
| Transportation | $3,450 | $3,895 | +$445 |
| Utilities | $1,440 | $3,180 | +$1,740 |
| Insurance | $1,200 | $1,600 | +$400 |
| Taxes | $9,160 | $23,496 | +$14,337 |
| Total | $41,885 | $79,622 | +$37,736 |
Side by side
| Metric | Provo, UT | New York, NY |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 95.7 | 112.6 |
| Unemployment rate | 3.41% | 6.55% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 15.5% | -1.4% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 47 | 52 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.45 | $6.41 |
| Median home price | $546,641 | $727,625 |
| Home price ÷ income | 6.0× | 7.8× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 1.9% | 4.1% |
| Price per square foot | $260 | $455 |
| Median rent | $1,825 | $3,503 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 12.1% | 15.9% |
| Combined sales tax | 7.19% | 8.52% |
| Capital gains tax | 4.65% | 10.90% |
| Property tax rate | 0.45% | 1.74% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,000 | $7,800 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $10,000 | $17,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 22 | 36 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,200 | $1,600 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,500 | $2,100 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $500 | $800 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $450 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 13.3 | 29.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.60 | 3.45 |
| Violent crime /100k | 260 | 350 |
| Avg summer high °F | 92 | 83 |
| Avg winter low °F | 24 | 16 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 5 |