Salt Lake City, Utah
Cost of living, housing, income, commute, climate, and safety — compiled for relocators researching Salt Lake City.
Key figures
Each metric shows how Salt Lake City compares with the U.S. baseline (ACS/BLS nationals where available; catalog-city averages for crime, climate, and commute). Income, housing, population, and crime are for the incorporated city (city limits), not the broader metro/MSA — unemployment is county-level (BLS LAUS).
- Population
- 203,888City limits · not metro/MSA
- Median household income
- $74,925Incorporated place (ACS)Near U.S. avg ($78,538)U.S. $78,538
- Housing cost index
- 132ACS home+rent vs U.S. (100 = avg)32% above U.S. avgU.S. 100
- Median home value
- $495,700City limits (ACS)63% above U.S. avgU.S. $303,400
- Median rent
- $1,343City limits (ACS)Near U.S. avg ($1,348)U.S. $1,348
- Unemployment
- 3.4%County LAUS · not city-onlyNear U.S. avg (4.2 pts)U.S. 4.2 pts
- Avg commute
- 22 min12% below U.S. avgU.S. 25 min
- Walk Score
- 5931% above U.S. avgU.S. 45
- Violent crime rate
- 712.4annualized per 100k · citywide18% above U.S. avgU.S. 602.7
- Property crime rate
- 5657.4annualized per 100k · citywide83% above U.S. avgU.S. 3084.9
- Summer high
- 90°F3.0°F above U.S. avgU.S. 87°F
- Winter low
- 26°F8.0°F below U.S. avgU.S. 34°F
- Annual rainfall
- 15.5 in53% below U.S. avgU.S. 32.9 in
- Sunny days
- 274Near U.S. avg (266)U.S. 266
Compare Salt Lake City with another city
Relocators eyeing Salt Lake City, Utah will find roughly 203,888 residents within city limits. Households here report a median income near $74,925; our housing-derived cost index is about 132 (above the national housing-cost baseline). Budget for median rents around $1,343 a month before you lock a neighborhood.
Wasatch Front powder days and rapid suburban expansion are the draw. Roughly 274 sunny days a year give outdoor routines unusual calendar reliability. Commutes average near 22 minutes one-way, with walkability near 59/100. BLS LAUS puts recent unemployment around 3.4% for the surrounding county. Violent-offense rates near 712.4 per 100k sit in a mid-to-elevated band versus many peer cities in this catalog.
Salt Lake City is compact enough that a single wrong neighborhood choice is easy to feel day to day — visit at commute hour before signing. Figures on this page are merged from Census ACS, BLS LAUS, FBI Crime Data Explorer, and NOAA Climate Normals — use them to compare Salt Lake City with nearby alternatives before you relocate.
Nearby & similar cities
Continue researching with these internal links — each page is a full data profile.
Sources
- Census / ACS: U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 5-year (Salt Lake City city, 1600000US4967000)
- BLS: BLS LAUS LAUCN490350000000003 (Salt Lake County, May 2026)
- Crime: FBI CIUS Table 8 (2019) city offenses known to law enforcement — rates per 100k; CDE API unavailable at enrich time
- Climate: NOAA 1991–2020 Monthly Normals (USW00024127 SALT LAKE CITY INTL AP)
Last updated 2026-07-28