What is the cost of living in Salt Lake City-Murray?

Salt Lake City-Murray has a Regional Price Parity (RPP) of 100.9, where 100 represents the national average. Housing costs index at 123.3, which is above the national average. The average 2-bedroom rent is $1,747/month.

What is the median salary in Salt Lake City-Murray?

The median salary in Salt Lake City-Murray is $70,035 annually (mean: $74,060). Top occupations include Customer Service Representatives, General and Operations Managers, Retail Salespersons.

How safe is Salt Lake City-Murray?

The violent crime rate in the Salt Lake City-Murray area is 229 per 100,000 population (state-level data). Property crime rate is 1435 per 100K.

What are the schools like in Salt Lake City-Murray?

The state of UT has 1,068 schools (state-level data, no metro-level federal count exists) with an average student-teacher ratio of 21.4:1. Charter schools make up 13.1% of all schools.

How much does childcare cost in Salt Lake City-Murray?

Infant center-based childcare in the Salt Lake City-Murray area averages $11,828 per year. Preschool averages $8,778/year. These are state-level averages.

Is Salt Lake City-Murray a good place to relocate?

Salt Lake City-Murray has a Life Score of 51.6/100 (D), based on 7 of 7 available dimensions among cost of living, wages, rent, crime, schools, childcare, and environment (missing dims omitted, weights renormalized). This is a middle-of-the-pack score, where the composite lands for most US metros; look at individual dimensions to see the real trade-offs.

Where does Salt Lake City-Murray sit among US metros on LiveAbility?

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite, Salt Lake City-Murray ranks #342 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). That ordinal matches the /rankings/livability listing. See /methodology#corpus-placement for the exact sort basis.

Relocation profile · Federal data

Salt Lake City-Murray, UT

LiveAbility 37.4/100 places Salt Lake City-Murray #342 of 387 (bottom third of scored metros).

Compiled by PlainRelocate · June 15, 2026

100.9
Cost index (US=100): $1,747
2BR rent / mo: $70,035
Median salary: 37.4
LiveAbility Score

The verdict

As of June 2026, Salt Lake City-Murray ranks #342 of 387 US metros on the LiveAbility Score (37.4/100), with its strongest marks in low hazard and job market.

#342
of 387 US metros · Below median: 3,503,613
metro-area population: 229
violent crimes per 100K (state-level): 1,068
schools in the state (NCES)

Weakest dimension: schools (0/100). Weigh every dimension against your own priorities, use the City Finder to re-rank by what matters to you.

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite (BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, EPA, NOAA, and FEMA inputs), Salt Lake City-Murray ranks #342 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). Cost-of-living index 100.9 (100 = national average), median 2-bedroom rent $1,747/mo, median salary $70,035; LiveAbility Score 37.4/100, strongest in low hazard and job market.

Signature: LiveAbility 37.4/100 places Salt Lake City-Murray #342 of 387 (bottom third of scored metros).

Purchasing power tightens: BEA RPP 100.9 lands in the dearer third of scored metros (cuts at 91.5 / 97.0). Median 2BR rent $1,747/mo.

LiveAbility 37.4/100 puts Salt Lake City-Murray in the bottom third (#342 of 387).

BLS OEWS total employment in the Salt Lake City-Murray area is 790,120.

Salt Lake City-Murray vs all US metros by LiveAbility Score

Where this metro's LiveAbility Score falls among every scored US metro (composite placement, not a desirability verdict)

37 Top 88% higher than 12% of 387 US metros

Metros banded by LiveAbility Score (0–100)

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US metros. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source PlainRelocate LiveAbility Score · June 2026

Salt Lake City-Murray housing and rent

HUD Fair Market Rents for the Salt Lake City-Murray MSA; housing RPP 123.3 (100 = national average); 2BR $1,747/mo.

Studio

$1,259

/month

1 Bedroom

$1,456

/month

2 Bedroom

$1,747

/month

3 Bedroom

$2,333

/month

4 Bedroom

$2,666

/month

Salt Lake City-Murray wages and employment

Salt Lake City-Murray posts 790,120 total employment with median salary $70,035 against a dearer-than-average RPP.

Median Salary

$70,035

Mean Salary

$74,060

Total Employment

790,120

Top Occupations by Employment

Occupation	Median Salary
Customer Service Representatives	$45,410
General and Operations Managers	$103,710
Retail Salespersons	$34,420
Fast Food and Counter Workers	$29,070
Software Developers	$129,600

Schools & Education

State-level education data for the Salt Lake City-Murray area from NCES.

Schools

1,068

Enrollment

681,626

Student:Teacher

21.4:1

Title I %

Childcare Costs

State-average childcare costs for the Salt Lake City-Murray area (DOL data).

Infant (Center)

$11,828

per year

Toddler (Center)

$9,645

per year

Preschool (Center)

$8,778

per year

Life Score Breakdown

Salt Lake City-Murray's composite Life Score is 51.6/100 (D), computed across 7 of 7 dimensions.

Cost

19/100

Bottom decile

Wages

76/100

Strong

Rent

18/100

Bottom decile

Crime

76/100

Strong

Schools

100/100

Elite

Childcare

29/100

Weak

Environment

56/100

Above average

LiveAbility Score

View full rankings →

Salt Lake City-Murray ranks #342 out of 387 metros with a LiveAbility Score of 37.4/100 - a composite of 8 of 8 quality-of-life dimensions from federal data. Customize the weights to match your priorities →

Strongest dimension: Low hazard (96/100)

Low hazard

96
Job market

76
Safety

76
Cost of living

19
Housing

18
Climate

7
Air quality

6
Schools

0

What this shows Salt Lake City-Murray's strongest dimensions are low hazard and job market; its weakest among scored dims is schools at 0/100. Default weights: cost 18%, jobs & housing 15% each, safety & schools 12%, air & hazard 10%, climate 8%.

Compare Salt Lake City-Murray to

Elkhart-Goshen Elmira Enid Erie Eugene-Springfield Evansville

Metros near Salt Lake City-Murray on cost, LiveAbility, or wages

Nearest out-of-state neighbors to Salt Lake City-Murray on BEA RPP, LiveAbility, or BLS median salary, a different lens than the size-ranked list.

Similar cost of living (BEA RPP)

Similar LiveAbility score

Source: BEA Regional Price Parities, HUD Fair Market Rents, BLS OES, FBI UCR, NCES, DOL, EPA June 2026

Salt Lake City-Murray cost figures follow BEA Regional Price Parities and HUD Fair Market Rents; Salt Lake City-Murray wages and LiveAbility inputs follow BLS OEWS plus the federal sources listed in methodology. This information is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Scores are federal-data percentiles, not a move recommendation. How this data is sourced.

Verify with BEA → · Verify with BLS → · Verify with HUD → · Verify with NOAA → · Verify with FEMA → · Verify with Census →

Thinking about Salt Lake City-Murray?

Salt Lake City-Murray runs a $70,035 median salary at a 100.9 cost index, ranking #342 of 387 nationally on LiveAbility.

See exactly what Salt Lake City-Murray's pay and cost figures mean for your own budget. Salary calculator
Put Salt Lake City-Murray head-to-head against another city on the same dimensions. Compare Salt Lake City-Murray
Abilene is the closest related metro in this corpus -- see how it stacks up. Abilene profile
A cheaper cost index and a higher LiveAbility score don't always point the same direction -- here's how to weigh the trade-off. Cost vs quality guide

Cost, salary and score figures are federal-data percentiles, not a move recommendation.