St. Louis → Salt Lake City-Murray

Relocation analysis based on 7 federal data sources

Should you move?

Moving from St. Louis to Salt Lake City-Murray is less favorable: BEA regional price parity goes from 95.1 to 100.9 (US = 100), and HUD 2-bedroom rent rises by $831/mo.

+$1,961
BLS median salary higher in Salt Lake City-Murray
463 to 229
violent crimes per 100K (FBI UCR, state-level)
12.2:1 to 20.3:1
NCES student-teacher ratio

BEA Regional Price Parity, HUD Fair Market Rent, BLS OEWS, FBI UCR, NCES, and DOL. The table below lets you override the composite with your own priorities.

Verdict
Less Favorable
Cost Index: 95.1 → 100.9
Rent Delta: +$831/mo

Pros of Moving

  • + Lower violent crime rate
  • + Fewer environmental violations

Cons of Moving

  • - 6% higher cost of living
  • - $831/mo more expensive rent (2BR)
  • - Higher student-teacher ratios

Purchasing power tightens: BEA RPP rises from 95.1 to 100.9, so the same paycheck buys less in Salt Lake City-Murray (ratio 1.06). HUD 2BR Fair Market Rent rises $831/mo ($9,972/yr) from $916 in St. Louis to $1,747 in Salt Lake City-Murray.

The seven-dimension ledger splits (3 destination wins · 3 origin wins); priorities decide this move. Salt Lake City-Murray sits #342 of 387 metros on PlainRelocate livability (bottom third of the corpus). St. Louis is #182/387 on the same ranking. Composite verdict: Less Favorable. Override it with the dimension table below.

BLS OEWS median salary moves $1,961 higher ($68,074 → $70,035). Labor-market size: 1,311,920 tracked jobs at origin vs 790,120 at destination.

State retirement friendliness favors staying put: Missouri scores 68 (C, #12/51) vs Utah at 53 (D, #40/51). Full state tax and healthcare sub-scores sit in the retirement desk below.

Dimension
St. Louis
Salt Lake City-Murray
Winner
Cost of Living
RPP 95.1
RPP 100.9
St. Louis
Rent (2BR)
$916/mo
$1,747/mo
St. Louis
Wages
$68,074
$70,035
Salt Lake City-Murray
Crime
463 per 100K
229 per 100K
Salt Lake City-Murray
Schools
12.2:1
20.3:1
St. Louis
Childcare
N/A
$11,828/yr
Tie
Environment
6737 violations
1172 violations
Salt Lake City-Murray

State retirement friendliness

Primary-state scores from PlainRelocate's retirement registry (tax + healthcare + climate composite). Metro pairs use each metro's primary state abbreviation.

Origin state · Missouri
68 C #12/51
Income tax
82
Property tax
68
Estate tax
100
Healthcare
80
Destination state · Utah
53 D #40/51
Income tax
70
Property tax
83
Estate tax
100
Healthcare
0

Full retirement ranking · Source composite documented on methodology (Tax Foundation + AARP tax guides + federal healthcare/climate inputs).

Salary Adjustment Calculator

Enter your current salary in St. Louis to see what you'd need to earn in Salt Lake City-Murray to maintain the same purchasing power.

Equivalent salary in Salt Lake City-Murray
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Source: BEA Regional Price Parities, HUD Fair Market Rents, BLS OES, FBI UCR, NCES, DOL, EPA; retirement desk: Tax Foundation + AARP tax guides June 2026