Moving to Utah from Idaho
What to Expect
A comprehensive look at what changes when you move from Idaho to Utah — from daily expenses to quality of life.
If you moved from Idaho to Utah, you would find that Utah is 3.9% more expensive than Idaho. A $75,000 salary in Idaho would need to be roughly $78,000 in Utah to maintain the same lifestyle.
How Far Will Your Money Go?
How your spending power changes when you relocate from Idaho to Utah.
What does your salary buy?
$75,000 → $78,000
To maintain the same standard of living in Utah
Calculate with your salary →The biggest cost differences at a glance
Restaurants
pay 3.0% more
Groceries
pay 1.1% less
Transportation
pay 23.1% more
Housing
pay 1.2% more
Childcare
pay 3.4% less
Entertainment and Sports
pay 7.8% less
Data: MyLifeElsewhere's crowdsourced cost of living database, with prices submitted and updated by users worldwide. Exchange rates are refreshed regularly from public sources.
Cost of living by city
Cost of living varies a lot by city. Each figure is a city's overall cost of living as a percentage of New York City (the priciest, = 100%).
On average, cities in Utah cost about 2% less than cities in Idaho.
Compare cities head-to-head
Key Indicator Comparison
How Idaho and Utah stack up on safety, healthcare, jobs, and infrastructure.
Is it safe?
incidents per 100,000 people per year
incidents per 100,000 people per year
Idaho generally does better on safety, though Utah leads in violent crime rate.
How's the healthcare?
share of people without health insurance
share of adults with obesity
share of adults with diabetes
share of adults who smoke
Utah generally does better on health & wellbeing, though Idaho leads in diabetes rate.
What about housing?
typical price of a home
typical monthly gross rent
share of homes that are owner-occupied
Idaho performs better than Utah across all what about housing? metrics.
Will I have good infrastructure?
share of households with internet
minutes each way to work
Idaho generally does better on infrastructure, though Utah leads in internet access.
What are the job prospects?
percentage of the labour force without work
a broad measure of economic output per person
typical annual income of a household
share of people below the poverty line
Utah generally does better on employment & economy, though Idaho leads in unemployment rate.
Is it good for families?
average years of life at birth
share of adults with a 4-year college degree
Utah performs significantly better than Idaho across all family life metrics.
Sources: US Census Bureau (American Community Survey) (2023), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (PLACES) (2022), FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (2023), Bureau of Labor Statistics (2025), Bureau of Economic Analysis (2024), OECD Regional Demography (2020). How we calculate this
What's the Climate Like?
Monthly averages — select a city to compare.
Avg. annual high / low
Avg. annual high / low
| Months | Boise | Salt Lake City |
|---|---|---|
| Jan–Mar | 46°/29°F (8°/-2°C) | 45°/27°F (7°/-3°C) |
| Apr–Jun | 72°/47°F (22°/8°C) | 72°/48°F (22°/9°C) |
| Jul–Sep | 87°/57°F (30°/14°C) | 87°/60°F (31°/16°C) |
| Oct–Dec | 50°/32°F (10°/0°C) | 51°/32°F (10°/0°C) |
View all months
| Month | Boise | Salt Lake City |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 38°/25°F (3.2°/-4.1°C) | 37°/22°F (3.0°/-5.8°C) |
| Feb | 45°/28°F (7.1°/-2.1°C) | 43°/25°F (6.2°/-3.8°C) |
| Mar | 55°/34°F (12.6°/1.3°C) | 54°/34°F (12.1°/0.9°C) |
| Apr | 62°/39°F (16.8°/4.1°C) | 62°/40°F (16.4°/4.2°C) |
| May | 72°/47°F (22.0°/8.1°C) | 72°/48°F (22.2°/8.8°C) |
| Jun | 81°/54°F (27.4°/12.1°C) | 83°/56°F (28.3°/13.6°C) |
| Jul | 91°/60°F (32.9°/15.8°C) | 93°/65°F (33.7°/18.2°C) |
| Aug | 90°/60°F (32.1°/15.3°C) | 90°/63°F (32.5°/17.4°C) |
| Sep | 79°/51°F (26.0°/10.6°C) | 79°/53°F (26.2°/11.7°C) |
| Oct | 65°/41°F (18.2°/4.9°C) | 65°/41°F (18.2°/5.2°C) |
| Nov | 48°/32°F (9.0°/-0.1°C) | 49°/31°F (9.7°/-0.8°C) |
| Dec | 38°/24°F (3.1°/-4.4°C) | 38°/23°F (3.3°/-5.2°C) |
Data:
National Weather Service
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it cheaper to live in Utah than Idaho?
Day-to-day costs in Utah run about 4% higher than Idaho on average; specific cities can swing further.
How much money do I need to move to Utah?
A safe rule of thumb is 3 months of local expenses plus relocation costs. On a $75,000 comparable salary, that's around $19,500 in Utah for everyday spending, before movers, a truck rental, and a rental deposit.
Is Utah safe?
Idaho generally does better on safety, though Utah leads in violent crime rate.
How is healthcare in Utah compared to Idaho?
Utah generally does better on health & wellbeing, though Idaho leads in diabetes rate.
What's the weather like in Utah compared to Idaho?
The average high temperature in Salt Lake City is 64°F, compared to 64°F in Boise. Salt Lake City receives around 16.1 in of rainfall per year, while Boise gets 11.7 in.
