Moving to Utah from Iowa
What to Expect
Considering a move from Iowa to Utah? Here's how the two compare on cost, climate, safety, and more.
If you moved from Iowa to Utah, you would find that Utah is 11.7% more expensive than Iowa. A $75,000 salary in Iowa would need to be roughly $83,800 in Utah to maintain the same lifestyle. Des Moines and Salt Lake City are about 950 mi apart.
Is Utah cheaper than Iowa?
How key spending categories compare
Restaurants
pay 3.8% less
Groceries
pay 0.7% less
Transportation
pay 36.4% more
Housing
pay 23.1% more
Childcare
pay 0.5% more
Entertainment and Sports
pay 10.6% 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.
What salary do you need in Utah?
What does your salary buy?
$75,000 → $83,800
To maintain the same standard of living in Utah
Calculate with your salary →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 3% more than cities in Iowa.
Compare cities head-to-head
Key Indicator Comparison
The numbers behind daily life in Utah compared to Iowa.
Is it safe?
incidents per 100,000 people per year
incidents per 100,000 people per year
Iowa 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 Iowa leads in uninsured rate.
What about housing?
typical price of a home
typical monthly gross rent
share of homes that are owner-occupied
Iowa 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
Iowa 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 Iowa 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 Iowa 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
Weather in Utah vs Iowa
Monthly averages — select a city to compare.
Avg. annual high / low
Avg. annual high / low
| Months | Des Moines | Salt Lake City |
|---|---|---|
| Jan–Mar | 39°/21°F (4°/-6°C) | 45°/27°F (7°/-3°C) |
| Apr–Jun | 72°/52°F (22°/11°C) | 72°/48°F (22°/9°C) |
| Jul–Sep | 82°/62°F (28°/17°C) | 87°/60°F (31°/16°C) |
| Oct–Dec | 48°/31°F (9°/-1°C) | 51°/32°F (10°/0°C) |
View all months
| Month | Des Moines | Salt Lake City |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 31°/14°F (-0.6°/-9.8°C) | 37°/22°F (3.0°/-5.8°C) |
| Feb | 36°/19°F (2.3°/-7.3°C) | 43°/25°F (6.2°/-3.8°C) |
| Mar | 49°/30°F (9.4°/-1.3°C) | 54°/34°F (12.1°/0.9°C) |
| Apr | 62°/41°F (16.8°/5.1°C) | 62°/40°F (16.4°/4.2°C) |
| May | 72°/52°F (22.4°/11.2°C) | 72°/48°F (22.2°/8.8°C) |
| Jun | 82°/62°F (27.6°/16.7°C) | 83°/56°F (28.3°/13.6°C) |
| Jul | 86°/67°F (29.8°/19.3°C) | 93°/65°F (33.7°/18.2°C) |
| Aug | 84°/65°F (28.8°/18.2°C) | 90°/63°F (32.5°/17.4°C) |
| Sep | 76°/55°F (24.5°/12.9°C) | 79°/53°F (26.2°/11.7°C) |
| Oct | 63°/43°F (17.3°/6.1°C) | 65°/41°F (18.2°/5.2°C) |
| Nov | 48°/31°F (8.8°/-0.8°C) | 49°/31°F (9.7°/-0.8°C) |
| Dec | 34°/18°F (1.1°/-7.8°C) | 38°/23°F (3.3°/-5.2°C) |
Data:
National Weather Service
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it cheaper to live in Utah than Iowa?
On average Utah is around 12% pricier than Iowa, with notable variation by city.
How much money do I need to move to Utah?
Budget about $20,950 for 3 months in Utah (based on a $75,000 comparable annual salary), then add the one-off costs: movers, a truck rental, and a rental deposit.
Is Utah safe?
Iowa generally does better on safety, though Utah leads in violent crime rate.
How is healthcare in Utah compared to Iowa?
Utah generally does better on health & wellbeing, though Iowa leads in uninsured rate.
What's the weather like in Utah compared to Iowa?
The average high temperature in Salt Lake City is 64°F, compared to 60°F in Des Moines. Salt Lake City receives around 16.1 in of rainfall per year, while Des Moines gets 36.0 in.
