Moving to Utah from Louisiana
What to Expect
Everything you need to know before relocating from Louisiana to Utah — costs, safety, healthcare, and practical first steps.
If you moved from Louisiana to Utah, you would find that Utah is 5.5% more expensive than Louisiana. A $75,000 salary in Louisiana would need to be roughly $79,100 in Utah to maintain the same lifestyle. Expect a noticeable climate shift — Salt Lake City averages 64°F vs 77°F in New Orleans, making it significantly cooler. New Orleans and Salt Lake City are about 1,450 mi apart.
Is Utah cheaper than Louisiana?
Where you'll feel the difference day-to-day
Restaurants
pay 8.1% less
Groceries
pay 9.8% less
Transportation
pay 22.6% more
Housing
pay 11.6% more
Childcare
pay 13.8% more
Entertainment and Sports
pay 0.6% more
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 → $79,100
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 4% less than cities in Louisiana.
Compare cities head-to-head
Key Indicator Comparison
Key indicators for anyone considering a move from Louisiana to Utah.
Is it safe?
incidents per 100,000 people per year
incidents per 100,000 people per year
Utah performs significantly better than Louisiana across all safety metrics.
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 Louisiana leads in uninsured rate.
What about housing?
typical price of a home
typical monthly gross rent
share of homes that are owner-occupied
Louisiana generally does better on what about housing?, though Utah leads in homeownership rate.
Will I have good infrastructure?
share of households with internet
minutes each way to work
Utah performs significantly better than Louisiana across all infrastructure metrics.
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 performs significantly better than Louisiana across all employment & economy metrics.
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 Louisiana 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 Louisiana
Monthly averages — select a city to compare.
Avg. annual high / low
Avg. annual high / low
| Months | New Orleans | Salt Lake City |
|---|---|---|
| Jan–Mar | 65°/51°F (18°/10°C) | 45°/27°F (7°/-3°C) |
| Apr–Jun | 84°/70°F (29°/21°C) | 72°/48°F (22°/9°C) |
| Jul–Sep | 89°/77°F (32°/25°C) | 87°/60°F (31°/16°C) |
| Oct–Dec | 71°/57°F (21°/14°C) | 51°/32°F (10°/0°C) |
View all months
| Month | New Orleans | Salt Lake City |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 60°/46°F (15.6°/8.0°C) | 37°/22°F (3.0°/-5.8°C) |
| Feb | 64°/50°F (17.9°/9.9°C) | 43°/25°F (6.2°/-3.8°C) |
| Mar | 71°/56°F (21.4°/13.3°C) | 54°/34°F (12.1°/0.9°C) |
| Apr | 77°/63°F (25.2°/17.1°C) | 62°/40°F (16.4°/4.2°C) |
| May | 85°/71°F (29.2°/21.5°C) | 72°/48°F (22.2°/8.8°C) |
| Jun | 89°/76°F (31.8°/24.4°C) | 83°/56°F (28.3°/13.6°C) |
| Jul | 90°/78°F (32.5°/25.5°C) | 93°/65°F (33.7°/18.2°C) |
| Aug | 91°/78°F (32.7°/25.7°C) | 90°/63°F (32.5°/17.4°C) |
| Sep | 87°/75°F (30.4°/23.7°C) | 79°/53°F (26.2°/11.7°C) |
| Oct | 79°/66°F (25.9°/18.9°C) | 65°/41°F (18.2°/5.2°C) |
| Nov | 71°/57°F (21.5°/13.7°C) | 49°/31°F (9.7°/-0.8°C) |
| Dec | 63°/49°F (17.0°/9.3°C) | 38°/23°F (3.3°/-5.2°C) |
Data:
National Weather Service
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it cheaper to live in Utah than Louisiana?
No — Utah is on average about 6% more expensive than Louisiana. City-level variation matters.
How much money do I need to move to Utah?
Plan for at least 3 months of living expenses — roughly $19,775 in Utah on a $75,000 comparable salary — plus one-off moving costs (movers, a truck rental, and a rental deposit).
Is Utah safe?
Utah performs significantly better than Louisiana across all safety metrics.
How is healthcare in Utah compared to Louisiana?
Utah generally does better on health & wellbeing, though Louisiana leads in uninsured rate.
What's the weather like in Utah compared to Louisiana?
The average high temperature in Salt Lake City is 64°F, compared to 77°F in New Orleans. Salt Lake City receives around 16.1 in of rainfall per year, while New Orleans gets 56.8 in.
