Moving to Utah from Massachusetts
What to Expect
Considering a move from Massachusetts to Utah? Here's how the two compare on cost, climate, safety, and more.
If you moved from Massachusetts to Utah, you would find that Utah is 21.5% cheaper than Massachusetts. A $75,000 salary in Massachusetts would need to be roughly $58,900 in Utah to maintain the same lifestyle. Boston and Salt Lake City are about 2,100 mi apart.
Is Utah cheaper than Massachusetts?
How key spending categories compare
Restaurants
pay 16.9% less
Groceries
pay 21.3% less
Transportation
pay 6.1% more
Housing
pay 34.3% less
Childcare
pay 40.7% less
Entertainment and Sports
pay 16.1% 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 → $58,900
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 24% less than cities in Massachusetts.
Compare cities head-to-head
Key Indicator Comparison
The numbers behind daily life in Utah compared to Massachusetts.
Is it safe?
incidents per 100,000 people per year
incidents per 100,000 people per year
Massachusetts 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
Massachusetts generally does better on health & wellbeing, though Utah leads in adult smoking rate.
What about housing?
typical price of a home
typical monthly gross rent
share of homes that are owner-occupied
Utah performs significantly better than Massachusetts across all what about housing? metrics.
Will I have good infrastructure?
share of households with internet
minutes each way to work
Utah performs significantly better than Massachusetts 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
Massachusetts generally does better on employment & economy, though Utah leads in unemployment rate.
Is it good for families?
average years of life at birth
share of adults with a 4-year college degree
Massachusetts performs better than Utah 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 Massachusetts
Monthly averages — select a city to compare.
Avg. annual high / low
Avg. annual high / low
| Months | Boston | Salt Lake City |
|---|---|---|
| Jan–Mar | 40°/26°F (4°/-3°C) | 45°/27°F (7°/-3°C) |
| Apr–Jun | 66°/50°F (19°/10°C) | 72°/48°F (22°/9°C) |
| Jul–Sep | 78°/62°F (25°/17°C) | 87°/60°F (31°/16°C) |
| Oct–Dec | 51°/38°F (11°/3°C) | 51°/32°F (10°/0°C) |
View all months
| Month | Boston | Salt Lake City |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 36°/22°F (2.1°/-5.4°C) | 37°/22°F (3.0°/-5.8°C) |
| Feb | 39°/25°F (3.7°/-4.1°C) | 43°/25°F (6.2°/-3.8°C) |
| Mar | 45°/31°F (7.4°/-0.5°C) | 54°/34°F (12.1°/0.9°C) |
| Apr | 56°/41°F (13.1°/4.8°C) | 62°/40°F (16.4°/4.2°C) |
| May | 66°/50°F (18.9°/9.9°C) | 72°/48°F (22.2°/8.8°C) |
| Jun | 76°/60°F (24.4°/15.3°C) | 83°/56°F (28.3°/13.6°C) |
| Jul | 81°/65°F (27.4°/18.6°C) | 93°/65°F (33.7°/18.2°C) |
| Aug | 80°/65°F (26.4°/18.1°C) | 90°/63°F (32.5°/17.4°C) |
| Sep | 72°/57°F (22.4°/14.1°C) | 79°/53°F (26.2°/11.7°C) |
| Oct | 61°/47°F (16.3°/8.1°C) | 65°/41°F (18.2°/5.2°C) |
| Nov | 51°/38°F (10.8°/3.3°C) | 49°/31°F (9.7°/-0.8°C) |
| Dec | 41°/28°F (5.1°/-2.1°C) | 38°/23°F (3.3°/-5.2°C) |
Data:
National Weather Service
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it cheaper to live in Utah than Massachusetts?
On average Utah is about 21% less expensive than Massachusetts, with major cities narrowing the gap.
How much money do I need to move to Utah?
Budget about $14,725 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?
Massachusetts generally does better on safety, though Utah leads in violent crime rate.
How is healthcare in Utah compared to Massachusetts?
Massachusetts generally does better on health & wellbeing, though Utah leads in adult smoking rate.
What's the weather like in Utah compared to Massachusetts?
The average high temperature in Salt Lake City is 64°F, compared to 59°F in Boston. Salt Lake City receives around 16.1 in of rainfall per year, while Boston gets 43.8 in.
