Moving to Utah from Missouri
What to Expect
A comprehensive look at what changes when you move from Missouri to Utah — from daily expenses to quality of life.
If you moved from Missouri to Utah, you would find that Utah is 2.4% more expensive than Missouri. A $75,000 salary in Missouri would need to be roughly $76,800 in Utah to maintain the same lifestyle.
How Far Will Your Money Go?
How your spending power changes when you relocate from Missouri to Utah.
What does your salary buy?
$75,000 → $76,800
To maintain the same standard of living in Utah
Calculate with your salary →The biggest cost differences at a glance
Restaurants
pay 7.6% less
Groceries
pay 10.0% less
Transportation
pay 0.3% more
Housing
pay 12.7% more
Childcare
pay 5.9% more
Entertainment and Sports
pay 4.4% 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.
Key Indicator Comparison
How Missouri 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
Utah performs significantly better than Missouri 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 performs significantly better than Missouri across all health & wellbeing metrics.
What about housing?
typical price of a home
typical monthly gross rent
share of homes that are owner-occupied
Missouri 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 Missouri 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 generally does better on employment & economy, though Missouri leads in unemployment rate.
Is it good for families?
average years of life at birth
share of adults with a 4-year college degree
Missouri generally does better on family life, though Utah leads in life expectancy.
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 | Kansas City | Salt Lake City |
|---|---|---|
| Jan–Mar | 47°/28°F (8°/-2°C) | 45°/27°F (7°/-3°C) |
| Apr–Jun | 76°/57°F (24°/14°C) | 72°/48°F (22°/9°C) |
| Jul–Sep | 86°/67°F (30°/20°C) | 87°/60°F (31°/16°C) |
| Oct–Dec | 55°/37°F (13°/3°C) | 51°/32°F (10°/0°C) |
View all months
| Month | Kansas City | Salt Lake City |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 40°/22°F (4.2°/-5.3°C) | 37°/22°F (3.0°/-5.8°C) |
| Feb | 45°/26°F (7.0°/-3.2°C) | 43°/25°F (6.2°/-3.8°C) |
| Mar | 56°/36°F (13.4°/2.1°C) | 54°/34°F (12.1°/0.9°C) |
| Apr | 67°/47°F (19.3°/8.1°C) | 62°/40°F (16.4°/4.2°C) |
| May | 76°/57°F (24.4°/13.9°C) | 72°/48°F (22.2°/8.8°C) |
| Jun | 85°/67°F (29.4°/19.3°C) | 83°/56°F (28.3°/13.6°C) |
| Jul | 90°/72°F (32.3°/22.2°C) | 93°/65°F (33.7°/18.2°C) |
| Aug | 89°/70°F (31.4°/21.2°C) | 90°/63°F (32.5°/17.4°C) |
| Sep | 80°/60°F (26.7°/15.8°C) | 79°/53°F (26.2°/11.7°C) |
| Oct | 68°/49°F (19.9°/9.4°C) | 65°/41°F (18.2°/5.2°C) |
| Nov | 54°/37°F (12.3°/2.6°C) | 49°/31°F (9.7°/-0.8°C) |
| Dec | 42°/26°F (5.4°/-3.6°C) | 38°/23°F (3.3°/-5.2°C) |
Data:
National Weather Service
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it cheaper to live in Utah than Missouri?
Headline costs are within a few percent between Utah and Missouri; rent and dining are where you'll actually feel differences.
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 $19,200 in Utah for everyday spending, before movers, a truck rental, and a rental deposit.
Is Utah safe?
Utah performs significantly better than Missouri across all safety metrics.
How is healthcare in Utah compared to Missouri?
Utah performs significantly better than Missouri across all health & wellbeing metrics.
What's the weather like in Utah compared to Missouri?
The average high temperature in Salt Lake City is 64°F, compared to 66°F in Kansas City. Salt Lake City receives around 16.1 in of rainfall per year, while Kansas City gets 39.1 in.
