Moving to Utah from Wisconsin
What to Expect
A comprehensive look at what changes when you move from Wisconsin to Utah — from daily expenses to quality of life.
If you moved from Wisconsin to Utah, you would find that Utah is 6.1% more expensive than Wisconsin. A $75,000 salary in Wisconsin would need to be roughly $79,600 in Utah to maintain the same lifestyle.
How Far Will Your Money Go?
How your spending power changes when you relocate from Wisconsin to Utah.
What does your salary buy?
$75,000 → $79,600
To maintain the same standard of living in Utah
Calculate with your salary →The biggest cost differences at a glance
Restaurants
pay 0.8% less
Groceries
pay 1.2% less
Transportation
pay 23.0% more
Housing
pay 11.5% more
Childcare
pay 24.1% less
Entertainment and Sports
pay 0.1% 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.
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%).
Compare cities head-to-head
Key Indicator Comparison
How Wisconsin 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
Wisconsin 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
Wisconsin generally does better on health & wellbeing, though Utah leads in adult obesity rate.
What about housing?
typical price of a home
typical monthly gross rent
share of homes that are owner-occupied
Wisconsin 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 Wisconsin 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 Wisconsin leads in unemployment rate.
Is it good for families?
average years of life at birth
share of adults with a 4-year college degree
Wisconsin 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 | Madison | Salt Lake City |
|---|---|---|
| Jan–Mar | 33°/17°F (1°/-8°C) | 45°/27°F (7°/-3°C) |
| Apr–Jun | 68°/46°F (20°/8°C) | 72°/48°F (22°/9°C) |
| Jul–Sep | 78°/57°F (25°/14°C) | 87°/60°F (31°/16°C) |
| Oct–Dec | 44°/28°F (7°/-2°C) | 51°/32°F (10°/0°C) |
View all months
| Month | Madison | Salt Lake City |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 26°/11°F (-3.1°/-11.6°C) | 37°/22°F (3.0°/-5.8°C) |
| Feb | 31°/15°F (-0.5°/-9.4°C) | 43°/25°F (6.2°/-3.8°C) |
| Mar | 43°/25°F (6.2°/-4.0°C) | 54°/34°F (12.1°/0.9°C) |
| Apr | 57°/36°F (14.1°/2.1°C) | 62°/40°F (16.4°/4.2°C) |
| May | 68°/46°F (20.2°/7.8°C) | 72°/48°F (22.2°/8.8°C) |
| Jun | 78°/56°F (25.5°/13.4°C) | 83°/56°F (28.3°/13.6°C) |
| Jul | 82°/61°F (27.6°/16.1°C) | 93°/65°F (33.7°/18.2°C) |
| Aug | 79°/59°F (26.3°/15.0°C) | 90°/63°F (32.5°/17.4°C) |
| Sep | 72°/50°F (22.1°/10.1°C) | 79°/53°F (26.2°/11.7°C) |
| Oct | 59°/39°F (14.9°/3.8°C) | 65°/41°F (18.2°/5.2°C) |
| Nov | 44°/28°F (6.7°/-2.1°C) | 49°/31°F (9.7°/-0.8°C) |
| Dec | 30°/16°F (-1.0°/-8.9°C) | 38°/23°F (3.3°/-5.2°C) |
Data:
National Weather Service
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it cheaper to live in Utah than Wisconsin?
Day-to-day costs in Utah run about 6% higher than Wisconsin 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 $19,900 in Utah for everyday spending, before movers, a truck rental, and a rental deposit.
Is Utah safe?
Wisconsin generally does better on safety, though Utah leads in violent crime rate.
How is healthcare in Utah compared to Wisconsin?
Wisconsin generally does better on health & wellbeing, though Utah leads in adult obesity rate.
What's the weather like in Utah compared to Wisconsin?
The average high temperature in Salt Lake City is 64°F, compared to 56°F in Madison. Salt Lake City receives around 16.1 in of rainfall per year, while Madison gets 34.5 in.
