Salt Lake City composite
53.8 /100
Grade B · weighted across 7 dims
Metro comparison
Salt Lake City vs St. George
Salt Lake City-Murray, UT and St. George, UT side by side, cost of living, rent, wages, crime, schools, childcare and environment, all from the same federal datasets so every number is directly comparable.
- 53.8
- Salt Lake City Life Score
- B
- Salt Lake City grade
- 48.0
- St. George Life Score
- C+
- St. George grade
Head-to-head verdict
Across the seven dimensions, Salt Lake City scores higher on 3 (wages, safety, childcare) and St. George on 4 (cost of living, rent, schools, environment). The radar shows the full shape; the tables below break out every figure.
Salt Lake City vs St. George across all seven dimensions (each scored 0–100 as a national percentile, bigger area = stronger overall)
Where each metro wins, and by how much
Every dimension is a national percentile (0–100). Each bar leans toward the stronger metro, a long lean is a decisive edge, a near-even split is a toss-up. The radar shows the overall shape; this shows the per-dimension margins.
◖ Salt Lake City St. George ◗
cost of living
19
32
wages
76
24
rent
18
26
safety
76
76
schools
100
100
childcare
29
29
environment
78
87
Salt Lake City and St. George differ across eleven dimensions of livability. Salt Lake City has a cost-of-living index of 100.9 vs St. George's 97.3 (national average = 100). Median salaries are $70,035 in Salt Lake City and $58,910 in St. George. A 2-bedroom averages $1,747/mo vs $1,575/mo.
How to read this matchup
Reading the Salt Lake City vs St. George Comparison
Salt Lake City (UT) and St. George (UT) are assembled here from the same federal data pipeline, BEA Regional Price Parities, HUD Fair Market Rents, BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, FBI Uniform Crime Reports, NCES public-school counts, and EPA environmental indicators, so every number on this page is directly comparable. The overall cost index reads 100.9 for Salt Lake City against 97.3 for St. George, a 3.5-point gap on a scale where 100 equals the U.S. average. HUD's 2-bedroom Fair Market Rent, the figure used to set housing-choice voucher payment standards, is $1,747/mo in Salt Lake City and $1,575/mo in St. George, a $172/mo difference that compounds to $2,064 over a year.
On wages, BLS OES reports a median salary of $70,035 across 790,120 jobs in Salt Lake City against $58,910 across 83,630 jobs in St. George. Adjusted through the BEA cost-of-living lens, $100,000 earned in Salt Lake City carries the same local purchasing power as $96,484 in St. George - the most honest way to read the salary headline, because nominal wages and rents move together in tight metros. State-level violent crime, the most reliable geographic tier FBI UCR publishes, is 229.2 per 100,000 residents in UT vs 229.2 in UT, with property-crime rates of 1435.1 and 1435.1 respectively.
Schools are reported at the state tier by NCES: UT lists 1,068 public schools at a 21.4:1 student-teacher ratio, while UT lists 1,068 schools at 21.4:1, a signal of class-size staffing, though individual district and school-level variation within each state is substantial. Department of Labor center-based infant care runs $11,828/yr in the Salt Lake City area versus $11,828/yr in St. George - a line item that shifts the real cost-of-living picture for households with children under five far more than headline RPP does. When these pieces are read together rather than in isolation, Salt Lake City and St. George are not simply "cheaper" or "more expensive" - they trade across dimensions, and which metro wins depends on whether your household optimizes for rent, wages, schools, childcare, safety, or environment. Treat the tables below as inputs to that trade-off, not as a single ranking.
St. George composite
48.0 /100
Grade C+ · weighted across 7 dims
Cost-of-living gap
3.5 pts
Salt Lake City vs St. George BEA RPP
2-bed rent delta
$172 /mo
Salt Lake City priced higher
Composite life score on the national 0–100 scale
Salt Lake City
Salt Lake City composite (Grade B)
St. George
St. George composite (Grade C+)
Composite is a weighted roll-up of seven dimensions: cost (20%), wages (20%), rent (15%), safety (15%), schools (10%), childcare (10%), environment (10%). Each input normalized to a 0–100 percentile across all metros.
💰 Cost of Living BEA →
| Category | Salt Lake City | St. George |
|---|---|---|
| Overall RPP | 100.9 | 97.3 |
| Goods | 96.4 | 96.4 |
| Services | 79.0 | 77.7 |
| Rents | 123.3 | 98.1 |
Salary Equivalent Calculator
What salary in St. George gives the same purchasing power as your salary in Salt Lake City?
$
Equivalent in St. George:
$96,484
Based on BEA Regional Price Parities (Salt Lake City: 100.9, St. George: 97.3, national avg = 100).
🏠 Rent (Fair Market Rent) HUD →
| Bedrooms | Salt Lake City | St. George |
|---|---|---|
| Studio | $1,259/mo | $1,210/mo |
| 1 Bedroom | $1,456/mo | $1,218/mo |
| 2 Bedroom | $1,747/mo | $1,575/mo |
| 3 Bedroom | $2,333/mo | $2,072/mo |
| 4 Bedroom | $2,666/mo | $2,624/mo |
💼 Wages & Employment BLS →
| Metric | Salt Lake City | St. George |
|---|---|---|
| Avg Median Salary | $70,035 | $58,910 |
| Total Employment | 790,120 | 83,630 |
🛡️ Crime Rates (state-level) FBI →
| Crime Type (per 100K) | Salt Lake City (UT) | St. George (UT) |
|---|---|---|
| Violent Crime | 229.2 | 229.2 |
| Property Crime | 1435.1 | 1435.1 |
🎓 Schools (state-level) NCES →
| Metric | UT | UT |
|---|---|---|
| Total Schools | 1,068 | 1,068 |
| Student-Teacher Ratio | 21.4:1 | 21.4:1 |
| Charter Schools | 13.1% | 13.1% |
👶 Childcare Costs (Annual Avg) (state-level) DOL →
| Age Group | UT | UT |
|---|---|---|
| Infant (Center) | $11,828/yr | $11,828/yr |
| Toddler (Center) | $9,645/yr | $9,645/yr |
| Preschool (Center) | $8,778/yr | $8,778/yr |
🌿 Environment (state-level) EPA →
| Metric | UT | UT |
|---|---|---|
| EPA Facilities | 246 | 246 |
| Water Systems | 559 | 559 |
| Superfund Sites | 24 | 24 |
| Water Violations | 1,200 | 1,200 |
Government-verified data - Air quality (EPA AQS), water safety (EPA SDWIS), healthcare access (HRSA), and disaster risk (FEMA NRI) are sourced directly from U.S. federal agencies. No crowdsourced estimates.
💨 Air Quality (EPA AQS) EPA AQS →
| Metric | Salt Lake City | St. George |
|---|---|---|
| Median AQI | 56.0 | 44.0 |
| Good Air Days | 39.3% | 76.0% |
| Unhealthy Air Days | 44 days | 2 days |
💧 Water Safety (EPA SDWIS, state-level) EPA SDWIS →
| Metric | UT | UT |
|---|---|---|
| Water Safety Score | 3/100 | 3/100 |
| Total Violations | 169,784 | 169,784 |
| Health-Based Violations | 10,671 | 10,671 |
| Systems with Violations | 97.6% | 97.6% |
🏥 Healthcare Access (HRSA, state-level) HRSA →
| Metric | UT | UT |
|---|---|---|
| Healthcare Access Score | 0/100 | 0/100 |
| Population in Shortage Area | 100.0% | 100.0% |
| HPSA Designations | 176 | 176 |
HPSA = Health Professional Shortage Area, designated by HRSA. Higher access score = better healthcare availability.
⚠️ Natural Disaster Risk (FEMA NRI, state-level) FEMA NRI →
| Metric | UT | UT |
|---|---|---|
| Disaster Safety Score | 81/100 | 81/100 |
| NRI Risk Score (avg county) | 36.2 | 36.2 |
| Expected Annual Loss Score | 42.0 | 42.0 |
FEMA National Risk Index (NRI) scores are county-level percentiles (0–100). Higher disaster safety score = lower relative risk. State-level values are county averages.
Crime, schools, childcare, and environment data shown at state level. Metro-specific data for these dimensions is not available.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Salt Lake City more expensive than St. George? ▼
Salt Lake City has a cost of living index of 100.9 compared to St. George's 97.3 (national average = 100). Salt Lake City is 3.5 points above St. George on the BEA Regional Price Parity scale.
What is the rent difference between Salt Lake City and St. George? ▼
A 2-bedroom apartment averages $1,747/mo in Salt Lake City vs $1,575/mo in St. George, based on HUD Fair Market Rent data. Studios range from $1,259/mo to $1,210/mo.
How do salaries compare between Salt Lake City and St. George? ▼
The average median salary across all occupations is $70,035 in Salt Lake City and $58,910 in St. George, according to BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics. After adjusting for cost of living, $100,000 in Salt Lake City has the same purchasing power as $96,484 in St. George.
Is Salt Lake City or St. George safer? ▼
At the state level, UT has a violent crime rate of 229.2 per 100,000 residents compared to UT's 229.2 per 100,000. Property crime rates are 1435.1 vs 1435.1 per 100,000 respectively, based on FBI Uniform Crime Report data.
How do schools compare between Salt Lake City and St. George? ▼
UT has 1,068 public schools with an average student-teacher ratio of 21.4:1, while UT has 1,068 schools at 21.4:1. Charter schools make up 13.1% of UT schools vs 13.1% in UT. Data from the National Center for Education Statistics.
Where does the comparison data come from? ▼
All data comes from official U.S. government sources: Bureau of Economic Analysis (cost of living), HUD (fair market rents), BLS (wages), FBI UCR (crime), NCES (schools), Department of Labor (childcare), EPA (environment, air quality, water safety), HRSA (healthcare access), and FEMA NRI (disaster risk). No crowdsourced estimates or proprietary ratings are used.
Research Guides
Explore more
Data from BEA, HUD, FBI UCR, BLS OES, NCES, DOL, EPA AQS, EPA SDWIS, HRSA, and FEMA NRI. Not affiliated with the U.S. Government.
Disclaimer: This comparison is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, legal, or relocation advice. Consult a qualified professional before making decisions based on this data.
Related
Data sourced from official public datasets, current as of 2026. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainCompare Editorial