PlainCompare

Metro Life Score

Salt Lake City-Murray, UT

53.8
Life Score / 100
B
Grade (curved)
#147
of 387 metros
62%
of metros outranked

Data updated May 2026

Verify: BEA · BLS · HUD · FBI · NCES · EPA · Census

The verdict

Salt Lake City ranks #147 of 387 US metros, ahead of 62% - carried by its schools (100/100) and held back most by rent (18/100).

100
strongest: Schools
78
then: Environment
18
weakest: Rent
7
weighted dimensions

Where Salt Lake City sits among all US metros

Composite Life Score vs the national field

54 62th percentile higher than 62% of 387 US metros

25–30: 1 US metros (0%). Below this entry. 30–35: 16 US metros (4%). Below this entry. 35–40: 46 US metros (12%). Below this entry. 40–45: 53 US metros (14%). Below this entry. 45–50: 81 US metros (21%). Below this entry. 50–55: 67 US metros (17%). This entry sits in this band. 55–60: 68 US metros (18%). Above this entry. 60–65: 40 US metros (10%). Above this entry. 65–70: 12 US metros (3%). Above this entry. 70–75: 3 US metros (1%). Above this entry. This metro 25 75 every US metro, bucketed by value

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US metros. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source PlainCompare composite of BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, DOL, EPA data · May 2026

How the score is built

Reading the Salt Lake City Life Score

Salt Lake City's composite score of 53.8 out of 100, a grade of B, places the metro at rank #147 of 387, ahead of 62% of US metros. The strongest inputs are Schools (100/100) and Environment (78/100), which pull the composite upward, while Rent (18/100) and Cost of Living (19/100) drag it downward. (How the weighting works.)

BEA RPP 100.9 (rent-RPP 123.3). BLS median salary $70,035, 790,120 jobs (Customer Service Representatives, General and Operations Managers, Retail Salespersons). HUD 2BR FMR $1,747/mo (studio $1,259).

FBI UCR (UT): 229 violent, 1435 property/100K. NCES: 21.4:1 ratio, 13.1% charter. DOL infant childcare $11,828/yr. EPA: 24 Superfund sites (UT). Ranks #144-#150 below.

Dimension detail

How Salt Lake City scores, dimension by dimension

Score Breakdown

Cost of Living Wages Rent Safety Schools Childcare Environment

Dimension Scores

Cost of Living 19/100 (20%)
Wages 76/100 (20%)
Rent 18/100 (15%)
Safety 76/100 (15%)
Schools 100/100 (10%)
Childcare 29/100 (10%)
Environment 78/100 (10%)

Key Data Points

100.9
Cost Index (RPP)
$70,035
Avg Median Salary
$1,747
2BR Fair Market Rent
229
Violent Crime/100K (UT)
21.4:1
Student-Teacher Ratio
$11,828
Infant Childcare/yr (UT)
24
Superfund Sites (UT)
790,120
Total Employment

Crime, schools, childcare, and environment data shown at state level where metro-specific data is unavailable.

Compare Salt Lake City With...

Salt Lake City vs Logan Compare → Salt Lake City vs Provo Compare → Salt Lake City vs Ogden Compare → Salt Lake City vs Wildwood Compare → Salt Lake City vs Waterloo Compare → Salt Lake City vs Paducah Compare →

Ranking Context

Salt Lake City outranks 62% of U.S. metros.

Rank Metro Score Grade
#144 Wichita Falls, TX 53.9 B
#145 Kingsport-Bristol, TN-VA 53.9 B
#146 Pittsburgh, PA 54.0 B
#147 Salt Lake City-Murray, UT 53.8 B
#148 Evansville, IN 53.8 B
#149 Janesville-Beloit, WI 53.6 B
#150 Racine-Mount Pleasant, WI 53.6 B

UT Metro Scores

Logan, UT-ID B- 50.7 Provo-Orem-Lehi, UT B- 49.2 Ogden, UT B- 48.7 St. George, UT C+ 48.0

Using Salt Lake City's Life Score

Salt Lake City is a regional baseline, not a neighborhood reading, use it to shortlist, then dig into the dimensions that matter to you.

  • Its strongest dimension is schools (100/100) and its weakest is rent (18/100) - weigh those against your own priorities. How the score is built
  • Put Salt Lake City head-to-head against another metro before you decide, every dimension, side by side. Compare metros
  • See where Salt Lake City lands on the national rankings for cost, safety, pay and more. Browse rankings

Scores summarize federal data at the metro level; crime, schools and cost vary widely within a single metro.

Explore more

Frequently Asked Questions

What are Salt Lake City's biggest strengths? ▼
Salt Lake City's strongest dimensions are Schools (100/100), Environment (78/100), Wages (76/100). Schools is top-tier nationally.
What are Salt Lake City's weakest areas? ▼
Salt Lake City's lowest-scoring dimensions are Rent (18/100), Cost of Living (19/100), Childcare (29/100). Rent weighs heavily on the composite.
How expensive is Salt Lake City compared to the national average? ▼
Salt Lake City's Regional Price Parity is 100.9 (0.9% more than national); rent RPP 123.3.
What is the average salary in Salt Lake City? ▼
Salt Lake City median salary: $70,035, 790,120 jobs. Top: Customer Service Representatives, General and Operations Managers, Retail Salespersons.
How is the life score calculated? ▼
Salt Lake City's 53.8/100 blends 7 federal-data dimensions - see our methodology page for the weighting.

Research Guides

Data from BEA, HUD, FBI UCR, BLS OES, NCES, DOL, and EPA. Not affiliated with the U.S. Government.

Related

Data sourced from official public datasets. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainCompare Editorial

Disclaimer: This information is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Data is sourced from BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, DOL, and EPA. Consult a qualified professional before making decisions based on this data.

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

All federal data sources used on this page
  • U.S. Census Bureau ACS - multi-dimension demographic + housing + income aggregates for cross-area comparison. census.gov/programs-surveys/acs
  • BEA Regional Economic Accounts - GDP, personal income, employment by state and metro. bea.gov/data/regional
  • BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) - wage estimates for comparable-area indexing. bls.gov/oes
  • FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) - crime statistics for safety-score component. fbi.gov/ucr
  • NCES Common Core of Data - public-school quality indicators by area. nces.ed.gov/ccd
  • EPA AirNow + Air Quality System (AQS) - air-quality measurements by area. epa.gov/outdoor-air-quality-data
  • HUD Fair Market Rents (FMR) - county and metro housing-cost indicators. huduser.gov/datasets/fmr

Every figure on PlainCompare is loaded directly from BEA, HUD, FBI UCR, BLS OEWS, NCES, DOL, EPA, and the Census Bureau, no number is typed in by an editor. This metro's Life Score is computed directly from the 7 federal sources cited above. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026.