Mountain West · Updated October 2026
Utah in numbers, from the same public data Locustep uses to rank all 50 states: rent, pay, taxes, safety, disaster risk and weather, plus the cities worth a look.
Two-bedroom rent
$1,493/mo
U.S. average $1,759
HUD Fair Market Rents FY2027 (40th percentile, population-weighted across the state)
Rent vs. income
18.5%
of median household income for a year of two-bedroom rent
HUD Fair Market Rents FY2027 ÷ 2024 ACS 1-year estimates (Census B19013)
State income tax
4.45%
top marginal rate, single filer
State revenue departments, 2026 income tax rates (sources listed per state)
Property tax
0.49%
effective rate on owner-occupied homes
Everyday costs
98.0
index, housing excluded (U.S. = 100)
BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024 (released February 2026), housing and utilities removed
Natural disaster risk
47th
percentile, FEMA expected annual loss (lower is safer)
Where Utah stands out: the 5th smallest rent-to-income bite, the 9th highest median household income and the 9th lowest property taxes among the 50 states.
Overall, a married couple on the U.S. median household income would pay about 7.4% of it in state and local income, property and sales tax here, the 24th highest of the 50 states.
Average afternoon highs and overnight lows in Salt Lake City (Salt Lake City Intl Airport station), NOAA 1991–2020 normals.
| Season | High | Low |
|---|---|---|
| Winter (Dec–Feb) | 41°F | 26°F |
| Spring (Mar–May) | 63°F | 43°F |
| Summer (Jun–Aug) | 90°F | 65°F |
| Fall (Sep–Nov) | 66°F | 44°F |
$1,615/mo two-bedroom · $1,349 one-bedroom (Salt Lake City, UT HUD Metro FMR Area)
Realistically, Salt Lake City is a compact, clean, surprisingly progressive capital ringed by mountains, with world-class skiing forty minutes from downtown. LDS influence shapes local culture and liquor laws, tech hiring is strong, and winter inversions trap genuinely bad air in the valley.
$1,363/mo two-bedroom · $1,192 one-bedroom (Provo-Orem-Lehi, UT MSA)
Provo is a young, family-heavy, overwhelmingly LDS university town built around BYU, with a growing startup scene and dramatic mountain scenery. Very safe, very cheap to eat out, and socially conservative in a way that is hard to opt out of.
$2,153/mo two-bedroom · $1,899 one-bedroom (Summit County, UT)
Park City is a former mining town turned high-end ski resort — Sundance, two major mountains, and an easy commute to Salt Lake. Housing is extremely expensive, the population is affluent and seasonal, and it is far less LDS-dominated than the valley.
$1,657/mo two-bedroom · $1,267 one-bedroom (St. George, UT MSA)
St. George is red-rock desert in Utah's far southwest — hot, sunny, fast-growing and popular with retirees. Zion is under an hour away. Water scarcity is the defining long-term question, and the job market is healthcare, retail and construction.
$1,591/mo two-bedroom · $1,251 one-bedroom (Ogden, UT MSA)
Ogden is a cheaper, grittier, more historically working-class alternative to Salt Lake, with excellent access to Snowbasin and the Wasatch backcountry. A revitalised historic downtown, real industry, and a shorter drive to skiing than most of the valley.
$1,475/mo two-bedroom · $1,173 one-bedroom (Grand County, UT)
Moab is a tiny desert town wedged between Arches and Canyonlands, overwhelmed by tourists most of the year. Spectacular scenery and world-class mountain biking, almost no housing, extreme summer heat, and an economy that is entirely recreation.
$1,265/mo two-bedroom · $967 one-bedroom (Logan, UT-ID MSA)
Logan sits in a green mountain valley in northern Utah, built around Utah State University and agriculture. Cheap, quiet, family-oriented and cold in winter, with severe valley inversions and a long drive to any larger city.
$1,144/mo two-bedroom · $875 one-bedroom (Iron County, UT)
Cedar City is a southern Utah college town with Southern Utah University and a well-known summer Shakespeare festival, near Zion and Bryce Canyon. Affordable and outdoorsy, with cold winters at altitude.
Rents: HUD Fair Market Rents FY2027 (40th percentile, population-weighted across the state) (metro areas). City notes: Locustep.
Closest on Locustep’s match factors: cost, housing, taxes, safety, jobs, schools, healthcare, outdoors, disaster risk and climate.
Ranks compare the 50 states. Locustep updates these figures when the agencies publish new data.
Yes. Utah’s top marginal income-tax rate for a single filer is 4.45% (Utah tax law, 2026). Counting property and sales tax too, a married couple on the U.S. median household income would pay about 7.4% of income in state and local taxes (Locustep estimate, 2026).
A typical two-bedroom rents for about $1,493 a month and a one-bedroom for about $1,231, using HUD’s FY2027 Fair Market Rents averaged across the state by population. That is $266 less than the U.S. average of $1,759. Rent in the bigger metros can be well above the state figure.
Leaving housing aside, everyday prices (goods and services other than housing) index at 98.0 against a U.S. average of 100 (BEA, 2024), and the median home value indexes at 151.2 against the U.S. median (Census, 2024). Two-bedroom rent takes 18.5% of the state’s median household income of $96,658.
Utah recorded 229.6 violent crimes per 100,000 residents in 2024 (FBI), the 13th lowest rate of the 50 states. Crime varies a lot between and within cities, so check the specific area you’re considering.
The main hazards are wildfires and earthquakes. On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Utah’s expected yearly loss from natural hazards sits at the 47th percentile nationally (lower is safer). Risk differs sharply by county, so look up the county too.
Places people most often weigh include Salt Lake City, Provo, Park City, St. George and Ogden. Each has a different cost, climate and character; Locustep compares their rent, disaster risk, weather and pay side by side.