Phoenix, AZ → Salt Lake City, UT
Moving to Salt Lake City costs you $9 a month
−$108 a year for the same registered nurse, the same household size, and the same number of bedrooms.
In 2022-2023, 628 households moved Phoenix → Salt Lake City (avg AGI $72,328). 741 went the other way. The whole move →
| Per month | Phoenix | Salt Lake City | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $7,583 | $7,740 | +$156 |
| Income and payroll tax | $1,709 | $1,948 | +$239 |
| Take-home pay | $5,875 | $5,792 | −$83 |
| Rent | $1,276 | $1,269 | −$7 |
| Getting around | $586 | $519 | −$67 |
| Groceries | $396 | $396 | $0 |
| Healthcare | $446 | $446 | $0 |
| Utilities | $248 | $248 | $0 |
| Everything else | $347 | $347 | $0 |
| Left over | $2,577 | $2,568 | −$9 |
To break even in Salt Lake City, you'd need to earn
$93,000
Household gross, versus $91,000 today. That's the salary that leaves you exactly as much at the end of the month as Phoenix does now.
The tax difference alone
−$2,316
A year, in state and local income tax. Effective rates: 22.5% in Phoenix, 25.2% in Salt Lake City.
More about Salt Lake City
Phoenix, AZ in full
A 2.5% flat income tax, cheap housing for a big metro, and a genuinely dangerous July.
Salt Lake City, UT in full
Four ski resorts inside an hour and a 23-minute average commute.
The reverse move
Same two cities, but starting from Salt Lake City on Salt Lake City wages.
Salt Lake City → Phoenix →Rent is Zillow's asking rent for each metro; taxes and living costs are modelled. An estimate, not a quote or tax advice. How this is calculated.