Moving from Salt Lake City to Boston
Moving to Boston costs you $673 a month
−$8,076 a year for the same registered nurse, the same household size, and the same number of bedrooms.
Salt Lake City leftover
$2,547
a month after tax and rent
Boston leftover
$1,874
−$673 vs Salt Lake City
In 2022-2023, 134 households moved Salt Lake City → Boston (avg AGI $126,403). 194 went the other way. The whole move →
| Per month | Salt Lake City | Boston | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $7,708 | $9,032 | +$1,324 |
| Income and payroll tax | $1,937 | $2,412 | +$475 |
| Take-home pay | $5,771 | $6,620 | +$849 |
| Rent | $1,269 | $2,619 | +$1,350 |
| Getting around | $519 | $445 | −$74 |
| Groceries | $396 | $464 | +$68 |
| Healthcare | $446 | $522 | +$76 |
| Utilities | $248 | $290 | +$42 |
| Everything else | $347 | $406 | +$59 |
| Left over | $2,547 | $1,874 | −$673 |
To break even in Boston, you'd need to earn
$121,000
Household gross, versus $92,500 today. That's the salary that leaves you exactly as much at the end of the month as Salt Lake City does now.
The tax difference alone
−$990
A year, in state and local income tax. Effective rates: 25.1% in Salt Lake City, 26.7% in Boston.
More about Boston
Salt Lake City, UT in full
Four ski resorts inside an hour and a 23-minute average commute.
Boston, MA in full
Great pay in medicine and research, brutal winters, tight housing stock.
The reverse move
Same two cities, but starting from Boston on Boston wages.
Boston → Salt Lake City →Questions
Is the cost of living lower in Boston than Salt Lake City?
A one-bedroom is about $1,269 in Salt Lake City versus $2,619 in Boston. On a one-adult, one-bedroom household, leftover is about $673 a month lower in Boston. Change the job or household on the comparison to see your number.
Does Boston have state income tax?
Boston is in Massachusetts, which taxes wage income.
What changes if you move from Salt Lake City to Boston?
Take-home pay is recalculated under Massachusetts tax, rent is priced at the same bedroom count, and leftover is the gap. The from-to page also lists IRS households that already made the move, when that data exists.
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.