Everyone wants a home that mixes affordability with comfort and Utah does this very well. Families love the Beehive State’s beaches, midlands, and mountains as tourists before moving here and calling it home.
But before you decide to relocate, you have to do some research into the exact cost of living around the state — and that’s how we’re going to help you.
These are the places in Utah that cost a pretty penny — the most expensive cities in the state.
After we saved up for months and could finally afford it, we landed on this list of the ten most expensive cities in Utah for 2019.
So where is the most expensive place to live in Utah? That would be Alpine.
Here are the 10 most expensive places to live in Utah for 2019:
- Alpine (Photos | Homes For Sale)
- Heber (Homes For Sale)
- Ivins (Photos | Homes For Sale)
- Salt Lake City (Photos | Homes For Sale)
- Cedar Hills (Homes For Sale)
- Washington (Photos | Homes For Sale)
- Provo (Photos | Homes For Sale)
- Murray (Photos | Homes For Sale)
- Santa Clara (Photos | Homes For Sale)
- St. George (Photos | Homes For Sale)
So hopefully Washington Terrace (the cheapest place to live in Utah) can show these guys how to live on a budget in the coming years. Read on for how these places had costs rise faster than inflation.
And if you already knew these places were expensive, check out some more reading about Utah and the most expensive cities in the country:
The 10 Most Expensive Places To Live In Utah For 2019
/10
Population: 10,197
Rank Last Year: 2 (Up 1)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 4.4x (12th most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 64.9x (35th most expensive)
More on Alpine: Real Estate | Data | Photos
The median income in Alpine comes in at $112,727 and the median home value is $494,400 for 2019.
/10
Population: 14,414
Rank Last Year: 1 (Down 1)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 4.3x (13th most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 56.0x (15th most expensive)
More on Heber: Real Estate | Data
Heber City is a city in Wasatch County, Utah, United States. Heber City was founded by English emigrants who were members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the late 1850s, and is named after the Mormon apostle Heber C. Kimball. It is the county seat of Wasatch County. The original Heber City town square is located on the west side of Main Street between Center Street and 100 North and currently houses city offices as well as the historic Wasatch Stake Tabernacle and Heber Amusement Hall. The city was largely pastoral, focusing largely on dairy farms and cattle ranching, and has since become a bedroom community for Orem, Provo, Park City and Salt Lake City.
The median income in Heber comes in at $67,265 and the median home value is $289,500 for 2019.
/10
Population: 7,908
Rank Last Year: 7 (Up 4)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 4.3x (14th most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 50.2x (3rd most expensive)
More on Ivins: Real Estate | Data | Photos
Ivins is a city in Washington County, Utah, United States and is a part of the St. George Metropolitan Area as a suburb or “bedroom” community. The population was 6,753 at the 2010 census, and it was estimated at 6,930 in 2011. Although Ivins was listed as a town in the 2000 census, it became a city in 1998.
The median income in Ivins comes in at $57,686 and the median home value is $247,200 for 2019.
/10
Population: 194,188
Rank Last Year: 5 (Up 1)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 4.9x (4th most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 61.3x (25th most expensive)
More on Salt Lake City: Real Estate | Data | Photos
Salt Lake City is the capital and the most populous municipality of the U.S. state of Utah. With an estimated population of 190,884 in 2014, the city is the core of the Salt Lake City metropolitan area, which has a population of 1,153,340. Salt Lake City is further situated within a larger metropolis known as the Salt Lake City-Ogden-Provo Combined Statistical Area. This region is a corridor of contiguous urban and suburban development stretched along an approximately 120-mile segment of the Wasatch Front, comprising a population of 2,423,912 as of 2014. It is one of only two major urban areas in the Great Basin.
The median income in Salt Lake City comes in at $54,009 and the median home value is $266,800 for 2019.
/10
Population: 10,266
Rank Last Year: 2 (Down 3)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 3.5x (38th most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 54.3x (10th most expensive)
More on Cedar Hills: Real Estate | Data
The median income in Cedar Hills comes in at $97,039 and the median home value is $337,300 for 2019.
/10
Population: 24,231
Rank Last Year: 5 (Down 1)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 4.2x (16th most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 49.7x (2nd most expensive)
More on Washington: Real Estate | Data | Photos
The median income in Washington comes in at $56,697 and the median home value is $240,700 for 2019.
/10
Population: 116,199
Rank Last Year: 10 (Up 3)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 5.1x (2nd most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 55.9x (14th most expensive)
More on Provo: Real Estate | Data | Photos
Provo is the third-largest city in Utah, United States, located 43 miles south of Salt Lake City along the Wasatch Front. Provo is the largest city and county seat of Utah County.
The median income in Provo comes in at $44,312 and the median home value is $227,400 for 2019.
/10
Population: 49,038
Rank Last Year: 9 (Up 1)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 4.3x (15th most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 55.4x (12th most expensive)
More on Murray: Real Estate | Data | Photos
Murray City is a city situated on the Wasatch Front in the core of Salt Lake Valley in the U.S. state of Utah. Named for territorial governor Eli Murray, it is the state’s fourteenth largest city. According to the 2010 census, Murray has approximately 46,746 residents. Murray shares borders with Taylorsville, Holladay, South Salt Lake and West Jordan, Utah. Once teeming with heavy industry, Murray-s industrial sector now has little trace and has been replaced by major mercantile sectors. Known for its central location in Salt Lake County, Murray has been called the Hub of Salt Lake County. Unlike most of its neighboring communities, Murray operates its own police, fire, power, water, library, and parks and recreation departments and has its own school district. While maintaining many of its own services, Murray has one of the lowest city tax rates in the state.
The median income in Murray comes in at $57,662 and the median home value is $245,300 for 2019.
/10
Population: 6,835
Rank Last Year: 5 (Down 4)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 3.5x (35th most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 55.6x (13th most expensive)
More on Santa Clara: Real Estate | Data | Photos
Santa Clara is a city in Washington County, Utah, United States and is a part of the St. George Metropolitan Area. The population was 6,003 at the 2010 census, up from 4,630 at the 2000 census.
The median income in Santa Clara comes in at $84,457 and the median home value is $296,200 for 2019.
/10
Population: 79,995
Rank Last Year: 11 (Up 1)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 4.5x (8th most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 56.7x (18th most expensive)
More on St. George: Real Estate | Data | Photos
St. George is a city in and the county seat of Washington County, Utah, United States. Located in the southwestern part of the state on the Arizona border, near the tri-state junction of Utah, Arizona and Nevada, it is the principal city of the St. George Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city lies in the northeastern-most part of the Mojave Desert adjacent to the Pine Valley Mountains near the convergence of three distinct geological areas: the Mojave Desert, Colorado Plateau, and Great Basin. The city is 118 miles northeast of Las Vegas and 300 miles south-southwest of Salt Lake City on Interstate 15. The city is named after George A. Smith, a Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints Apostle.
The median income in St. George comes in at $54,022 and the median home value is $242,400 for 2019.
How We Determined The Most Expensive Places To Live In The Beehive State For 2019
The two most important things to think about when it comes to being able to afford if you can live comes down to:
- How much do money do I make?
- How much do I have spend to live there?
You need to understand your costs in the context of how much money you make.
For example, if the median household earns $100,000 and spends $40,000 on housing it’s actually cheaper to live there than a place with a median income of $50,000 and housing costs of $21,000. You might spend more on housing, but you have more money overall to play with.
With that example in mind, we derived several statistics from the latest Census American Community Survey 2013-2017 around incomes and costs. They are:
- Median Home Price / Median Income (lower is better)
- Median Income / Median Rent (Higher is better)
- Median Home Price
We added simply median home price because high home prices generally correlate with higher expenses for all costs related to homes (heating, electricity, etc).
You can then compare these metrics in each of the places in Utah to figure out which is the most expensive.
What you are left with is a “Cost of Living Index” by taking the average rank of each of these metrics for each city.
So we used that cost of living index in order to rank all of the 85 places in Utah that have more than 5,000 people.
The place with the highest cost of living in Utah according to the data is Alpine.
Taking A Chunk Out Of Your Paycheck In Utah For 2019
Well there you have it, the places in Utah that have the highest cost of living, with Alpine ranking as the most expensive city in the Beehive State.
Here’s a look at the most affordable cities in Utah according to the data:
- Washington Terrace
- Harrisville
- Hyrum
For more Utah reading, check out:
- These Are The 10 Richest Cities In Utah
- 10 Safest Places In Utah
- These Are The 10 Best Counties To Live In Utah
Detailed List Of The Most Expensive Cities In Utah
Rank | City | ExpensiveScore |
---|---|---|
1 | Alpine | 16.67 |
2 | Heber | 17.0 |
3 | Ivins | 18.0 |
4 | Salt Lake City | 19.67 |
5 | Cedar Hills | 20.33 |
6 | Washington | 20.67 |
7 | Provo | 21.0 |
8 | Murray | 21.67 |
9 | Santa Clara | 22.0 |
10 | St. George | 22.33 |
11 | Holladay | 26.0 |
12 | South Salt Lake | 26.0 |
13 | Park City | 26.33 |
14 | Highland | 26.67 |
15 | South Jordan | 27.0 |
16 | Mapleton | 27.67 |
17 | Midvale | 27.67 |
18 | Cottonwood Heights | 28.0 |
19 | Moab | 28.0 |
20 | Ephraim | 28.33 |
21 | Hurricane | 29.33 |
22 | Lindon | 29.33 |
23 | Riverton | 30.0 |
24 | Pleasant Grove | 30.0 |
25 | West Haven | 30.67 |
26 | Orem | 30.67 |
27 | Logan | 31.0 |
28 | Cedar City | 32.67 |
29 | Sandy | 32.67 |
30 | Bluffdale | 33.33 |
31 | Bountiful | 33.33 |
32 | Lehi | 33.67 |
33 | Saratoga Springs | 34.0 |
34 | Draper | 35.0 |
35 | Salem | 35.17 |
36 | Eagle Mountain | 36.0 |
37 | West Jordan | 36.33 |
38 | Syracuse | 37.33 |
39 | North Logan | 38.0 |
40 | Springville | 40.0 |
41 | Herriman | 40.33 |
42 | Richfield | 41.0 |
43 | American Fork | 41.0 |
44 | Taylorsville | 41.33 |
45 | Farmington | 41.67 |
46 | Vernal | 42.0 |
47 | Fruit Heights | 43.0 |
48 | Enoch | 43.33 |
49 | North Salt Lake | 45.0 |
50 | Pleasant View | 46.0 |
51 | Clearfield | 47.0 |
52 | West Point | 47.33 |
53 | Providence | 48.0 |
54 | Hooper | 48.67 |
55 | Payson | 48.67 |
56 | West Valley City | 50.33 |
57 | Spanish Fork | 50.67 |
58 | Centerville | 51.0 |
59 | Smithfield | 51.0 |
60 | Ogden | 51.67 |
61 | Kaysville | 52.83 |
62 | Woods Cross | 55.0 |
63 | South Weber | 56.0 |
64 | Clinton | 57.0 |
65 | Santaquin | 57.33 |
66 | West Bountiful | 59.33 |
67 | Layton | 59.33 |
68 | Brigham City | 59.33 |
69 | Tooele | 59.67 |
70 | Riverdale | 61.0 |
71 | Grantsville | 63.0 |
72 | Farr West | 63.33 |
73 | South Ogden | 64.33 |
74 | North Ogden | 64.33 |
75 | Tremonton | 64.67 |
76 | Plain City | 66.67 |
77 | Roosevelt | 66.67 |
78 | Roy | 67.17 |
79 | Nephi | 69.0 |
80 | Nibley | 69.0 |
81 | Sunset | 69.33 |
82 | Price | 70.0 |
83 | Hyrum | 73.5 |
84 | Harrisville | 74.0 |
85 | Washington Terrace | 74.67 |