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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 2023.
So where is the most expensive place to live in Utah? That would be Midway.
the 2017-2021 American Community Survey for the 87 places in Utah with more than 5,000 people.
Here are the 10 most expensive places to live in Utah for 2023:
What's the most expensive place to live in Utah? Well, HomeSnacks crunched the numbers and discovered that Midway is the most expensive place to live in Utah.
So hopefully Hyrum (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 2023
1. Midway
/10
Population: 5,881
Rank Last Year: 1 (No Change)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 5.6x (7th most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 39.0x (most expensive)
More on Midway: Real Estate | Data | Photos
The median income in Midway comes in at $108,672 and the median home value is $609,900 for 2023.
2. Alpine
/10
Population: 10,209
Rank Last Year: 2 (No Change)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 5.0x (11th most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 45.1x (2nd most expensive)
More on Alpine: Real Estate | Data | Photos
The median income in Alpine comes in at $138,438 and the median home value is $698,900 for 2023.
3. Vineyard
/10
Population: 11,579
Rank Last Year: 3 (No Change)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 5.0x (12th most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 53.9x (10th most expensive)
More on Vineyard: Real Estate | Data
The median income in Vineyard comes in at $86,355 and the median home value is $431,300 for 2023.
4. Ivins
/10
Population: 8,786
Rank Last Year: 5 (Up 1)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 5.7x (5th most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 50.0x (5th most expensive)
More on Ivins: Real Estate | Data | Photos
The median income in Ivins comes in at $64,786 and the median home value is $369,000 for 2023.
5. Salt Lake City
/10
Population: 199,153
Rank Last Year: 6 (Up 1)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 5.8x (4th most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 57.7x (17th most expensive)
More on Salt Lake City: Real Estate | Data | Photos
The median income in Salt Lake City comes in at $65,880 and the median home value is $380,200 for 2023.
6. Santa Clara
/10
Population: 7,418
Rank Last Year: 7 (Up 1)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 4.5x (24th most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 51.7x (6th most expensive)
More on Santa Clara: Real Estate | Data | Photos
The median income in Santa Clara comes in at $84,128 and the median home value is $375,700 for 2023.
7. Park City
/10
Population: 8,352
Rank Last Year: 4 (Down 3)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 11.3x (most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 73.3x (60th most expensive)
More on Park City: Real Estate | Data | Photos
The median income in Park City comes in at $121,701 and the median home value is $1,371,600 for 2023.
8. Holladay
/10
Population: 31,738
Rank Last Year: 10 (Up 2)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 5.5x (8th most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 70.4x (5most expensive)
More on Holladay: Real Estate | Data | Photos
The median income in Holladay comes in at $97,911 and the median home value is $541,800 for 2023.
9. St. George
/10
Population: 92,875
Rank Last Year: 9 (Up 1)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 5.4x (9th most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 55.0x (13th most expensive)
More on St. George: Real Estate | Data | Photos
The median income in St. George comes in at $63,604 and the median home value is $344,200 for 2023.
10. Provo
/10
Population: 113,538
Rank Last Year: 8 (Down 2)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 6.1x (3rd most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 55.1x (14th most expensive)
More on Provo: Real Estate | Data | Photos
The median income in Provo comes in at $53,572 and the median home value is $328,500 for 2023.
Methodology: How We Determined The Most Expensive Places To Live In The Beehive State For 2023
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 2017-2021 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 87 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 Midway. You can download the data here.
Summary: Taking A Chunk Out Of Your Paycheck In Utah For 2023
Well there you have it, the places in Utah that have the highest cost of living, with Midway 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:
- Hyrum
- Roosevelt
- Smithfield
For more Utah reading, check out:
- Best Places To Live In Utah
- Cheapest Places To Live In Utah
- Most Dangerous Cities In Utah
- Best Places To Raise A Family In Utah
- Safest Places In Utah
- Worst Places To Live In Utah
Detailed List Of The Most Expensive Cities In Utah
| Rank | City | ExpensiveScore |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Midway | 4.0 |
| 2 | Alpine | 5.0 |
| 3 | Vineyard | 12.67 |
| 4 | Ivins | 15.33 |
| 5 | Salt Lake City | 16.33 |
| 6 | Santa Clara | 20.33 |
| 7 | Park City | 20.67 |
| 8 | Holladay | 21.67 |
| 9 | St. George | 21.67 |
| 10 | Provo | 23.17 |
| 11 | Fruit Heights | 24.67 |
| 12 | South Salt Lake | 25.0 |
| 13 | Moab | 25.33 |
| 14 | Washington | 27.67 |
| 15 | Murray | 28.0 |
| 16 | Cottonwood Heights | 28.67 |
| 17 | West Haven | 29.0 |
| 18 | Midvale | 29.0 |
| 19 | Hurricane | 29.33 |
| 20 | Draper | 30.0 |
| 21 | Lindon | 30.33 |
| 22 | Cedar Hills | 30.67 |
| 23 | Orem | 31.0 |
| 24 | Heber | 31.33 |
| 25 | Salem | 32.0 |
| 26 | Logan | 32.33 |
| 27 | American Fork | 32.33 |
| 28 | Sandy | 32.67 |
| 29 | Eagle Mountain | 33.83 |
| 30 | North Logan | 34.0 |
| 31 | Bluffdale | 34.0 |
| 32 | North Salt Lake | 34.33 |
| 33 | Highland | 34.33 |
| 34 | Pleasant Grove | 35.33 |
| 35 | South Jordan | 35.67 |
| 36 | Mapleton | 37.0 |
| 37 | Saratoga Springs | 37.0 |
| 38 | Herriman | 37.67 |
| 39 | Lehi | 38.33 |
| 40 | Springville | 39.67 |
| 41 | Bountiful | 41.67 |
| 42 | Taylorsville | 42.67 |
| 43 | Riverdale | 42.67 |
| 44 | Farmington | 43.67 |
| 45 | West Jordan | 44.33 |
| 46 | Cedar City | 45.0 |
| 47 | Riverton | 46.33 |
| 48 | Syracuse | 49.0 |
| 49 | West Bountiful | 49.33 |
| 50 | Clearfield | 49.33 |
| 51 | Providence | 49.33 |
| 52 | Spanish Fork | 49.33 |
| 53 | Ephraim | 50.0 |
| 54 | Enoch | 50.0 |
| 55 | Payson | 52.0 |
| 56 | West Valley City | 52.67 |
| 57 | Woods Cross | 53.0 |
| 58 | Clinton | 53.0 |
| 59 | Ogden | 54.0 |
| 60 | Plain City | 54.33 |
| 61 | Kaysville | 54.33 |
| 62 | Layton | 54.67 |
| 63 | Pleasant View | 57.67 |
| 64 | Harrisville | 58.67 |
| 65 | Centerville | 60.0 |
| 66 | Santaquin | 60.33 |
| 67 | South Weber | 61.0 |
| 68 | Price | 62.67 |
| 69 | South Ogden | 63.0 |
| 70 | Nephi | 63.0 |
| 71 | Farr West | 64.5 |
| 72 | Roy | 64.67 |
| 73 | Tremonton | 65.33 |
| 74 | Washington Terrace | 67.33 |
| 75 | Sunset | 67.33 |
| 76 | Brigham City | 68.0 |
| 77 | North Ogden | 68.83 |
| 78 | Nibley | 69.0 |
| 79 | Richfield | 71.33 |
| 80 | West Point | 71.33 |
| 81 | Grantsville | 72.0 |
| 82 | Perry | 72.0 |
| 83 | Tooele | 72.33 |
| 84 | Vernal | 73.0 |
| 85 | Smithfield | 75.0 |
| 86 | Roosevelt | 76.67 |
| 87 | Hyrum | 77.67 |
