Compare / Sacramento to Salt Lake City
Sacramento, CA vs Salt Lake City, UT
Simple answer
You'd likely save $586 a month in Salt Lake City.
This is the HUD 2-bedroom fair-market rent for October 2026 through September 2027. It is not your lease.
The largest cost gap in this pair is Fair Market Rent. The 2-bedroom Fair Market Rent gap is $586: Sacramento is higher at $2,201 versus $1,615.
California taxes wages at rates up to 13.30%. Utah taxes wages at a flat 4.50%. Combined sales tax differs by 1.6 percentage points, higher in California. The effective property tax gap is 0.22 percentage points, higher in California.
After a move from California to Utah, those two example households keep the same benefit status labels. A different income can still split Medicaid and marketplace credits.
A $75,000 salary in Sacramento lines up with about $70,921 in Salt Lake City on the 2024 all-items price parity. Census median gross rent and the commute figures are 2024. Fair Market Rents are fiscal year 2027.
Sacramento
Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA
- 2-bedroom Fair Market Rent
- $2,201
- HUD area
- Sacramento--Roseville--Arden-Arcade, CA HUD Metro FMR Area
- Census median gross rent
- $1,904
- All-items price parity
- 106.7
- Goods price parity
- 105.2
- Utilities price parity
- 151.3
- Mean commute
- 27.7 min
- Median household income
- $98,775
Salt Lake City
Salt Lake City-Murray, UT
- 2-bedroom Fair Market Rent
- $1,615
- HUD area
- Salt Lake City, UT HUD Metro FMR Area
- Census median gross rent
- $1,659
- All-items price parity
- 100.9
- Goods price parity
- 96.4
- Utilities price parity
- 79.0
- Mean commute
- 23.5 min
- Median household income
- $100,548
Equivalent salary
The first number keeps the same place in the national price level. The second also runs 2026 federal income tax, employee Social Security and Medicare, and a simplified state income tax. Groceries use the BEA goods price parity, not a grocery receipt.
$70,921
Salary in Salt Lake City that matches the 2024 all-items regional price parity.
$69,567
Gross salary in Salt Lake City whose after-tax pay buys the same basket, using price parities.
$55,032
Scales the salary by the ratio of HUD 2-bedroom Fair Market Rents. Rent is not the whole budget.
Taxes on the two sides of the move
| Tax | California | Utah |
|---|---|---|
| State income tax on wages | up to 13.30% | 4.50% flat |
| Combined sales tax, Jan 1, 2026 | 9.0% | 7.4% |
| Effective property tax, ACS 2024 median / median | 0.71% | 0.49% |
On a $400,000 home, the state median effective rate implies about $2,828 a year in California and $1,943 in Utah. That illustration is not a local bill. Childcare prices are not in the verified dataset for these metros.
Benefits if you land in Utah
Same household, $40,000 a year, scored once in California and once in Utah. This is an illustration, not your application.
Food stamps (SNAP)
SacramentoLikely eligible
Salt Lake CityLikely eligible
Medicaid and CHIP
SacramentoLikely eligible
Salt Lake CityLikely eligible
WIC
SacramentoLikely eligible
Salt Lake CityLikely eligible
School meals
SacramentoLikely eligible
Salt Lake CityLikely eligible
LIHEAP
SacramentoMaybe
Salt Lake CityMaybe
Earned Income Tax Credit
SacramentoLikely eligible
Salt Lake CityLikely eligible
Child Tax Credit
SacramentoLikely eligible
Salt Lake CityLikely eligible
Marketplace premium tax credits
SacramentoUnlikely
Salt Lake CityUnlikely
Lifeline phone and internet
SacramentoLikely eligible
Salt Lake CityLikely eligible
SSI
SacramentoUnlikely
Salt Lake CityUnlikely
| Program | Sacramento | Salt Lake City |
|---|---|---|
| Food stamps (SNAP) | Likely eligible | Likely eligible |
| Medicaid and CHIP | Likely eligible | Likely eligible |
| WIC | Likely eligible | Likely eligible |
| School meals | Likely eligible | Likely eligible |
| LIHEAP | Maybe | Maybe |
| Earned Income Tax Credit | Likely eligible | Likely eligible |
| Child Tax Credit | Likely eligible | Likely eligible |
| Marketplace premium tax credits | Unlikely | Unlikely |
| Lifeline phone and internet | Likely eligible | Likely eligible |
| SSI | Unlikely | Unlikely |
At $40,000 the status labels match. A single adult around $18,000 is where Medicaid expansion and the marketplace coverage gap usually split.
Related comparisons
From Sacramento
The eight largest 2-bedroom Fair Market Rent gaps from Sacramento.
- Sacramento and San Francisco · rent gap $1,496
- Sacramento and McAllen · rent gap $1,184
- Sacramento and Wichita · rent gap $1,158
- Sacramento and Little Rock · rent gap $1,080
- Sacramento and San Jose · rent gap $1,071
- Sacramento and Toledo · rent gap $1,056
- Sacramento and El Paso · rent gap $1,055
- Sacramento and Baton Rouge · rent gap $1,052
Nearby metros
How the salary and tax math works · The reverse city order redirects to this address.