COMPARE COST OF LIVING

Salt Lake County, UT→Pierce County, WA

Equivalent salary in Pierce County, WA

$54,305

+8.61% higher

Current salary: $50,000

Household: 1 adult · 0 children

Median Income in Salt Lake County, UT: $111,905

Median Income in Pierce County, WA: $111,126

Living Index in Salt Lake County, UT 44.11

Living Index in Pierce County, WA 48.24

This estimate matches your purchasing power (equivalent salary) when moving from Salt Lake County, UT to Pierce County, WA.

* Living index is estimated from (estimated total cost / median_income of area) * 100.A living index above 100% means costs exceed median income.

Cost of Living Breakdown by Category

Summary/TLDR:

If you were to move to Pierce County, WA from Salt Lake County, UT would be, though moderately, more expensive overall. You would spend an estimated additional $4,249 per year (a 8.61% increase). To keep the same lifestyle, you’d likely want your income to be at least 8.61% higher in this new location. Moving can lead to some savings in Healthcare, and Taxes According to the Economic Policy Institute’s 2025 Family Budget data, Salt Lake County, UT's Taxes costs are 8.43% higher ($8,291 vs. $7,592), driving a large part of the cost difference. Movers could potentially save $699 in annual expenses. Housing, Food, Transport and Other Costs costs for Pierce County, WA , however, rise slightly.

Since Taxes is one of the biggest drivers of living costs, this gap alone can noticeably change how the move feels month to month. Tax differences tend to matter more as your income rises, so higher earners will feel this gap the most.

Below we break down the key differences driving this gap.

What changed the most?

The following numbers represent which categories have the highest and lowest cost increase when moving to Pierce County, WA.

Biggest Increase

Highest new COST when moving to Pierce County, WA

Average Cost:

$13,452 per year

HOUSING costs are highest in Pierce County, WA.

Smallest Increase

Highest money SAVE when moving to Pierce County, WA

Average Cost:

$7,592 per year

TAXES costs are lowest in Pierce County, WA.

Breakdown of price percentages per category.

Numbers are average costs per section.

Category	Difference
Housing	27.56% higher
Salt Lake County, UT Pierce County, WA Average Cost $13452.00 $17160.00 INFO: Housing costs are based on the Department of Housing and Urban Development. The data represented shows the rental cost at the 40th percentile at a given area for privately owned, rental unit. Studio apartments were paired with 1 adult families, 1 Bedroom apartments with 2 Adult families, and 2 bedroom apartments for families with 1 or 2 children.
Food	10.49% higher
Salt Lake County, UT Pierce County, WA Average Cost $4196.00 $4636.00 INFO: Food cost are based on the U.S. Department of Agriculture's food plan. Numbers are normalized to each area using weights from Feeding America and the Meal Gap data. This number assumes most food is bought at a local grocery store and then prepared at home.
Transport	0.72% higher
Salt Lake County, UT Pierce County, WA Average Cost $12363.00 $12452.00 INFO: Transportation costs are a combination of auto ownership, auto use, and public transit. Data is collected from the Center for Neighborhood Technology (CNT).
Healthcare	-13.36% lower
Salt Lake County, UT Pierce County, WA Average Cost $5121.00 $4437.00 INFO: Health care expenses come from an average of insurance premiums and out-of-pocket costs. The data assumes families purchase the lowest cost available insurance plan under the Affordable Care Act. Data comes from Kaiser Family foundation and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
Other Costs	23.51% higher
Salt Lake County, UT Pierce County, WA Average Cost $5938.00 $7334.00 INFO: This cost is calculated through the average spending of categories deemed necessary by the Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Expenditure Survey. These include apparel, personal care, household supplies, reading materials, and school supplies.
Taxes	-8.43% lower
Salt Lake County, UT Pierce County, WA Average Cost $8291.00 $7592.00 INFO: Taxes are calculated from the National Bureau of Economic Research. The number weighs in personal income tax, state income tax, federal Social Security, and Medicare taxes.

In your new location your total average costs would be $53611.00 compared to your previous average costs of $49362.00.

The higher price could be attributed to different factors. For example, larger differences, the delta could be attributed to the fact that a city is a metropolitan location.

In this case Pierce County, WA and Salt Lake County, UT are both metropolitan locations.

Use our map to visually compare multiple counties at once.

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