COMPARE COST OF LIVING

Salt Lake County, UT→Wake County, NC

Equivalent salary in Wake County, NC

$59,955

+19.91% higher

Current salary: $50,000

Household: 1 adult · 0 children

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

Median Income in Wake County, NC: $128,556

Living Index in Salt Lake County, UT 44.11

Living Index in Wake County, NC 46.04

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

* 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:

Moving from Salt Lake County, UT to Wake County, NC can actually lead to higher overall expenses. You would end up spending an estimated 19.91% ($9,828) more per year. Unless your move comes with a significant salary jump, this new location will feel much tighter in day-to-day spending. In fact you would not get any savings from any of the major cost of living categories. According to the Economic Policy Institute’s 2025 Family Budget data, Salt Lake County, UT's costs are all lower (none vs. none), driving a large part of the cost difference. Movers could end up paying about $9,828 in annual expenses. Housing, Food, Transport, Healthcare, Other Costs and Taxes costs for Wake County, NC , however, rise slightly.

Because all the major cost-of-living categories are higher in Wake County, NC, the higher cost of living will be spread across housing, everyday expenses, and taxes rather than concentrated in just one area. Even though it’s not always the first thing people look at, these expenses still add up over a full year.

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 Wake County, NC.

Biggest Increase

Highest new COST when moving to Wake County, NC

Average Cost:

$13,452 per year

HOUSING costs are highest in Wake County, NC.

Smallest Increase

Highest money SAVE when moving to Wake County, NC

Average Cost:

NONE per year

costs are highest in Wake County, NC.

Breakdown of price percentages per category.

Numbers are average costs per section.

Category	Difference
Housing	34.02% higher
Salt Lake County, UT Wake County, NC Average Cost $13452.00 $18028.00 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	11.30% higher
Salt Lake County, UT Wake County, NC Average Cost $4196.00 $4670.00 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	5.05% higher
Salt Lake County, UT Wake County, NC Average Cost $12363.00 $12987.00 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	1.48% higher
Salt Lake County, UT Wake County, NC Average Cost $5121.00 $5197.00 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	28.61% higher
Salt Lake County, UT Wake County, NC Average Cost $5938.00 $7637.00 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	28.71% higher
Salt Lake County, UT Wake County, NC Average Cost $8291.00 $10671.00 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 $59190.00 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 Wake County, NC and Salt Lake County, UT are both metropolitan locations.

Use our map to visually compare multiple counties at once.

Use the Cost of Living Map