Salt Lake City vs Westminster
The short version
- Salt Lake City is cheaper overall: prices in its metro run 5% lower than in the Westminster area (BEA 2024).
- The median home costs $532,400 in Westminster and $539,500 in Salt Lake City.
- Households earn more in Westminster ($100,272 vs $75,090 median).
- Westminster has the warmer winter: January highs of 47°F vs 39°F.
- Salt Lake City has more scorching days: 62 a year at 90°F or hotter vs 42.
- Salt Lake City is growing faster: +9.4% since 2020 vs -0.4%.
- Commutes are shorter in Salt Lake City (20 vs 27 minutes each way).
Side by side
| Salt Lake City, UT | Westminster, CO | |
|---|---|---|
| People | ||
| Population (2025) | 218,428 | 116,182 |
| Growth since 2020 | +9.4% | -0.4% |
| People per square mile | 1,970 | 3,674 |
| Median age | 32.9 | 37.4 |
| Bachelor's degree or higher | 52% | 45% |
| Money and housing | ||
| Median household income | $75,090 | $100,272 |
| Median home value | $539,500 | $532,400 |
| Home value to income | 7.2× | 5.3× |
| Median rent (with utilities) | $1,414 | $1,882 |
| Metro price level (US = 100) | 100.9 | 105.8 |
| Housing price level (US = 100) | 123.3 | 146.9 |
| $75,000 elsewhere equals | $75,700 | $79,300 |
| Homeowners | 46% | 62% |
| Top state income tax | 4.5% | 4.4% |
| Combined sales tax | 7.42% | 7.89% |
| Work and commute | ||
| Average commute (minutes) | 19.5 | 27.0 |
| Work from home | 21% | 22% |
| Take public transit | 5% | 1% |
| Unemployment (2020-24 avg) | 4.2% | 3.7% |
| Poverty rate | 13.6% | 7.3% |
| Weather | ||
| January high / low | 39° / 24° | 47° / 18° |
| July high / low | 94° / 68° | 90° / 59° |
| Precipitation per year | 16 in | 15 in |
| Snowfall per year | 52 in | 49 in |
| Days 90°F or hotter | 62 | 42 |
| Nights below freezing | 112 | 156 |
| Comfortable months | 4 | 3 |
| Risks, air and home prices | ||
| Natural hazard risk (FEMA, county) | Relatively High | Relatively Moderate |
| FEMA risk score (lower is safer) | 98.6 | 91.2 |
| Good air days, 2025 | 33% | 29% |
| Home prices, past year | +2.4% | -0.5% |
| Home prices, past 5 years | +33.4% | +21.4% |
Highlighted cells are the better value where "better" is clear (lower prices, higher income, shorter commutes). Sources: Census Bureau 2025 estimates and ACS 2020-2024, BEA 2024, NOAA 1991-2020, Tax Foundation 2026.
Weather, month by month
Most comfortable months: Salt Lake City: May to June and September to October. Westminster: May to June and September.
Full monthly tables: Salt Lake City weather by month and Westminster weather by month.
What $75,000 is worth
A $75,000 salary in an average-priced US city buys about the same as $75,700 in Salt Lake City and $79,300 in Westminster. Moving from Salt Lake City to Westminster, you would need about $78,700 to match a $75,000 salary.
Moving between Salt Lake City and Westminster
IRS county-to-county migration, 2022 to 2023 tax years, for the counties that contain each city. See where else people move from Salt Lake City and Westminster.
Which would you pick?
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