What salary do you need to live in Provo, UT?

Rent, home values and prices in Provo

Census figures put the median gross rent in the Provo-Orem-Lehi, UT metro at $1,178 for a one-bedroom, $1,300 for a two-bedroom and $1,764 for a three-bedroom. Moving from one to two bedrooms adds $122 a month, and the third bedroom another $464.

On the ownership side, the typical owner-occupied home is valued at $535,500. With median household income at $100,704, a typical home costs 5.3× a typical income, close to the middle of the range across US metros.

Price levels matter beyond rent. The Bureau of Economic Analysis measures Provo's overall prices at 98.2 on a scale where the nation is 100, which makes a $100,000 salary feel like about $101,800 would elsewhere.

Provo: the pre-tax income for each grade

For two bedrooms, $219,000 is where Provo turns Comfortable. Below that, $109,000 marks the start of Okay and $54,000 the start of Tight; under $54,000 the score reads Stretched. Rent at the Comfortable line is 7% of gross pay.

Royal, the top band, starts at $525,000. At that income rent is 3% of pay and the median home 1.0× income.

Nothing here is a separate rule of thumb; plug any of these incomes into the calculator with two bedrooms and Provo shows the matching grade.

Provo at four common salaries

On $75,000, a one-bedroom scores 36 and a three-bedroom 30, both Tight; the extra bedrooms cost points but not a grade.

None of the four salaries reaches Comfortable for two bedrooms; even $150,000 scores 54, Okay, which fits the $219,000 line above.

Where Provo falls nationally

Out of 387 metros, Provo has the 110th highest price parity and the 120th highest two-bedroom rent, which puts it near the middle on overall prices and near the middle on rent.

For a sense of scale, the metros just above and below it on two-bedroom rent are Odessa, TX ($1,302) and Corpus Christi, TX ($1,298).

Provo vs. the rest of Utah

How Provo stacks up against its state: $1,300 for a two-bedroom against Utah's $1,423, $535,500 for the median home against $489,400, and a price level of 98.2 against 98.9.

Run Utah's statewide medians through the same score and Comfortable begins at $224,000; Provo's line is −2% from that.

If Provo is on your list, St. George, UT, Ogden, UT, and Logan, UT-ID are the most similar Utah metros by two-bedroom rent and price level; the table shows where each turns Comfortable.

Where the typical Provo household lands

What about a typical local household? Census puts median household income here at $100,704, which grades Tight (43) for a two-bedroom at the median rent. Put differently, Provo's typical household is $118,296 below the $219,000 it takes to read Comfortable on two bedrooms. Statewide, the Utah median household ($95,166) grades Tight on the state's own medians. Since a household can have two or more earners, compare it with a combined income rather than one paycheck.

All figures are pre-tax estimates from public data, not financial advice.