What makes a city affordable for a family to live in?  We often think just of income possibilities or the median cost of a home but a number of other factors go into the equation.  When considering a city to live in you must consider the cost of housing, food, child care, transportation, healthcare and taxes added up against what your income will be.

In a compilation of data from the Economic Policy Institute and the U.S. Census Bureau, Forbes magazine has ranked Salt Lake City as the fourth most affordable metropolitan area in the country.  This comparison is based on a four person family for 40 of the nation's largest metropolitan areas.

For Salt Lake City, with a median annual family income of $64,436 and an average annual family budget of $43,499, the cost of providing basic family essentials was only 68 percent of income. That's 32 percent left for saving and buying non-essentials. In San Jose, which Forbes ranked as the most affordable city for families, basic expenses only take up 55 percent of the budget. In New York, the least affordable, expenses took up 93 percent of annual pay. You can find the article on Forbes website.

Go to the Economic Policy Institute website for a Basic Family Budget Calculator that can be used for a number of cities across the United States

The Salt Lake City Utah Real Estate Center has more information on living in Salt Lake City Utah along with a complete property search or you can call Kathy Opolski at 801-518-4599.