$100k salary, packing up from Salt Lake City
changea dispatch from
grand rapids
MI
42.96°N
85.67°W
Grand Rapids has won Beer City USA multiple times, hosts ArtPrize (one of the world's largest open art competitions every fall), and built itself on furniture (Steelcase, Herman Miller). The Frederik Meijer Sculpture Park is a sleeper world-class attraction. Downtown is walkable, the surrounding farmland is gorgeous in autumn, and Lake Michigan beaches are 30 minutes west. Quietly excellent.
the verdict
under Salt Lake City, every month
Grand Rapids and Salt Lake City land close on cost. The reasons to move are about how you'd live, not what you'd save.
a quick ledger.
$1,620/mo
1% more expensive than Salt Lake City(vs $1,608/mo)
4.25%
$33/mo less in state tax than Salt Lake City
vs 4.65% in Salt Lake City
$6,359/mo
$21 more than Salt Lake City
gross of federal tax. a comparison, not a paycheck.
$353k
40% cheaper than Salt Lake City
vs $584k in Salt Lake City
1.2M
vs 1.3M in Salt Lake City
field notes, weather & such.
151
pleasant days a year, in grand rapids.
Salt Lake City edges ahead with 168 pleasant days. A real winter, not a brutal one: 50 days under 20°, vs 33 in Salt Lake City.
Things to do run about even with Salt Lake City.
56/100
28% lower than Salt Lake City
vs 78/100 in Salt Lake City
Closest outdoor draw: White Pine Trail State Park, 5.4 mi.
97/100
21% higher than Salt Lake City
vs 80/100 in Salt Lake City
20
78% fewer than Salt Lake City
vs 90 nonstops in Salt Lake City
cities that play in grand rapids's register:
