Photo: Original uploader was Manderson164 at en.wikipedia · Public domainEven on the area’s higher pay, Alpine costs more to live in than 82% of U.S. towns
It ranks #113 of 119 in Utah for affordability. Up 5.7% in a year, more than twice the Utah typical home.
Census 2020–24 home values, rents, tax bills and cost burden, measured against the median household income of the Provo-Orem-Lehi, UT metro area ($101K). How TownRatings grades cost of living
The grade measures what housing costs against what households in the area earn. Alpine’s area earns well above the typical U.S. town ($101K against $74K), but homes, rent and taxes here run higher still. Owners keep up better than renters: 20% of owners pay 30% or more of income for housing (typical U.S. town: 20%), against 60% of renters.
In dollars
- $1.2Mtypical home, 125% above the Utah typical homeZillow, September 2026
- $1,640a month for a two-bedroom, utilities includedHUD Fair Market Rent, 2026
- 98prices across the Provo metro, where the U.S. is 100 (housing 104)BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024
In paychecks the grade
- 9.7 yrsof area income buys the typical home; the typical U.S. town: 3.3$101K, Provo-area income
- 42%of area income goes to the median rent; the typical U.S. town: 18%Census 2020–24
- 20%of owners do; the typical U.S. town: 20%Census 2020–24
What Alpine’s housing numbers say
Renting costs far less than owning
A two-bedroom rents for about $1,640 a month. Owning the typical Alpine home, with 20% down at the calculator’s rate, runs about $6,690 with tax and insurance: 4 times as much. Can I afford it? ↓
Nearly every household owns
89% of Alpine households own their home, against 70% across Utah. There are only 195 renter households, so rentals are scarce. Property taxes ↓
Written from the data on this page. Home values are the Zillow Home Value Index, through September 2026; sales and supply are Redfin’s for September 2026; permits are Census figures through 2025 (2025 partly estimated); incomes, rents paid, taxes and ownership come from the Census American Community Survey.
What’s behind Alpine’s grade
Measured against what households in the area earn, Alpine is more affordable than 18% of U.S. towns, #113 of 119 in Utah. Rent pulls the grade down most; the share of households paying 30%+ for housing holds it up.
Values have outpaced Utah: the typical Alpine home is up 21.9% in five years, against 12.5% statewide (Zillow).
Up 21.9% in five years
Faster than Utah (12.5%).
Show as a table
| January | Alpine | Utah |
|---|---|---|
| 2017 | $569,000 | $273,000 |
| 2018 | $609,000 | $298,000 |
| 2019 | $670,000 | $325,000 |
| 2020 | $703,000 | $349,000 |
| 2021 | $810,000 | $399,000 |
| 2022 | $1,024,000 | $496,000 |
| 2023 | $1,056,000 | $512,000 |
| 2024 | $1,026,000 | $513,000 |
| 2025 | $1,096,000 | $525,000 |
| 2026 | $1,162,000 | $536,000 |
| September 2026 | $1,197,000 | $533,000 |
A typical Alpine home worth $563K in October 2016 is worth about $1.2M today.
Zillow Home Value Index: the typical value of all homes (middle third), smoothed and seasonally adjusted, through September 2026.
Too few sales to read the market
Only 7 homes sold in September 2026, the latest month in Redfin’s figures: too few to describe the market or quote a median sale price.
A typical home costs 9.7 years of area income
The calculator starts from the area income the grade uses. Switch to Alpine’s own median, or type yours.
That’s $775K short of a typical Alpine home.
A two-bedroom rents for about $1,640 a month here, $5,050 less than owning.
An estimate, not a loan offer: payments of up to 28% of income, a 30-year fixed loan, Alpine’s typical property tax (0.41% of value a year, from the Census) and insurance of about 0.35%. Mortgage insurance, HOA fees and other debts aren’t included.
A two-bedroom rents for about $1,640
Renters already here pay a median of $3,501.
Fair Market Rent a month, utilities included
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Fair Market Rents by ZIP code (Provo-Orem-Lehi, UT MSA): the 40th-percentile rent plus utilities for a standard unit. Median rent and renters: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey.
21 new homes permitted in 2025
Builders were permitted 21 new homes in Alpine in 2025, all single-family houses, worth about $23.1 million to build. That's 2 per 1,000 residents, slower than across Utah (8.8). Over the past 10 years, Alpine has permitted 382 homes in all.
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses, Alpine gained 696 residents while 307 new homes were permitted: about 2.3 new residents per new home, about the same as across Utah (2.7).
Every year as a table
| Year | New homes | Single-family | 2+ per building | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 (Jan–Aug) | 14 | 14 | 0 | $24.3 million |
| 2025 | 21 | 21 | 0 | $23.1 million |
| 2024 | 22 | 22 | 0 | $23.9 million |
| 2023 | 41 | 39 | 2 | $44.6 million |
| 2022 | 45 | 45 | 0 | $52.9 million |
| 2021 | 79 | 61 | 18 | $50.1 million |
| 2020 | 41 | 41 | 0 | $27.2 million |
| 2019 | 37 | 37 | 0 | $24.8 million |
| 2018 | 39 | 39 | 0 | $24.4 million |
| 2017 | 32 | 32 | 0 | $21.9 million |
| 2016 | 25 | 21 | 4 | $14.4 million |
| 2015 | 31 | 27 | 4 | $16.7 million |
| 2014 | 46 | 46 | 0 | $19.7 million |
| 2013 | 36 | 36 | 0 | $19.7 million |
| 2012 | 28 | 28 | 0 | $15.5 million |
| 2011 | 16 | 16 | 0 | $7.9 million |
| 2010 | 17 | 17 | 0 | $8.3 million |
| 2009 | 7 | 7 | 0 | $3.8 million |
| 2008 | 7 | 7 | 0 | $3.9 million |
| 2007 | 44 | 44 | 0 | $16.8 million |
| 2006 | 65 | 51 | 14 | $14.8 million |
| 2005 | 100 | 82 | 18 | $25.1 million |
| 2004 | 93 | 93 | 0 | $24.5 million |
| 2003 | 89 | 89 | 0 | $23.5 million |
| 2002 | 86 | 86 | 0 | $13.7 million |
| 2001 | 97 | 97 | 0 | $9.7 million |
| 2000 | 97 | 97 | 0 | $9.7 million |
Alpine's permit office reported 1 of 12 months in 2025; the Census estimated the rest.
Homes authorized by building permits, counted in the year the permit was issued. U.S. Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey.
High tax bills, but a low tax rate
The median bill is $4,034 (Utah: $2,525), because homes cost more. As a share of value it’s 0.41% a year, against 0.52% statewide.
Census American Community Survey 2020–24: the median real-estate tax bill homeowners report, and that bill ÷ the median home value. Bills include town, school and county taxes. The Census reports bills over $10,000 only as “$10,000+”.
The rest of a budget near Alpine
Only figures published free for the whole country, each labeled with the area it covers: the Provo-Orem-Lehi, UT metro area, or Utah. Groceries follow the goods price level; nobody publishes them town by town.
| Cost | Here | Compared with | Area | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prices overall U.S. = 100 | 98 | UT 99 | metro | BEA, 2024 |
| Goods (groceries, clothing, cars…) U.S. = 100 | 96 | UT 96 | metro | BEA, 2024 |
| Utilities U.S. = 100 | 79 | UT 79 | metro | BEA, 2024 |
| Other services U.S. = 100 | 99 | UT 99 | metro | BEA, 2024 |
Price levels: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities 2024 (metro area and state). Electricity: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Electric Power Monthly, table 5.6.A.
Alpine vs. its neighbors
Of the 3 towns here with a Zillow value, Alpine has the 3rd-lowest.
Questions about the cost of living in Alpine
Is Alpine expensive to live in?
Measured against what households in the area earn, Alpine costs more than 82% of U.S. towns: a C− for cost of living, #113 of 119 in Utah. The typical home costs 9.7 years of the median household income of the Provo-Orem-Lehi, UT metro area ($101K).
How much does a house cost in Alpine?
About $1.2M, Zillow’s typical value for September 2026, up 5.7% in a year. The Utah typical home is $533K.
What salary do you need to live in Alpine?
To buy the typical home with 20% down at 6.3%, about $287,000 a year, keeping the payment (about $6,690 a month with tax and insurance) at 28% of income. To rent a two-bedroom at 30% of income, about $66,000.
How much is rent in Alpine?
HUD puts a two-bedroom at about $1,640 a month with utilities, the going rate for someone moving in. Renters already here pay a median of $3,501 (Census 2020–24).
What are property taxes in Alpine?
The median bill is $4,034 a year, 0.41% of the median home value (Utah: $2,525, 0.52%), from the Census 2020–24.
Are home prices in Alpine going up?
Yes: up 5.7% in the past year and 21.9% in five years, against 12.5% across Utah (Zillow).
Neighbors talk housing
What Alpine buyers, sellers and renters are saying.
Home values: Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI), Zillow Research, September 2026. Sales, days on market and supply: Redfin Data Center, September 2026. Income, ownership, taxes and rent: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey. New homes: U.S. Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey. Fair Market Rents: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The calculator is an estimate, not a loan offer. Regional price levels: BEA; electricity: EIA. How TownRatings grades cost of living.