Boulder, CO vs Baltimore, MD
Moving from Boulder to Baltimore? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($727,954 → $405,877 median home) and taxes.
Boulder vs Baltimore at a glance
Bars scaled to the range across all 200 metros; labels show actual values.
To keep the same standard of living as $100,000 in Boulder, CO, you'd need about $102,554 in Baltimore, MD (+$2,554).
Livability — Boulder, CO: 54 · Baltimore, MD: 57 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,305 sqft in Boulder vs 2,341 sqft in Baltimore ($383 vs $214 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Boulder, CO | Baltimore, MD | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $27,084 | $23,028 | −$4,056 |
| Groceries | $4,814 | $5,075 | +$261 |
| Transportation | $4,050 | $3,685 | −$365 |
| Utilities | $1,788 | $2,388 | +$600 |
| Insurance | $2,800 | $1,400 | −$1,400 |
| Taxes | $10,679 | $11,584 | +$906 |
| Total | $51,214 | $47,160 | −$4,054 |
Side by side
| Metric | Boulder, CO | Baltimore, MD |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 100.6 | 103.2 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.41% | 4.86% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 3.8% | 1.7% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.72 | $5.87 |
| Median home price | $727,954 | $405,877 |
| Home price ÷ income | 7.3× | 4.3× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -2.6% | 0.8% |
| Price per square foot | $383 | $214 |
| Median rent | $2,257 | $1,919 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.7% | 11.3% |
| Combined sales tax | 7.77% | 6.00% |
| Capital gains tax | 4.40% | 5.75% |
| Property tax rate | 0.53% | 1.04% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,800 | $7,200 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $16,000 | $16,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 1.79% | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 23 | 30 |
| Home insurance / yr | $2,800 | $1,400 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,000 | $1,900 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $550 | $750 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 16.5 | 22.1 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.30 | 3.30 |
| Natural gas / mo | $65 | $88 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $120 | $106 |
| Home internet / mo | $87 | $82 |
| Violent crime /100k | 490 | 450 |
| Avg summer high °F | 88 | 88 |
| Avg winter low °F | 18 | 27 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 15.4 | 45.0 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 49.0 | 19.3 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 69% | 57% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 4 |