Boulder, CO vs Detroit, MI
Moving from Boulder to Detroit? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($727,954 → $269,080 median home) and taxes.
Boulder vs Detroit 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 $97,588 in Detroit, MI (−$2,412).
Livability — Boulder, CO: 54 · Detroit, MI: 62 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,305 sqft in Boulder vs 3,066 sqft in Detroit ($383 vs $163 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Boulder, CO | Detroit, MI | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $27,084 | $18,000 | −$9,084 |
| Groceries | $4,814 | $4,896 | +$82 |
| Transportation | $4,050 | $4,575 | +$525 |
| Utilities | $1,788 | $2,316 | +$528 |
| Insurance | $2,800 | $1,300 | −$1,500 |
| Taxes | $10,679 | $9,547 | −$1,131 |
| Total | $51,214 | $40,634 | −$10,580 |
Side by side
| Metric | Boulder, CO | Detroit, MI |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 100.6 | 98.2 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.41% | 6.60% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 3.8% | 1.7% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.72 | $5.59 |
| Median home price | $727,954 | $269,080 |
| Home price ÷ income | 7.3× | 3.7× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -2.6% | 2.8% |
| Price per square foot | $383 | $163 |
| Median rent | $2,257 | $1,500 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.7% | 10.0% |
| Combined sales tax | 7.77% | 6.00% |
| Capital gains tax | 4.40% | 4.25% |
| Property tax rate | 0.53% | 1.43% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,800 | $6,500 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $16,000 | $11,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 1.79% | 0.61% |
| Avg commute (min) | 23 | 27 |
| Home insurance / yr | $2,800 | $1,300 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,000 | $2,700 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $550 | $600 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 16.5 | 21.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.30 | 3.35 |
| Natural gas / mo | $65 | $78 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $120 | $74 |
| Home internet / mo | $87 | $78 |
| Violent crime /100k | 490 | 460 |
| Avg summer high °F | 88 | 83 |
| Avg winter low °F | 18 | 16 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 15.4 | 34.3 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 49.0 | 45.0 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 69% | 53% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 3 |