Boulder, CO vs Philadelphia, PA
Moving from Boulder to Philadelphia? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($727,954 → $390,463 median home) and taxes.
Boulder vs Philadelphia 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 $101,738 in Philadelphia, PA (+$1,738).
Livability — Boulder, CO: 54 · Philadelphia, PA: 62 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,305 sqft in Boulder vs 2,241 sqft in Philadelphia ($383 vs $223 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Boulder, CO | Philadelphia, PA | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $27,084 | $22,968 | −$4,116 |
| Groceries | $4,814 | $4,909 | +$95 |
| Transportation | $4,050 | $3,440 | −$610 |
| Utilities | $1,788 | $2,316 | +$528 |
| Insurance | $2,800 | $1,200 | −$1,600 |
| Taxes | $10,679 | $10,192 | −$486 |
| Total | $51,214 | $45,025 | −$6,190 |
Side by side
| Metric | Boulder, CO | Philadelphia, PA |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 100.6 | 102.4 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.41% | 6.12% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 3.8% | 2.8% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.72 | $5.82 |
| Median home price | $727,954 | $390,463 |
| Home price ÷ income | 7.3× | 4.6× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -2.6% | 2.5% |
| Price per square foot | $383 | $223 |
| Median rent | $2,257 | $1,914 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.7% | 10.6% |
| Combined sales tax | 7.77% | 6.34% |
| Capital gains tax | 4.40% | 3.07% |
| Property tax rate | 0.53% | 1.61% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,800 | $7,000 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $16,000 | $12,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 1.79% | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 23 | 29 |
| Home insurance / yr | $2,800 | $1,200 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,000 | $1,600 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $550 | $650 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 16.5 | 21.5 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.30 | 3.55 |
| Natural gas / mo | $65 | $82 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $120 | $65 |
| Home internet / mo | $87 | $78 |
| Violent crime /100k | 490 | 390 |
| Avg summer high °F | 88 | 85 |
| Avg winter low °F | 18 | 22 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 15.4 | 44.1 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 49.0 | 23.1 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 69% | 56% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 3 |