Columbia, SC vs Denver, CO
Moving from Columbia to Denver? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($256,154 → $573,221 median home) and taxes.
Columbia vs Denver 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 Columbia, SC, you'd need about $113,457 in Denver, CO (+$13,457).
Livability — Columbia, SC: 69 · Denver, CO: 52 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 3,903 sqft in Columbia vs 1,657 sqft in Denver ($128 vs $302 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Columbia, SC | Denver, CO | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $18,444 | $22,920 | +$4,476 |
| Groceries | $4,797 | $5,079 | +$282 |
| Transportation | $3,465 | $4,050 | +$585 |
| Utilities | $1,848 | $1,788 | −$60 |
| Insurance | $2,000 | $2,800 | +$800 |
| Taxes | $10,215 | $9,828 | −$387 |
| Total | $40,769 | $46,464 | +$5,695 |
Side by side
| Metric | Columbia, SC | Denver, CO |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 93.2 | 105.8 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.71% | 4.26% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 2.9% | 5.7% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.30 | $6.02 |
| Median home price | $256,154 | $573,221 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.0× | 5.9× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 1.3% | -2.9% |
| Price per square foot | $128 | $302 |
| Median rent | $1,537 | $1,910 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 8.9% | 9.7% |
| Combined sales tax | 7.44% | 7.77% |
| Capital gains tax | 6.40% | 4.40% |
| Property tax rate | 0.63% | 0.52% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,500 | $6,800 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $8,500 | $16,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 2.33% | 1.79% |
| Avg commute (min) | 25 | 28 |
| Home insurance / yr | $2,000 | $2,800 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,900 | $2,000 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $900 | $550 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $350 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 17.1 | 16.5 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.05 | 3.30 |
| Natural gas / mo | $56 | $65 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $97 | $120 |
| Home internet / mo | $78 | $87 |
| Violent crime /100k | 530 | 490 |
| Avg summer high °F | 91 | 88 |
| Avg winter low °F | 36 | 18 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 49.5 | 15.4 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 1.5 | 49.0 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 62% | 69% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 3 |