Denver, CO vs Detroit, MI
Moving from Denver to Detroit? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($573,221 → $269,080 median home) and taxes.
Denver 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 Denver, CO, you'd need about $92,832 in Detroit, MI (−$7,168).
Livability — Denver, CO: 52 · Detroit, MI: 62 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,657 sqft in Denver vs 3,066 sqft in Detroit ($302 vs $163 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Denver, CO | Detroit, MI | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $22,920 | $18,000 | −$4,920 |
| Groceries | $5,079 | $4,896 | −$183 |
| Transportation | $4,050 | $4,575 | +$525 |
| Utilities | $1,788 | $2,316 | +$528 |
| Insurance | $2,800 | $1,300 | −$1,500 |
| Taxes | $9,828 | $9,547 | −$280 |
| Total | $46,464 | $40,634 | −$5,830 |
Side by side
| Metric | Denver, CO | Detroit, MI |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 105.8 | 98.2 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.26% | 6.60% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 5.7% | 1.7% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 64 | 55 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $6.02 | $5.59 |
| Median home price | $573,221 | $269,080 |
| Home price ÷ income | 5.9× | 3.7× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -2.9% | 2.8% |
| Price per square foot | $302 | $163 |
| Median rent | $1,910 | $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 | 0.52% | 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) | 28 | 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 |
| Violent crime /100k | 490 | 460 |
| Avg summer high °F | 88 | 83 |
| Avg winter low °F | 18 | 16 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 3 |