Denver, CO vs Duluth, MN
Moving from Denver to Duluth? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($573,221 → $264,350 median home) and taxes.
Denver vs Duluth 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 $82,427 in Duluth, MN (−$17,573).
Livability — Denver, CO: 52 · Duluth, MN: 68 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,657 sqft in Denver vs 3,404 sqft in Duluth ($302 vs $147 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Denver, CO | Duluth, MN | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $22,920 | $16,572 | −$6,348 |
| Groceries | $5,079 | $4,846 | −$233 |
| Transportation | $4,050 | $3,375 | −$675 |
| Utilities | $1,788 | $1,776 | −$12 |
| Insurance | $2,800 | $2,200 | −$600 |
| Taxes | $9,828 | $14,852 | +$5,025 |
| Total | $46,464 | $43,621 | −$2,843 |
Side by side
| Metric | Denver, CO | Duluth, MN |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 105.8 | 87.2 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.26% | 4.41% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 5.7% | 4.4% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 64 | 39 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $6.02 | $4.96 |
| Median home price | $573,221 | $264,350 |
| Home price ÷ income | 5.9× | 3.9× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -2.9% | 6.6% |
| Price per square foot | $302 | $147 |
| Median rent | $1,910 | $1,381 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.7% | 12.1% |
| Combined sales tax | 7.77% | 8.10% |
| Capital gains tax | 4.40% | 9.85% |
| Property tax rate | 0.52% | 1.12% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,800 | $6,800 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $16,000 | $16,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 1.79% | 1.58% |
| Avg commute (min) | 28 | 20 |
| Home insurance / yr | $2,800 | $2,200 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,000 | $1,600 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $550 | $600 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 16.5 | 16.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.30 | 3.15 |
| Violent crime /100k | 490 | 280 |
| Avg summer high °F | 88 | 83 |
| Avg winter low °F | 18 | 4 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 3 |