Denver, CO vs Houston, TX
Moving from Denver to Houston? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($573,221 → $308,306 median home) and taxes.
Denver vs Houston 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 $94,295 in Houston, TX (−$5,705).
Livability — Denver, CO: 52 · Houston, TX: 75 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,657 sqft in Denver vs 3,406 sqft in Houston ($302 vs $147 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Denver, CO | Houston, TX | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $22,920 | $19,668 | −$3,252 |
| Groceries | $5,079 | $5,085 | +$6 |
| Transportation | $4,050 | $3,675 | −$375 |
| Utilities | $1,788 | $1,836 | +$48 |
| Insurance | $2,800 | $3,600 | +$800 |
| Taxes | $9,828 | $7,399 | −$2,428 |
| Total | $46,464 | $41,263 | −$5,202 |
Side by side
| Metric | Denver, CO | Houston, TX |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 105.8 | 99.7 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.26% | 5.96% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 5.7% | 7.6% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 64 | 63 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $6.02 | $5.67 |
| Median home price | $573,221 | $308,306 |
| Home price ÷ income | 5.9× | 3.9× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -2.9% | -2.0% |
| Price per square foot | $302 | $147 |
| Median rent | $1,910 | $1,639 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.7% | 8.6% |
| Combined sales tax | 7.77% | 8.20% |
| Capital gains tax | 4.40% | None |
| Property tax rate | 0.52% | 1.79% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,800 | $6,800 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $16,000 | $9,500 |
| Vehicle property tax | 1.79% | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 28 | 30 |
| Home insurance / yr | $2,800 | $3,600 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,000 | $2,100 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $550 | $900 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 16.5 | 17.0 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.30 | 3.00 |
| Violent crime /100k | 490 | 430 |
| Avg summer high °F | 88 | 96 |
| Avg winter low °F | 18 | 38 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 2 |