Denver, CO vs Jacksonville, FL
Moving from Denver to Jacksonville? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($573,221 → $352,994 median home) and taxes.
Denver vs Jacksonville 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 $94,211 in Jacksonville, FL (−$5,789).
Livability — Denver, CO: 52 · Jacksonville, FL: 69 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,657 sqft in Denver vs 2,621 sqft in Jacksonville ($302 vs $191 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Denver, CO | Jacksonville, FL | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $22,920 | $20,412 | −$2,508 |
| Groceries | $5,079 | $4,813 | −$265 |
| Transportation | $4,050 | $4,800 | +$750 |
| Utilities | $1,788 | $1,656 | −$132 |
| Insurance | $2,800 | $4,200 | +$1,400 |
| Taxes | $9,828 | $4,713 | −$5,114 |
| Total | $46,464 | $40,594 | −$5,870 |
Side by side
| Metric | Denver, CO | Jacksonville, FL |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 105.8 | 99.6 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.26% | 4.54% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 5.7% | 11.4% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 64 | 51 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $6.02 | $5.67 |
| Median home price | $573,221 | $352,994 |
| Home price ÷ income | 5.9× | 4.8× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -2.9% | -1.7% |
| Price per square foot | $302 | $191 |
| Median rent | $1,910 | $1,701 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.7% | 9.1% |
| Combined sales tax | 7.77% | 7.02% |
| Capital gains tax | 4.40% | None |
| Property tax rate | 0.52% | 0.80% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,800 | $7,500 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $16,000 | $10,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 1.79% | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 28 | 26 |
| Home insurance / yr | $2,800 | $4,200 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,000 | $2,900 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $550 | $1,400 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 16.5 | 15.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.30 | 3.35 |
| Violent crime /100k | 490 | 380 |
| Avg summer high °F | 88 | 91 |
| Avg winter low °F | 18 | 52 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 3 |