Denver, CO vs Lincoln, NE
Moving from Denver to Lincoln? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($573,221 → $304,242 median home) and taxes.
Denver vs Lincoln 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 $86,882 in Lincoln, NE (−$13,118).
Livability — Denver, CO: 52 · Lincoln, NE: 68 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,657 sqft in Denver vs 2,793 sqft in Lincoln ($302 vs $179 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Denver, CO | Lincoln, NE | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $22,920 | $16,128 | −$6,792 |
| Groceries | $5,079 | $4,827 | −$252 |
| Transportation | $4,050 | $3,300 | −$750 |
| Utilities | $1,788 | $1,440 | −$348 |
| Insurance | $2,800 | $3,600 | +$800 |
| Taxes | $9,828 | $11,420 | +$1,592 |
| Total | $46,464 | $40,715 | −$5,750 |
Side by side
| Metric | Denver, CO | Lincoln, NE |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 105.8 | 91.9 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.26% | 3.11% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 5.7% | 5.0% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 64 | 41 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $6.02 | $5.23 |
| Median home price | $573,221 | $304,242 |
| Home price ÷ income | 5.9× | 4.3× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -2.9% | 4.1% |
| Price per square foot | $302 | $179 |
| Median rent | $1,910 | $1,344 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.7% | 11.5% |
| Combined sales tax | 7.77% | 6.97% |
| Capital gains tax | 4.40% | 5.20% |
| Property tax rate | 0.52% | 1.59% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,800 | $6,600 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $16,000 | $12,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 1.79% | 2.27% |
| Avg commute (min) | 28 | 19 |
| Home insurance / yr | $2,800 | $3,600 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,000 | $1,600 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $550 | $650 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 16.5 | 13.3 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.30 | 3.10 |
| Violent crime /100k | 490 | 330 |
| Avg summer high °F | 88 | 88 |
| Avg winter low °F | 18 | 14 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 2 |