Denver, CO vs Manchester, NH
Moving from Denver to Manchester? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($573,221 → $526,340 median home) and taxes.
Denver vs Manchester 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 $99,862 in Manchester, NH (−$138).
Livability — Denver, CO: 52 · Manchester, NH: 62 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,657 sqft in Denver vs 1,710 sqft in Manchester ($302 vs $292 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Denver, CO | Manchester, NH | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $22,920 | $25,632 | +$2,712 |
| Groceries | $5,079 | $4,935 | −$143 |
| Transportation | $4,050 | $2,955 | −$1,095 |
| Utilities | $1,788 | $2,940 | +$1,152 |
| Insurance | $2,800 | $1,000 | −$1,800 |
| Taxes | $9,828 | $6,681 | −$3,146 |
| Total | $46,464 | $44,143 | −$2,321 |
Side by side
| Metric | Denver, CO | Manchester, NH |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 105.8 | 105.6 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.26% | 3.69% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 5.7% | 4.0% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $6.02 | $6.01 |
| Median home price | $573,221 | $526,340 |
| Home price ÷ income | 5.9× | 5.5× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -2.9% | 2.2% |
| Price per square foot | $302 | $292 |
| Median rent | $1,910 | $2,136 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.7% | 9.6% |
| Combined sales tax | 7.77% | 0.00% |
| Capital gains tax | 4.40% | None |
| Property tax rate | 0.52% | 1.88% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,800 | $7,800 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $16,000 | $15,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 1.79% | 1.80% |
| Avg commute (min) | 28 | 27 |
| Home insurance / yr | $2,800 | $1,000 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,000 | $1,200 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $550 | $650 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 16.5 | 27.2 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.30 | 3.25 |
| Natural gas / mo | $65 | $90 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $120 | $85 |
| Home internet / mo | $87 | $66 |
| Violent crime /100k | 490 | 120 |
| Avg summer high °F | 88 | 81 |
| Avg winter low °F | 18 | 10 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 15.4 | 43.6 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 49.0 | 49.2 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 69% | 58% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 3 |