Denver, CO vs Memphis, TN
Moving from Denver to Memphis? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($573,221 → $247,229 median home) and taxes.
Denver vs Memphis 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 $86,933 in Memphis, TN (−$13,067).
Livability — Denver, CO: 52 · Memphis, TN: 70 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,657 sqft in Denver vs 4,045 sqft in Memphis ($302 vs $124 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Denver, CO | Memphis, TN | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $22,920 | $17,292 | −$5,628 |
| Groceries | $5,079 | $4,715 | −$364 |
| Transportation | $4,050 | $3,130 | −$920 |
| Utilities | $1,788 | $1,608 | −$180 |
| Insurance | $2,800 | $2,200 | −$600 |
| Taxes | $9,828 | $5,158 | −$4,670 |
| Total | $46,464 | $34,103 | −$12,362 |
Side by side
| Metric | Denver, CO | Memphis, TN |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 105.8 | 91.9 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.26% | 6.84% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 5.7% | -0.6% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 64 | 56 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $6.02 | $5.23 |
| Median home price | $573,221 | $247,229 |
| Home price ÷ income | 5.9× | 4.0× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -2.9% | 0.1% |
| Price per square foot | $302 | $124 |
| Median rent | $1,910 | $1,441 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.7% | 7.6% |
| Combined sales tax | 7.77% | 9.55% |
| Capital gains tax | 4.40% | None |
| Property tax rate | 0.52% | 0.87% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,800 | $6,300 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $16,000 | $9,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 1.79% | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 28 | 24 |
| Home insurance / yr | $2,800 | $2,200 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,000 | $1,600 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $550 | $700 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $350 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 16.5 | 14.9 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.30 | 2.95 |
| Violent crime /100k | 490 | 600 |
| Avg summer high °F | 88 | 89 |
| Avg winter low °F | 18 | 30 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 2 |