Denver, CO vs Peoria, IL
Moving from Denver to Peoria? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($573,221 → $172,742 median home) and taxes.
Denver vs Peoria 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 $83,989 in Peoria, IL (−$16,011).
Livability — Denver, CO: 52 · Peoria, IL: 69 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,657 sqft in Denver vs 4,921 sqft in Peoria ($302 vs $102 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Denver, CO | Peoria, IL | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $22,920 | $14,148 | −$8,772 |
| Groceries | $5,079 | $4,655 | −$424 |
| Transportation | $4,050 | $3,550 | −$500 |
| Utilities | $1,788 | $2,208 | +$420 |
| Insurance | $2,800 | $1,900 | −$900 |
| Taxes | $9,828 | $11,370 | +$1,543 |
| Total | $46,464 | $37,831 | −$8,634 |
Side by side
| Metric | Denver, CO | Peoria, IL |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 105.8 | 88.8 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.26% | 5.30% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 5.7% | 6.5% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 64 | 44 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $6.02 | $5.05 |
| Median home price | $573,221 | $172,742 |
| Home price ÷ income | 5.9× | 2.6× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -2.9% | 7.7% |
| Price per square foot | $302 | $102 |
| Median rent | $1,910 | $1,179 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.7% | 12.9% |
| Combined sales tax | 7.77% | 8.86% |
| Capital gains tax | 4.40% | 4.95% |
| Property tax rate | 0.52% | 2.19% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,800 | $6,800 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $16,000 | $14,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 1.79% | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 28 | 21 |
| Home insurance / yr | $2,800 | $1,900 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,000 | $1,600 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $550 | $700 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $300 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 16.5 | 20.5 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.30 | 3.60 |
| Violent crime /100k | 490 | 430 |
| Avg summer high °F | 88 | 85 |
| Avg winter low °F | 18 | 15 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 4 |