Denver, CO vs Richmond, VA
Moving from Denver to Richmond? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($573,221 → $397,705 median home) and taxes.
Denver vs Richmond 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 $92,974 in Richmond, VA (−$7,026).
Livability — Denver, CO: 52 · Richmond, VA: 66 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,657 sqft in Denver vs 2,514 sqft in Richmond ($302 vs $199 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Denver, CO | Richmond, VA | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $22,920 | $21,156 | −$1,764 |
| Groceries | $5,079 | $4,853 | −$225 |
| Transportation | $4,050 | $3,080 | −$970 |
| Utilities | $1,788 | $1,872 | +$84 |
| Insurance | $2,800 | $1,500 | −$1,300 |
| Taxes | $9,828 | $10,041 | +$213 |
| Total | $46,464 | $42,502 | −$3,962 |
Side by side
| Metric | Denver, CO | Richmond, VA |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 105.8 | 98.3 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.26% | 4.78% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 5.7% | 3.6% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $6.02 | $5.60 |
| Median home price | $573,221 | $397,705 |
| Home price ÷ income | 5.9× | 4.9× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -2.9% | 2.3% |
| Price per square foot | $302 | $199 |
| Median rent | $1,910 | $1,763 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.7% | 12.5% |
| Combined sales tax | 7.77% | 5.73% |
| Capital gains tax | 4.40% | 5.75% |
| Property tax rate | 0.52% | 0.76% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,800 | $6,800 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $16,000 | $15,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 1.79% | 3.97% |
| Avg commute (min) | 28 | 25 |
| Home insurance / yr | $2,800 | $1,500 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,000 | $1,400 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $550 | $700 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 16.5 | 17.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.30 | 3.20 |
| Natural gas / mo | $65 | $78 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $120 | $103 |
| Home internet / mo | $87 | $77 |
| Violent crime /100k | 490 | 200 |
| Avg summer high °F | 88 | 87 |
| Avg winter low °F | 18 | 28 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 15.4 | 45.5 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 49.0 | 8.8 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 69% | 57% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 3 |