Denver, CO vs Rochester, NY
Moving from Denver to Rochester? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($573,221 → $285,034 median home) and taxes.
Denver vs Rochester 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 $93,023 in Rochester, NY (−$6,977).
Livability — Denver, CO: 52 · Rochester, NY: 59 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,657 sqft in Denver vs 2,807 sqft in Rochester ($302 vs $178 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Denver, CO | Rochester, NY | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $22,920 | $19,164 | −$3,756 |
| Groceries | $5,079 | $4,868 | −$211 |
| Transportation | $4,050 | $3,895 | −$155 |
| Utilities | $1,788 | $3,180 | +$1,392 |
| Insurance | $2,800 | $1,600 | −$1,200 |
| Taxes | $9,828 | $18,722 | +$8,895 |
| Total | $46,464 | $51,429 | +$4,965 |
Side by side
| Metric | Denver, CO | Rochester, NY |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 105.8 | 98.4 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.26% | 5.01% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 5.7% | 0.6% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 64 | 39 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $6.02 | $5.60 |
| Median home price | $573,221 | $285,034 |
| Home price ÷ income | 5.9× | 4.0× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -2.9% | 4.7% |
| Price per square foot | $302 | $178 |
| Median rent | $1,910 | $1,597 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.7% | 15.9% |
| Combined sales tax | 7.77% | 8.52% |
| Capital gains tax | 4.40% | 10.90% |
| Property tax rate | 0.52% | 2.76% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,800 | $7,800 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $16,000 | $17,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 1.79% | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 28 | 21 |
| Home insurance / yr | $2,800 | $1,600 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,000 | $2,100 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $550 | $800 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 16.5 | 29.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.30 | 3.45 |
| Violent crime /100k | 490 | 350 |
| Avg summer high °F | 88 | 83 |
| Avg winter low °F | 18 | 16 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 5 |