Denver, CO vs Scranton, PA
Moving from Denver to Scranton? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($573,221 → $227,793 median home) and taxes.
Denver vs Scranton 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 $88,298 in Scranton, PA (−$11,702).
Livability — Denver, CO: 52 · Scranton, PA: 68 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,657 sqft in Denver vs 3,840 sqft in Scranton ($302 vs $130 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Denver, CO | Scranton, PA | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $22,920 | $16,296 | −$6,624 |
| Groceries | $5,079 | $4,915 | −$164 |
| Transportation | $4,050 | $3,440 | −$610 |
| Utilities | $1,788 | $2,316 | +$528 |
| Insurance | $2,800 | $1,200 | −$1,600 |
| Taxes | $9,828 | $7,898 | −$1,929 |
| Total | $46,464 | $36,065 | −$10,399 |
Side by side
| Metric | Denver, CO | Scranton, PA |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 105.8 | 93.4 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.26% | 5.40% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 5.7% | 1.7% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 64 | 40 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $6.02 | $5.31 |
| Median home price | $573,221 | $227,793 |
| Home price ÷ income | 5.9× | 3.7× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -2.9% | 1.0% |
| Price per square foot | $302 | $130 |
| Median rent | $1,910 | $1,358 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.7% | 10.6% |
| Combined sales tax | 7.77% | 6.34% |
| Capital gains tax | 4.40% | 3.07% |
| Property tax rate | 0.52% | 1.60% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,800 | $7,000 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $16,000 | $12,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 1.79% | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 28 | 23 |
| Home insurance / yr | $2,800 | $1,200 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,000 | $1,600 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $550 | $650 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 16.5 | 21.5 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.30 | 3.55 |
| Violent crime /100k | 490 | 390 |
| Avg summer high °F | 88 | 85 |
| Avg winter low °F | 18 | 22 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 3 |