Denver, CO vs Seattle, WA
Moving from Denver to Seattle? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($573,221 → $750,279 median home) and taxes.
Denver vs Seattle 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 $106,583 in Seattle, WA (+$6,583).
Livability — Denver, CO: 52 · Seattle, WA: 48 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,657 sqft in Denver vs 1,200 sqft in Seattle ($302 vs $417 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Denver, CO | Seattle, WA | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $22,920 | $26,784 | +$3,864 |
| Groceries | $5,079 | $5,405 | +$326 |
| Transportation | $4,050 | $4,075 | +$25 |
| Utilities | $1,788 | $1,548 | −$240 |
| Insurance | $2,800 | $1,500 | −$1,300 |
| Taxes | $9,828 | $8,826 | −$1,001 |
| Total | $46,464 | $48,138 | +$1,674 |
Side by side
| Metric | Denver, CO | Seattle, WA |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 105.8 | 112.7 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.26% | 4.59% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 5.7% | 7.1% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 64 | 47 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $6.02 | $6.41 |
| Median home price | $573,221 | $750,279 |
| Home price ÷ income | 5.9× | 7.0× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -2.9% | -1.9% |
| Price per square foot | $302 | $417 |
| Median rent | $1,910 | $2,232 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.7% | 10.7% |
| Combined sales tax | 7.77% | 9.38% |
| Capital gains tax | 4.40% | 7.00% |
| Property tax rate | 0.52% | 0.88% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,800 | $6,600 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $16,000 | $16,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 1.79% | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 28 | 30 |
| Home insurance / yr | $2,800 | $1,500 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,000 | $1,600 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $550 | $700 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $700 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 16.5 | 14.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.30 | 4.55 |
| Violent crime /100k | 490 | 375 |
| Avg summer high °F | 88 | 76 |
| Avg winter low °F | 18 | 37 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 5 |