Denver, CO vs South Bend, IN
Moving from Denver to South Bend? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($573,221 → $238,866 median home) and taxes.
Denver vs South Bend 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 $86,395 in South Bend, IN (−$13,605).
Livability — Denver, CO: 52 · South Bend, IN: 71 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,657 sqft in Denver vs 3,978 sqft in South Bend ($302 vs $126 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Denver, CO | South Bend, IN | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $22,920 | $16,080 | −$6,840 |
| Groceries | $5,079 | $4,734 | −$345 |
| Transportation | $4,050 | $3,250 | −$800 |
| Utilities | $1,788 | $1,932 | +$144 |
| Insurance | $2,800 | $1,600 | −$1,200 |
| Taxes | $9,828 | $7,022 | −$2,805 |
| Total | $46,464 | $34,618 | −$11,847 |
Side by side
| Metric | Denver, CO | South Bend, IN |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 105.8 | 91.4 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.26% | 4.85% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 5.7% | 1.2% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $6.02 | $5.20 |
| Median home price | $573,221 | $238,866 |
| Home price ÷ income | 5.9× | 3.8× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -2.9% | 5.7% |
| Price per square foot | $302 | $126 |
| Median rent | $1,910 | $1,340 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.7% | 9.3% |
| Combined sales tax | 7.77% | 7.00% |
| Capital gains tax | 4.40% | 3.05% |
| Property tax rate | 0.52% | 0.90% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,800 | $6,600 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $16,000 | $12,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 1.79% | 1.20% |
| Avg commute (min) | 28 | 22 |
| Home insurance / yr | $2,800 | $1,600 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,000 | $1,400 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $550 | $600 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 16.5 | 17.9 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.30 | 3.30 |
| Natural gas / mo | $65 | $72 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $120 | $102 |
| Home internet / mo | $87 | $81 |
| Violent crime /100k | 490 | 360 |
| Avg summer high °F | 88 | 86 |
| Avg winter low °F | 18 | 20 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 15.4 | 43.6 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 49.0 | 25.5 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 69% | 55% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 2 |