Denver, CO vs Tampa, FL
Moving from Denver to Tampa? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($573,221 → $360,738 median home) and taxes.
Denver vs Tampa 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 $96,885 in Tampa, FL (−$3,115).
Livability — Denver, CO: 52 · Tampa, FL: 65 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,657 sqft in Denver vs 2,564 sqft in Tampa ($302 vs $195 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Denver, CO | Tampa, FL | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $22,920 | $24,216 | +$1,296 |
| Groceries | $5,079 | $4,949 | −$130 |
| Transportation | $4,050 | $4,800 | +$750 |
| Utilities | $1,788 | $1,656 | −$132 |
| Insurance | $2,800 | $4,200 | +$1,400 |
| Taxes | $9,828 | $4,642 | −$5,185 |
| Total | $46,464 | $44,463 | −$2,002 |
Side by side
| Metric | Denver, CO | Tampa, FL |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 105.8 | 102.5 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.26% | 4.92% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 5.7% | 7.3% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 64 | 51 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $6.02 | $5.83 |
| Median home price | $573,221 | $360,738 |
| Home price ÷ income | 5.9× | 5.4× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -2.9% | -3.4% |
| Price per square foot | $302 | $195 |
| Median rent | $1,910 | $2,018 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.7% | 9.1% |
| Combined sales tax | 7.77% | 7.02% |
| Capital gains tax | 4.40% | None |
| Property tax rate | 0.52% | 0.80% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,800 | $7,500 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $16,000 | $10,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 1.79% | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 28 | 28 |
| Home insurance / yr | $2,800 | $4,200 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,000 | $2,900 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $550 | $1,400 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 16.5 | 15.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.30 | 3.35 |
| Violent crime /100k | 490 | 380 |
| Avg summer high °F | 88 | 91 |
| Avg winter low °F | 18 | 52 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 3 |