Denver, CO vs Trenton, NJ
Moving from Denver to Trenton? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($573,221 → $446,377 median home) and taxes.
Denver vs Trenton 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 $96,833 in Trenton, NJ (−$3,167).
Livability — Denver, CO: 52 · Trenton, NJ: 56 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,657 sqft in Denver vs 2,129 sqft in Trenton ($302 vs $235 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Denver, CO | Trenton, NJ | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $22,920 | $31,476 | +$8,556 |
| Groceries | $5,079 | $4,888 | −$191 |
| Transportation | $4,050 | $3,710 | −$340 |
| Utilities | $1,788 | $2,544 | +$756 |
| Insurance | $2,800 | $1,300 | −$1,500 |
| Taxes | $9,828 | $21,636 | +$11,809 |
| Total | $46,464 | $65,554 | +$19,089 |
Side by side
| Metric | Denver, CO | Trenton, NJ |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 105.8 | 102.4 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.26% | 6.12% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 5.7% | 2.8% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 64 | 43 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $6.02 | $5.83 |
| Median home price | $573,221 | $446,377 |
| Home price ÷ income | 5.9× | 4.8× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -2.9% | -0.1% |
| Price per square foot | $302 | $235 |
| Median rent | $1,910 | $2,623 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.7% | 13.2% |
| Combined sales tax | 7.77% | 6.60% |
| Capital gains tax | 4.40% | 10.75% |
| Property tax rate | 0.52% | 2.62% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,800 | $7,600 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $16,000 | $13,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 1.79% | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 28 | 28 |
| Home insurance / yr | $2,800 | $1,300 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,000 | $2,000 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $550 | $900 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 16.5 | 23.5 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.30 | 3.25 |
| Violent crime /100k | 490 | 200 |
| Avg summer high °F | 88 | 86 |
| Avg winter low °F | 18 | 23 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 5 |