Denver, CO vs Tulsa, OK
Moving from Denver to Tulsa? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($573,221 → $253,725 median home) and taxes.
Denver vs Tulsa 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 $84,993 in Tulsa, OK (−$15,007).
Livability — Denver, CO: 52 · Tulsa, OK: 71 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,657 sqft in Denver vs 3,745 sqft in Tulsa ($302 vs $134 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Denver, CO | Tulsa, OK | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $22,920 | $16,224 | −$6,696 |
| Groceries | $5,079 | $4,667 | −$412 |
| Transportation | $4,050 | $3,575 | −$475 |
| Utilities | $1,788 | $1,440 | −$348 |
| Insurance | $2,800 | $4,400 | +$1,600 |
| Taxes | $9,828 | $9,670 | −$158 |
| Total | $46,464 | $39,976 | −$6,489 |
Side by side
| Metric | Denver, CO | Tulsa, OK |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 105.8 | 89.9 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.26% | 5.14% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 5.7% | 4.1% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $6.02 | $5.12 |
| Median home price | $573,221 | $253,725 |
| Home price ÷ income | 5.9× | 3.9× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -2.9% | 2.8% |
| Price per square foot | $302 | $134 |
| Median rent | $1,910 | $1,352 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.7% | 9.0% |
| Combined sales tax | 7.77% | 8.99% |
| Capital gains tax | 4.40% | 4.75% |
| Property tax rate | 0.52% | 0.94% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,800 | $6,300 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $16,000 | $9,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 1.79% | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 28 | 22 |
| Home insurance / yr | $2,800 | $4,400 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,000 | $2,000 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $550 | $750 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $300 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 16.5 | 13.3 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.30 | 2.95 |
| Natural gas / mo | $65 | $56 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $120 | $83 |
| Home internet / mo | $87 | $76 |
| Violent crime /100k | 490 | 460 |
| Avg summer high °F | 88 | 94 |
| Avg winter low °F | 18 | 27 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 15.4 | 41.0 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 49.0 | 8.7 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 69% | 62% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 2 |