Hartford, CT vs Denver, CO
Moving from Hartford to Denver? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($400,167 → $573,221 median home) and taxes.
Hartford vs Denver 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 Hartford, CT, you'd need about $102,396 in Denver, CO (+$2,396).
Livability — Hartford, CT: 59 · Denver, CO: 52 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,374 sqft in Hartford vs 1,657 sqft in Denver ($211 vs $302 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Hartford, CT | Denver, CO | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $23,700 | $22,920 | −$780 |
| Groceries | $4,930 | $5,079 | +$149 |
| Transportation | $3,720 | $4,050 | +$330 |
| Utilities | $3,480 | $1,788 | −$1,692 |
| Insurance | $1,600 | $2,800 | +$1,200 |
| Taxes | $15,460 | $9,828 | −$5,632 |
| Total | $52,890 | $46,464 | −$6,425 |
Side by side
| Metric | Hartford, CT | Denver, CO |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 103.3 | 105.8 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.42% | 4.26% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 0.2% | 5.7% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.88 | $6.02 |
| Median home price | $400,167 | $573,221 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.5× | 5.9× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 5.2% | -2.9% |
| Price per square foot | $211 | $302 |
| Median rent | $1,975 | $1,910 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 15.4% | 9.7% |
| Combined sales tax | 6.35% | 7.77% |
| Capital gains tax | 6.99% | 4.40% |
| Property tax rate | 2.16% | 0.52% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $8,200 | $6,800 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $16,000 | $16,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 2.07% | 1.79% |
| Avg commute (min) | 24 | 28 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,600 | $2,800 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,900 | $2,000 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $800 | $550 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 32.2 | 16.5 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.40 | 3.30 |
| Natural gas / mo | $106 | $65 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $88 | $120 |
| Home internet / mo | $66 | $87 |
| Violent crime /100k | 150 | 490 |
| Avg summer high °F | 85 | 88 |
| Avg winter low °F | 18 | 18 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 47.1 | 15.4 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 51.7 | 49.0 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 56% | 69% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 4 | 3 |