Hickory, NC vs Denver, CO
Moving from Hickory to Denver? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($271,739 → $573,221 median home) and taxes.
Hickory 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 Hickory, NC, you'd need about $118,343 in Denver, CO (+$18,343).
Livability — Hickory, NC: 73 · Denver, CO: 52 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 3,679 sqft in Hickory vs 1,657 sqft in Denver ($136 vs $302 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Hickory, NC | Denver, CO | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $17,952 | $22,920 | +$4,968 |
| Groceries | $4,840 | $5,079 | +$239 |
| Transportation | $3,130 | $4,050 | +$920 |
| Utilities | $1,752 | $1,788 | +$36 |
| Insurance | $2,000 | $2,800 | +$800 |
| Taxes | $7,879 | $9,828 | +$1,949 |
| Total | $37,553 | $46,464 | +$8,912 |
Side by side
| Metric | Hickory, NC | Denver, CO |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 89.4 | 105.8 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.52% | 4.26% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 0.5% | 5.7% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.09 | $6.02 |
| Median home price | $271,739 | $573,221 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.7× | 5.9× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 2.3% | -2.9% |
| Price per square foot | $136 | $302 |
| Median rent | $1,496 | $1,910 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.9% | 9.7% |
| Combined sales tax | 6.98% | 7.77% |
| Capital gains tax | 4.25% | 4.40% |
| Property tax rate | 0.69% | 0.52% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,600 | $6,800 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $10,000 | $16,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 1.10% | 1.79% |
| Avg commute (min) | 24 | 28 |
| Home insurance / yr | $2,000 | $2,800 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,400 | $2,000 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $800 | $550 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 16.3 | 16.5 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.20 | 3.30 |
| Natural gas / mo | $62 | $65 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $78 | $120 |
| Home internet / mo | $80 | $87 |
| Violent crime /100k | 400 | 490 |
| Avg summer high °F | 89 | 88 |
| Avg winter low °F | 30 | 18 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 43.6 | 15.4 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 5.2 | 49.0 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 58% | 69% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 3 |