Oklahoma City, OK vs Denver, CO
Moving from Oklahoma City to Denver? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($246,872 → $573,221 median home) and taxes.
Oklahoma City 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 Oklahoma City, OK, you'd need about $115,663 in Denver, CO (+$15,663).
Livability — Oklahoma City, OK: 70 · Denver, CO: 52 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 3,849 sqft in Oklahoma City vs 1,657 sqft in Denver ($130 vs $302 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Oklahoma City, OK | Denver, CO | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $16,788 | $22,920 | +$6,132 |
| Groceries | $4,667 | $5,079 | +$412 |
| Transportation | $3,575 | $4,050 | +$475 |
| Utilities | $1,440 | $1,788 | +$348 |
| Insurance | $4,400 | $2,800 | −$1,600 |
| Taxes | $9,841 | $9,828 | −$13 |
| Total | $40,711 | $46,464 | +$5,754 |
Side by side
| Metric | Oklahoma City, OK | Denver, CO |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 91.4 | 105.8 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.47% | 4.26% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 5.6% | 5.7% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 53 | 64 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.20 | $6.02 |
| Median home price | $246,872 | $573,221 |
| Home price ÷ income | 3.6× | 5.9× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 1.0% | -2.9% |
| Price per square foot | $130 | $302 |
| Median rent | $1,399 | $1,910 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.0% | 9.7% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.99% | 7.77% |
| Capital gains tax | 4.75% | 4.40% |
| Property tax rate | 0.99% | 0.52% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,300 | $6,800 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $9,000 | $16,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 1.79% |
| Avg commute (min) | 23 | 28 |
| Home insurance / yr | $4,400 | $2,800 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,000 | $2,000 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $750 | $550 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $300 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 13.3 | 16.5 |
| Gas $/gal | 2.95 | 3.30 |
| Violent crime /100k | 460 | 490 |
| Avg summer high °F | 94 | 88 |
| Avg winter low °F | 27 | 18 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 3 |