Omaha, NE vs Denver, CO
Moving from Omaha to Denver? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($310,337 → $573,221 median home) and taxes.
Omaha 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 Omaha, NE, you'd need about $114,375 in Denver, CO (+$14,375).
Livability — Omaha, NE: 69 · Denver, CO: 52 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,738 sqft in Omaha vs 1,657 sqft in Denver ($183 vs $302 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Omaha, NE | Denver, CO | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $17,328 | $22,920 | +$5,592 |
| Groceries | $4,828 | $5,079 | +$251 |
| Transportation | $3,300 | $4,050 | +$750 |
| Utilities | $1,440 | $1,788 | +$348 |
| Insurance | $3,600 | $2,800 | −$800 |
| Taxes | $11,575 | $9,828 | −$1,747 |
| Total | $42,070 | $46,464 | +$4,394 |
Side by side
| Metric | Omaha, NE | Denver, CO |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 92.5 | 105.8 |
| Unemployment rate | 3.42% | 4.26% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 5.7% | 5.7% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.26 | $6.02 |
| Median home price | $310,337 | $573,221 |
| Home price ÷ income | 3.9× | 5.9× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 2.2% | -2.9% |
| Price per square foot | $183 | $302 |
| Median rent | $1,444 | $1,910 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 11.5% | 9.7% |
| Combined sales tax | 6.97% | 7.77% |
| Capital gains tax | 5.20% | 4.40% |
| Property tax rate | 1.71% | 0.52% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,600 | $6,800 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $12,000 | $16,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 2.27% | 1.79% |
| Avg commute (min) | 21 | 28 |
| Home insurance / yr | $3,600 | $2,800 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,600 | $2,000 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $650 | $550 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 13.3 | 16.5 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.10 | 3.30 |
| Natural gas / mo | $79 | $65 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $108 | $120 |
| Home internet / mo | $75 | $87 |
| Violent crime /100k | 330 | 490 |
| Avg summer high °F | 88 | 88 |
| Avg winter low °F | 14 | 18 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 28.0 | 15.4 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 25.0 | 49.0 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 62% | 69% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 3 |