Providence, RI vs Denver, CO
Moving from Providence to Denver? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($524,867 → $573,221 median home) and taxes.
Providence 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 Providence, RI, you'd need about $104,194 in Denver, CO (+$4,194).
Livability — Providence, RI: 58 · Denver, CO: 52 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,524 sqft in Providence vs 1,657 sqft in Denver ($328 vs $302 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Providence, RI | Denver, CO | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $25,956 | $22,920 | −$3,036 |
| Groceries | $4,922 | $5,079 | +$157 |
| Transportation | $3,875 | $4,050 | +$175 |
| Utilities | $3,060 | $1,788 | −$1,272 |
| Insurance | $1,700 | $2,800 | +$1,100 |
| Taxes | $13,121 | $9,828 | −$3,293 |
| Total | $52,634 | $46,464 | −$6,169 |
Side by side
| Metric | Providence, RI | Denver, CO |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 101.5 | 105.8 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.82% | 4.26% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 3.6% | 5.7% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 64 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.78 | $6.02 |
| Median home price | $524,867 | $573,221 |
| Home price ÷ income | 6.5× | 5.9× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 3.1% | -2.9% |
| Price per square foot | $328 | $302 |
| Median rent | $2,163 | $1,910 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 11.4% | 9.7% |
| Combined sales tax | 7.00% | 7.77% |
| Capital gains tax | 5.99% | 4.40% |
| Property tax rate | 1.31% | 0.52% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $7,600 | $6,800 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $13,000 | $16,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 1.79% |
| Avg commute (min) | 26 | 28 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,700 | $2,800 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,100 | $2,000 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $900 | $550 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 28.3 | 16.5 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.35 | 3.30 |
| Violent crime /100k | 240 | 490 |
| Avg summer high °F | 82 | 88 |
| Avg winter low °F | 21 | 18 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 4 | 3 |