Provo, UT vs Denver, CO
Moving from Provo to Denver? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($546,641 → $573,221 median home) and taxes.
Provo 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 Provo, UT, you'd need about $110,473 in Denver, CO (+$10,473).
Livability — Provo, UT: 65 · Denver, CO: 52 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,921 sqft in Provo vs 1,657 sqft in Denver ($260 vs $302 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Provo, UT | Denver, CO | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $21,900 | $22,920 | +$1,020 |
| Groceries | $4,736 | $5,079 | +$343 |
| Transportation | $3,450 | $4,050 | +$600 |
| Utilities | $1,440 | $1,788 | +$348 |
| Insurance | $1,200 | $2,800 | +$1,600 |
| Taxes | $9,160 | $9,828 | +$668 |
| Total | $41,885 | $46,464 | +$4,579 |
Side by side
| Metric | Provo, UT | Denver, CO |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 95.7 | 105.8 |
| Unemployment rate | 3.41% | 4.26% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 15.5% | 5.7% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.45 | $6.02 |
| Median home price | $546,641 | $573,221 |
| Home price ÷ income | 6.0× | 5.9× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 1.9% | -2.9% |
| Price per square foot | $260 | $302 |
| Median rent | $1,825 | $1,910 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 12.1% | 9.7% |
| Combined sales tax | 7.19% | 7.77% |
| Capital gains tax | 4.65% | 4.40% |
| Property tax rate | 0.45% | 0.52% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,000 | $6,800 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $10,000 | $16,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 1.79% |
| Avg commute (min) | 22 | 28 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,200 | $2,800 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,500 | $2,000 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $500 | $550 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $450 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 13.3 | 16.5 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.60 | 3.30 |
| Natural gas / mo | $52 | $65 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $187 | $120 |
| Home internet / mo | $76 | $87 |
| Violent crime /100k | 260 | 490 |
| Avg summer high °F | 92 | 88 |
| Avg winter low °F | 24 | 18 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 15.5 | 15.4 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 51.9 | 49.0 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 66% | 69% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 3 |