Reno, NV vs Denver, CO
Moving from Reno to Denver? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($570,546 → $573,221 median home) and taxes.
Reno 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 Reno, NV, you'd need about $107,899 in Denver, CO (+$7,899).
Livability — Reno, NV: 62 · Denver, CO: 52 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,665 sqft in Reno vs 1,657 sqft in Denver ($300 vs $302 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Reno, NV | Denver, CO | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $23,736 | $22,920 | −$816 |
| Groceries | $4,841 | $5,079 | +$238 |
| Transportation | $4,740 | $4,050 | −$690 |
| Utilities | $1,548 | $1,788 | +$240 |
| Insurance | $1,300 | $2,800 | +$1,500 |
| Taxes | $5,060 | $9,828 | +$4,768 |
| Total | $41,225 | $46,464 | +$5,240 |
Side by side
| Metric | Reno, NV | Denver, CO |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 98.0 | 105.8 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.01% | 4.26% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 9.2% | 5.7% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.58 | $6.02 |
| Median home price | $570,546 | $573,221 |
| Home price ÷ income | 7.0× | 5.9× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 0.0% | -2.9% |
| Price per square foot | $300 | $302 |
| Median rent | $1,978 | $1,910 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.6% | 9.7% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.23% | 7.77% |
| Capital gains tax | None | 4.40% |
| Property tax rate | 0.48% | 0.52% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,400 | $6,800 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $11,000 | $16,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 2.12% | 1.79% |
| Avg commute (min) | 22 | 28 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,300 | $2,800 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,400 | $2,000 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $500 | $550 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $400 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 14.3 | 16.5 |
| Gas $/gal | 4.20 | 3.30 |
| Natural gas / mo | $48 | $65 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $80 | $120 |
| Home internet / mo | $89 | $87 |
| Violent crime /100k | 460 | 490 |
| Avg summer high °F | 95 | 88 |
| Avg winter low °F | 30 | 18 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 7.4 | 15.4 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 22.0 | 49.0 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 82% | 69% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 3 |