Roanoke, VA vs Denver, CO
Moving from Roanoke to Denver? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($301,139 → $573,221 median home) and taxes.
Roanoke 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 Roanoke, VA, you'd need about $115,967 in Denver, CO (+$15,967).
Livability — Roanoke, VA: 73 · Denver, CO: 52 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 3,320 sqft in Roanoke vs 1,657 sqft in Denver ($151 vs $302 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Roanoke, VA | Denver, CO | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $16,836 | $22,920 | +$6,084 |
| Groceries | $4,853 | $5,079 | +$225 |
| Transportation | $3,080 | $4,050 | +$970 |
| Utilities | $1,872 | $1,788 | −$84 |
| Insurance | $1,500 | $2,800 | +$1,300 |
| Taxes | $9,549 | $9,828 | +$279 |
| Total | $37,690 | $46,464 | +$8,774 |
Side by side
| Metric | Roanoke, VA | Denver, CO |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 91.2 | 105.8 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.05% | 4.26% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 0.5% | 5.7% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 40 | 64 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.19 | $6.02 |
| Median home price | $301,139 | $573,221 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.6× | 5.9× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 3.8% | -2.9% |
| Price per square foot | $151 | $302 |
| Median rent | $1,403 | $1,910 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 12.5% | 9.7% |
| Combined sales tax | 5.73% | 7.77% |
| Capital gains tax | 5.75% | 4.40% |
| Property tax rate | 0.81% | 0.52% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,800 | $6,800 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $15,000 | $16,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 3.97% | 1.79% |
| Avg commute (min) | 24 | 28 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,500 | $2,800 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,400 | $2,000 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $700 | $550 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 17.4 | 16.5 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.20 | 3.30 |
| Violent crime /100k | 200 | 490 |
| Avg summer high °F | 87 | 88 |
| Avg winter low °F | 28 | 18 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 3 |