Sacramento, CA vs Boulder, CO
Moving from Sacramento to Boulder? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($582,707 → $727,954 median home) and taxes.
Sacramento vs Boulder 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 Sacramento, CA, you'd need about $92,229 in Boulder, CO (−$7,771).
Livability — Sacramento, CA: 49 · Boulder, CO: 54 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,287 sqft in Sacramento vs 1,305 sqft in Boulder ($389 vs $383 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Sacramento, CA | Boulder, CO | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $27,396 | $27,084 | −$312 |
| Groceries | $5,247 | $4,814 | −$433 |
| Transportation | $5,125 | $4,050 | −$1,075 |
| Utilities | $3,804 | $1,788 | −$2,016 |
| Insurance | $1,500 | $2,800 | +$1,300 |
| Taxes | $20,410 | $10,679 | −$9,731 |
| Total | $63,482 | $51,214 | −$12,267 |
Side by side
| Metric | Sacramento, CA | Boulder, CO |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 109.1 | 100.6 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.74% | 4.41% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 5.6% | 3.8% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 55 | 49 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $6.21 | $5.72 |
| Median home price | $582,707 | $727,954 |
| Home price ÷ income | 6.5× | 7.3× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -1.6% | -2.6% |
| Price per square foot | $389 | $383 |
| Median rent | $2,283 | $2,257 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 13.5% | 9.7% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.82% | 7.77% |
| Capital gains tax | 13.30% | 4.40% |
| Property tax rate | 0.79% | 0.53% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $7,200 | $6,800 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $19,000 | $16,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 0.65% | 1.79% |
| Avg commute (min) | 28 | 23 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,500 | $2,800 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,400 | $2,000 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $750 | $550 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $950 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 35.3 | 16.5 |
| Gas $/gal | 4.85 | 3.30 |
| Violent crime /100k | 500 | 490 |
| Avg summer high °F | 84 | 88 |
| Avg winter low °F | 45 | 18 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 5 | 3 |