Salem, OR vs Denver, CO
Moving from Salem to Denver? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($454,689 → $573,221 median home) and taxes.
Salem 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 Salem, OR, you'd need about $103,230 in Denver, CO (+$3,230).
Livability — Salem, OR: 59 · Denver, CO: 52 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,869 sqft in Salem vs 1,657 sqft in Denver ($268 vs $302 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Salem, OR | Denver, CO | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $19,536 | $22,920 | +$3,384 |
| Groceries | $5,239 | $5,079 | −$160 |
| Transportation | $3,680 | $4,050 | +$370 |
| Utilities | $1,704 | $1,788 | +$84 |
| Insurance | $900 | $2,800 | +$1,900 |
| Taxes | $13,135 | $9,828 | −$3,307 |
| Total | $44,194 | $46,464 | +$2,271 |
Side by side
| Metric | Salem, OR | Denver, CO |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 102.5 | 105.8 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.41% | 4.26% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 5.7% | 5.7% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.83 | $6.02 |
| Median home price | $454,689 | $573,221 |
| Home price ÷ income | 6.3× | 5.9× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 0.4% | -2.9% |
| Price per square foot | $268 | $302 |
| Median rent | $1,628 | $1,910 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.8% | 9.7% |
| Combined sales tax | 0.00% | 7.77% |
| Capital gains tax | 9.90% | 4.40% |
| Property tax rate | 0.90% | 0.52% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,600 | $6,800 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $15,000 | $16,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 1.79% |
| Avg commute (min) | 25 | 28 |
| Home insurance / yr | $900 | $2,800 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,500 | $2,000 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $650 | $550 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $600 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 15.8 | 16.5 |
| Gas $/gal | 4.10 | 3.30 |
| Natural gas / mo | $58 | $65 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $224 | $120 |
| Home internet / mo | $82 | $87 |
| Violent crime /100k | 340 | 490 |
| Avg summer high °F | 82 | 88 |
| Avg winter low °F | 34 | 18 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 43.7 | 15.4 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 3.4 | 49.0 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 48% | 69% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 4 | 3 |