Syracuse, NY vs Denver, CO
Moving from Syracuse to Denver? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($264,903 → $573,221 median home) and taxes.
Syracuse 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 Syracuse, NY, you'd need about $110,501 in Denver, CO (+$10,501).
Livability — Syracuse, NY: 61 · Denver, CO: 52 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 3,019 sqft in Syracuse vs 1,657 sqft in Denver ($166 vs $302 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Syracuse, NY | Denver, CO | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $19,596 | $22,920 | +$3,324 |
| Groceries | $4,868 | $5,079 | +$211 |
| Transportation | $3,895 | $4,050 | +$155 |
| Utilities | $3,180 | $1,788 | −$1,392 |
| Insurance | $1,600 | $2,800 | +$1,200 |
| Taxes | $18,225 | $9,828 | −$8,397 |
| Total | $51,364 | $46,464 | −$4,900 |
Side by side
| Metric | Syracuse, NY | Denver, CO |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 95.7 | 105.8 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.79% | 4.26% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | -0.1% | 5.7% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.45 | $6.02 |
| Median home price | $264,903 | $573,221 |
| Home price ÷ income | 3.8× | 5.9× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 6.6% | -2.9% |
| Price per square foot | $166 | $302 |
| Median rent | $1,633 | $1,910 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 15.9% | 9.7% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.52% | 7.77% |
| Capital gains tax | 10.90% | 4.40% |
| Property tax rate | 2.64% | 0.52% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $7,800 | $6,800 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $17,000 | $16,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 1.79% |
| Avg commute (min) | 21 | 28 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,600 | $2,800 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,100 | $2,000 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $800 | $550 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 29.4 | 16.5 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.45 | 3.30 |
| Natural gas / mo | $98 | $65 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $87 | $120 |
| Home internet / mo | $76 | $87 |
| Violent crime /100k | 350 | 490 |
| Avg summer high °F | 83 | 88 |
| Avg winter low °F | 16 | 18 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 40.0 | 15.4 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 48.0 | 49.0 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 50% | 69% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 5 | 3 |