Tampa, FL vs Boulder, CO
Moving from Tampa to Boulder? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($360,738 → $727,954 median home) and taxes.
Tampa 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 Tampa, FL, you'd need about $98,186 in Boulder, CO (−$1,814).
Livability — Tampa, FL: 65 · Boulder, CO: 54 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,564 sqft in Tampa vs 1,305 sqft in Boulder ($195 vs $383 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Tampa, FL | Boulder, CO | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $24,216 | $27,084 | +$2,868 |
| Groceries | $4,949 | $4,814 | −$135 |
| Transportation | $4,800 | $4,050 | −$750 |
| Utilities | $1,656 | $1,788 | +$132 |
| Insurance | $4,200 | $2,800 | −$1,400 |
| Taxes | $4,642 | $10,679 | +$6,037 |
| Total | $44,463 | $51,214 | +$6,752 |
Side by side
| Metric | Tampa, FL | Boulder, CO |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 102.5 | 100.6 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.92% | 4.41% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 7.3% | 3.8% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.83 | $5.72 |
| Median home price | $360,738 | $727,954 |
| Home price ÷ income | 5.4× | 7.3× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -3.4% | -2.6% |
| Price per square foot | $195 | $383 |
| Median rent | $2,018 | $2,257 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.1% | 9.7% |
| Combined sales tax | 7.02% | 7.77% |
| Capital gains tax | None | 4.40% |
| Property tax rate | 0.80% | 0.53% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $7,500 | $6,800 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $10,000 | $16,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 1.79% |
| Avg commute (min) | 28 | 23 |
| Home insurance / yr | $4,200 | $2,800 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,900 | $2,000 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $1,400 | $550 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 15.4 | 16.5 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.35 | 3.30 |
| Natural gas / mo | $38 | $65 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $88 | $120 |
| Home internet / mo | $76 | $87 |
| Violent crime /100k | 380 | 490 |
| Avg summer high °F | 91 | 88 |
| Avg winter low °F | 52 | 18 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 49.5 | 15.4 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 0.0 | 49.0 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 66% | 69% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 3 |