Waco, TX vs Denver, CO
Moving from Waco to Denver? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($256,772 → $573,221 median home) and taxes.
Waco 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 Waco, TX, you'd need about $116,056 in Denver, CO (+$16,056).
Livability — Waco, TX: 73 · Denver, CO: 52 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 4,088 sqft in Waco vs 1,657 sqft in Denver ($122 vs $302 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Waco, TX | Denver, CO | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $16,848 | $22,920 | +$6,072 |
| Groceries | $4,647 | $5,079 | +$432 |
| Transportation | $3,675 | $4,050 | +$375 |
| Utilities | $1,836 | $1,788 | −$48 |
| Insurance | $3,600 | $2,800 | −$800 |
| Taxes | $5,779 | $9,828 | +$4,049 |
| Total | $36,385 | $46,464 | +$10,080 |
Side by side
| Metric | Waco, TX | Denver, CO |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 91.1 | 105.8 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.56% | 4.26% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 5.7% | 5.7% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.19 | $6.02 |
| Median home price | $256,772 | $573,221 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.3× | 5.9× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -0.8% | -2.9% |
| Price per square foot | $122 | $302 |
| Median rent | $1,404 | $1,910 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 8.6% | 9.7% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.20% | 7.77% |
| Capital gains tax | None | 4.40% |
| Property tax rate | 1.53% | 0.52% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,800 | $6,800 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $9,500 | $16,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 1.79% |
| Avg commute (min) | 21 | 28 |
| Home insurance / yr | $3,600 | $2,800 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,100 | $2,000 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $900 | $550 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 17.0 | 16.5 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.00 | 3.30 |
| Natural gas / mo | $52 | $65 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $134 | $120 |
| Home internet / mo | $83 | $87 |
| Violent crime /100k | 430 | 490 |
| Avg summer high °F | 96 | 88 |
| Avg winter low °F | 38 | 18 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 36.4 | 15.4 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 1.0 | 49.0 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 64% | 69% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 3 |