Yakima, WA vs Denver, CO
Moving from Yakima to Denver? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($355,256 → $573,221 median home) and taxes.
Yakima 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 Yakima, WA, you'd need about $108,035 in Denver, CO (+$8,035).
Livability — Yakima, WA: 63 · Denver, CO: 52 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,533 sqft in Yakima vs 1,657 sqft in Denver ($197 vs $302 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Yakima, WA | Denver, CO | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $16,452 | $22,920 | +$6,468 |
| Groceries | $5,246 | $5,079 | −$167 |
| Transportation | $4,075 | $4,050 | −$25 |
| Utilities | $1,548 | $1,788 | +$240 |
| Insurance | $1,500 | $2,800 | +$1,300 |
| Taxes | $5,427 | $9,828 | +$4,401 |
| Total | $34,248 | $46,464 | +$12,217 |
Side by side
| Metric | Yakima, WA | Denver, CO |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 97.9 | 105.8 |
| Unemployment rate | 7.24% | 4.26% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 3.2% | 5.7% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 37 | 64 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.57 | $6.02 |
| Median home price | $355,256 | $573,221 |
| Home price ÷ income | 5.5× | 5.9× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 1.9% | -2.9% |
| Price per square foot | $197 | $302 |
| Median rent | $1,371 | $1,910 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.7% | 9.7% |
| Combined sales tax | 9.38% | 7.77% |
| Capital gains tax | 7.00% | 4.40% |
| Property tax rate | 0.84% | 0.52% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,600 | $6,800 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $16,000 | $16,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 1.79% |
| Avg commute (min) | 20 | 28 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,500 | $2,800 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,600 | $2,000 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $700 | $550 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $700 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 14.4 | 16.5 |
| Gas $/gal | 4.55 | 3.30 |
| Violent crime /100k | 375 | 490 |
| Avg summer high °F | 76 | 88 |
| Avg winter low °F | 37 | 18 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 5 | 3 |