Cost of Living in Denver, CO

Population & Growth of Denver, CO

Denver is home to roughly 746,590 people as of 2026, making it the most populous city in Colorado. The city has grown an average of 0.81% per year over the past five years, and housing and rent costs have kept climbing alongside it.

That squeeze is pushing many residents toward self storage as a way to free up room at home. Renting a storage unit in Denver is an affordable option, with a 5x10 unit costing about $66 per month on average. Whether you're downsizing, between homes, or planning a move, Extra Space Storage has facilities across LoDo, Park Hill, Golden Triangle, and more neighborhoods to fit your needs. Find a storage unit in Denver today!

Cost of Living in Denver, CO by Household Size

While a single adult in Denver needs about $45,533 per year to cover essentials, a family of four with two working adults should budget closer to $125,728 after taxes annually for the same categories—roughly 176.1% more than what a single person needs, driven mainly by costs for larger housing, more healthcare coverage, and additional grocery needs.

What Salary Do You Need to Live in Denver, CO

Based on the U.S. median household income adjusted for Denver's cost of living, a household needs to earn around $89,356 per year in 2026 to match the standard of living of a typical American household. That's about 9.5% more than the U.S. median of $81,604. For essentials only, MIT's Living Wage Calculator puts the floor at $45,533 per year for a single adult covering housing, groceries, transportation, and healthcare.

• Is $50,000 a good salary in Denver? For a single person, $50,000 can cover basic living needs, since it clears the essentials floor. There will be limited room for savings, though.

• Is $100,000 enough? For a single adult, yes. It sits above the cost-of-living benchmark and well above the essentials floor.

For context, the minimum wage in Denver is $19.29 per hour, 27.2% higher than the Colorado minimum wage of $15.16. Both are above the federal minimum wage of $7.25. Denver's median household income is $92,504 per year, which is slightly higher than the cost-of-living benchmark above.

Taxes in Denver, CO

Colorado has a flat 4.4% state income tax, which can help residents stretch their income further. However, Denver does have a small Occupational Privilege Tax (OPT) of $5.75 per month, which is withheld by employers during payroll. The combined sales tax in Denver is 9.15%, which should be kept in mind and budgeted for when making larger purchases.

How Does Denver Compare to the Rest of Colorado?

As of 2026, Denver’s cost of living is 4.9% higher than the Colorado state average—a smaller gap than the 9.5% difference from the national average. Though Denver is more expensive compared to the state average, it is not an enormous gap.

Cost of Living in Denver, CO Changes Over Time

Over the past five years, the cost of living in Denver has remained slightly above the national average, driven primarily by housing costs. Competitive housing markets and limited new development have kept prices fairly high: Median rent in Denver rose roughly 10.3% between 2021 and 2026, and median home sale prices increased 21.8% over the same period. General inflation nationwide has also played a role in increased costs for everyday essentials like groceries, healthcare, and various goods and services.

Compare Denver Cost of Living to Other Nearby Cities

How does Denver compare to other cities nearby? Colorado Springs' cost of living is 8.95% lower than Denver’s, with the biggest gap being in housing. See the full city-by-city comparisons below.

• Cost of Living in Colorado Springs, CO—9.1% lower than Denver

• Cost of Living in Cheyenne, WY—8.9% lower than Denver

• Cost of Living in Pueblo, CO—16.4% lower than Denver

• Cost of Living in Laramie, WY—16.6% lower than Denver

• Cost of Living Index—C2ER: Our cost of living calculator is powered by data from the Council for Community and Economic Research (C2ER), a trusted nonprofit organization that collects and compares prices across hundreds of U.S. cities. The C2ER Cost of Living Index measures everyday expenses like housing, groceries, transportation, utilities, healthcare, and other common goods and services, so you can see how costs stack up in different places. Each city's score is benchmarked against a national average of 100, which makes comparisons easy. For example, a score of 110 would indicate costs about 10% higher than the national average. We update our calculator twice a year to reflect the latest C2ER data. While these numbers represent citywide averages, it's important to keep in mind that your actual expenses may vary depending on your lifestyle and the neighborhood you choose. The category comparisons and dynamic figures throughout this page pull directly and automatically from this C2ER dataset via our CMS integration, so they stay current without manual updates each refresh cycle.

• Salary Benchmarks—Census/ACS and MIT Living Wage Calculator This page uses two distinct salary benchmarks, kept separate because they answer different questions. The "salary needed to live" figure is a cost-of-living-adjusted equivalence: U.S. median household income (Census/ACS) multiplied by the city's overall C2ER index, divided by 100—representing what a typical American household would need to earn locally to match the purchasing power they'd have nationally. The essentials-only figure referenced alongside it, and reused in the household-size breakdown, comes from MIT's Living Wage Calculator, using the after-tax, single-adult, no-children estimate as the baseline. The family-of-four figure in the household-size section uses MIT's "2 adults, both working, 2 children" scenario for consistency across cities. These figures are checked and refreshed manually as part of each city page's content update.

• Taxes—State and Local Tax Authority Sites: State income tax status, combined sales tax rate, and local income tax rate (where applicable) are researched and verified manually against each state's Department of Revenue or equivalent tax authority site as part of each city page's update.

• Cost of Living Over Time—Historical C2ER Data: Year-over-year cost-of-living trend figures are calculated in-house by comparing the city's current C2ER Cost of Living Index score against its own past C2ER reports, checked and calculated manually as part of each city page's content update.

• Population and Income Context—Census/ACS: Population figures, growth rates, and median household income come from the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey, checked manually at each refresh.

• Neighborhood-Level Pricing—AreaVibes: Where a page identifies a specific cheaper neighborhood or suburb, median rent and home price comparisons are sourced from AreaVibes listing data, checked manually at each refresh. 

• Update Cadence: C2ER data refreshes automatically twice a year via our CMS integration. All other figures on this page—salary benchmarks, tax rates, CPI trends, Census data, and neighborhood pricing—are manually reviewed and updated as part of each city page's content refresh cycle.