Houston, TX → Denver, CO
Moving to Denver costs you $505 a month
−$6,060 a year for the same registered nurse, the same household size, and the same number of bedrooms.
| Per month | Houston | Denver | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $7,958 | $8,270 | +$312 |
| Income and payroll tax | $1,661 | $2,064 | +$403 |
| Take-home pay | $6,298 | $6,207 | −$91 |
| Rent | $1,199 | $1,490 | +$291 |
| Getting around | $572 | $551 | −$21 |
| Groceries | $380 | $420 | +$40 |
| Healthcare | $428 | $473 | +$45 |
| Utilities | $238 | $263 | +$25 |
| Everything else | $333 | $368 | +$35 |
| Left over | $3,149 | $2,644 | −$505 |
To break even in Denver, you'd need to earn
$108,500
Household gross, versus $95,500 today. That's the salary that leaves you exactly as much at the end of the month as Houston does now.
The tax difference alone
−$3,724
A year, in state and local income tax. Effective rates: 20.9% in Houston, 25.0% in Denver.
Houston, TX in full
The cheapest housing of any top-10 metro, paid for in property tax and humidity.
Denver, CO in full
Mountains in an hour, 245 sunny days, and a flat 4.4% state tax.
The reverse move
Same two cities, but starting from Denver on Denver wages.
Denver → Houston →Rent is Zillow's asking rent for each metro; taxes and living costs are modelled. An estimate, not a quote or tax advice. How this is calculated.