Phoenix, AZ → Denver, CO
You'd keep $78 more a month in Denver
+$936 a year for the same registered nurse, the same household size, and the same number of bedrooms.
| Per month | Phoenix | Denver | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $7,583 | $8,287 | +$704 |
| Income and payroll tax | $1,709 | $2,069 | +$361 |
| Take-home pay | $5,875 | $6,218 | +$343 |
| Rent | $1,276 | $1,490 | +$214 |
| Getting around | $586 | $551 | −$35 |
| Groceries | $396 | $420 | +$24 |
| Healthcare | $446 | $473 | +$27 |
| Utilities | $248 | $263 | +$15 |
| Everything else | $347 | $368 | +$21 |
| Left over | $2,577 | $2,655 | +$78 |
To break even in Denver, you'd need to earn
$98,000
Household gross, versus $91,000 today. That's the salary that leaves you exactly as much at the end of the month as Phoenix does now.
The tax difference alone
−$1,823
A year, in state and local income tax. Effective rates: 22.5% in Phoenix, 25.0% in Denver.
Phoenix, AZ in full
A 2.5% flat income tax, cheap housing for a big metro, and a genuinely dangerous July.
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 → Phoenix →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.