Moving from Pittsburgh to Denver
You'd keep $153 more a month in Denver
+$1,836 a year for the same registered nurse, the same household size, and the same number of bedrooms.
Pittsburgh leftover
$2,498
a month after tax and rent
Denver leftover
$2,651
+$153 vs Pittsburgh
In 2022-2023, 236 households moved Pittsburgh → Denver (avg AGI $96,576). 144 went the other way. The whole move →
| Per month | Pittsburgh | Denver | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $7,500 | $8,281 | +$781 |
| Income and payroll tax | $1,980 | $2,067 | +$87 |
| Take-home pay | $5,520 | $6,214 | +$694 |
| Rent | $1,191 | $1,490 | +$299 |
| Getting around | $497 | $551 | +$54 |
| Groceries | $368 | $420 | +$52 |
| Healthcare | $414 | $473 | +$59 |
| Utilities | $230 | $263 | +$33 |
| Everything else | $322 | $368 | +$46 |
| Left over | $2,498 | $2,651 | +$153 |
To break even in Denver, you'd need to earn
$96,500
Household gross, versus $90,000 today. That's the salary that leaves you exactly as much at the end of the month as Pittsburgh does now.
The tax difference alone
+$1,733
A year, in state and local income tax. Effective rates: 26.4% in Pittsburgh, 25.0% in Denver.
More about Denver
Pittsburgh, PA in full
Real city density and a robotics job market, at Rust Belt prices.
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 → Pittsburgh →Questions
Is the cost of living lower in Denver than Pittsburgh?
A one-bedroom is about $1,191 in Pittsburgh versus $1,490 in Denver. On a one-adult, one-bedroom household, leftover is about $153 a month higher in Denver. Change the job or household on the comparison to see your number.
Does Denver have state income tax?
Denver is in Colorado, which taxes wage income.
What changes if you move from Pittsburgh to Denver?
Take-home pay is recalculated under Colorado tax, rent is priced at the same bedroom count, and leftover is the gap. The from-to page also lists IRS households that already made the move, when that data exists.
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.