Raleigh, NC → Denver, CO
Moving to Denver costs you $100 a month
−$1,200 a year for the same registered nurse, the same household size, and the same number of bedrooms.
In 2022-2023, 235 households moved Raleigh → Denver (avg AGI $98,915). 232 went the other way. The whole move →
| Per month | Raleigh | Denver | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $7,875 | $8,265 | +$390 |
| Income and payroll tax | $1,926 | $2,062 | +$136 |
| Take-home pay | $5,949 | $6,203 | +$254 |
| Rent | $1,249 | $1,490 | +$241 |
| Getting around | $568 | $551 | −$17 |
| Groceries | $384 | $420 | +$36 |
| Healthcare | $432 | $473 | +$41 |
| Utilities | $240 | $263 | +$23 |
| Everything else | $336 | $368 | +$32 |
| Left over | $2,740 | $2,640 | −$100 |
To break even in Denver, you'd need to earn
$101,000
Household gross, versus $94,500 today. That's the salary that leaves you exactly as much at the end of the month as Raleigh does now.
The tax difference alone
−$247
A year, in state and local income tax. Effective rates: 24.5% in Raleigh, 24.9% in Denver.
More about Denver
Raleigh, NC in full
Research Triangle salaries, low taxes, and not much to do downtown.
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 → Raleigh →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.