Cost of Living: Austin vs Denver

Austin edges out Denver on total cost, but only just: Austin residents need $96,564 per year to cover core expenses, compared to $96,723 in Denver, a difference of $159 annually or 0.2%. For most households, that gap is noise. The more useful number is what each city's job market actually pays. Austin's median local salary sits at $52,610, leaving a $43,954 gap between what the typical worker earns and what a comfortable life costs. Denver's median salary of $61,110 closes that gap considerably, leaving a $35,613 shortfall. Denver costs fractionally more in raw terms, but its local wages cover a meaningfully larger share of the bill. For anyone earning the local median, Denver is the better deal by roughly $8,300 per year in reduced income pressure. Both cities come in below the national average of $100,480, though neither is what anyone would call affordable on a local wage.

Austin wins clearly on two line items. Healthcare in Austin runs $468 per month versus $218 in Denver, a $250 monthly difference that is the single largest gap in this comparison. Austin also beats Denver on food costs by $163 per month, at $449 versus $287. Those two categories alone give Austin a $413 monthly advantage where they diverge.

Denver more than offsets that in housing and transportation. Denver renters pay $2,089 per month on housing compared to $1,852 in Austin, so Austin is cheaper there by $237 per month. Transportation, however, flips the picture sharply: Denver residents spend $1,082 per month versus $872 in Austin, a $210 gap favoring Austin. Utilities and other necessities run within $50 of each other in both cities and fall into roughly equal territory. The headline category is healthcare, where Austin is cheaper by $250 per month. That figure will hit hardest for anyone without employer-sponsored coverage, a self-employed worker or a freelancer pricing their own plan.

A tech worker earning $110,000 in either city clears the cost threshold comfortably, but Denver's broader employer mix across aerospace, healthcare, and energy makes it easier to find that salary without being locked into one sector. Austin's tech concentration around Tesla, Apple, and Oracle can drive compensation higher, but the local job market skews the benefits toward mid-career engineers, not entry-level hires. A registered nurse earning $72,000 faces a tighter situation in Austin, where the $43,954 salary gap between median wages and actual costs creates real strain, while Denver's $35,613 gap leaves slightly more room. A single renter earning Austin's median of $52,610 is absorbing nearly half their gross income in housing alone at $1,852 per month. That same earner in Denver at $61,110 faces higher rent at $2,089 but starts from a higher base. Families considering Austin should look hard at suburbs like Round Rock or Cedar Park, where housing costs drop substantially while keeping access to the city's job market. Denver's light rail connectivity gives Aurora and Lakewood residents a realistic alternative to downtown rents, but the city's housing market has tightened since 2020, pushing renters further out than the map suggests. The $250 monthly healthcare gap favors Austin for self-employed workers pricing individual plans.