Cost of living comparison
compared to
Denver vs. Austin Cost of Living Summary
Denver is 12.6% more expensive than Austin.
- Restaurants
-
pay 7.9% more in Denver
- Groceries
-
pay 17.1% more in Denver
- Transportation
-
pay 38.7% more in Denver
- Housing
-
pay 2.8% more in Denver
- Childcare
-
pay 4.9% less in Denver
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 10.6% more in Denver
- Clothing
-
pay 15.9% more in Denver
The cost of transportation, groceries, clothing, entertainment and sports, restaurants, and housing in Denver are more expensive than in Austin.
Denver vs. Austin Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Denver instead of Austin, you would:
pay 7.9% more for restaurants
|
Austin
|
Denver
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$20.00
|
$20.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$11.00
|
$12.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.67
|
$2.92
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.09
|
$2.20
|
|
Austin vs. Denver - Cost of restaurants
pay 17.1% more for groceries
|
Austin
|
Denver
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$3.40
|
$4.11
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$6.17
|
$7.44
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$3.93
|
$3.91
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.85
|
$5.37
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$5.15
|
$6.32
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.20
|
$2.43
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.70
|
$0.89
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.96
|
$2.36
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.75
|
$2.57
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.18
|
$1.30
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.24
|
$1.20
|
|
Austin vs. Denver - Cost of groceries
pay 38.7% more for transportation
|
Austin
|
Denver
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$2.79
|
$3.34
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$41.38
|
$88.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$27,900.00
|
$34,514.56
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$17.67
|
$17.42
|
|
Austin vs. Denver - Cost of transportation
pay 2.8% more for housing
|
Austin
|
Denver
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$68.20
|
$64.18
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$2,134.75
|
$2,128.00
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,434.41
|
$1,704.17
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$133.86
|
$131.92
|
|
Austin vs. Denver - Cost of housing
pay 4.9% less for childcare
|
Austin
|
Denver
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,343.18
|
$1,571.72
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$22,093.75
|
$16,168.00
|
|
Austin vs. Denver - Cost of childcare
pay 10.6% more for entertainment and sports
|
Austin
|
Denver
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$6.00
|
$7.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.56
|
$5.51
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$9.00
|
$11.00
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$66.33
|
$69.09
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$15.00
|
$15.00
|
|
Austin vs. Denver - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 15.9% more for clothing
|
Austin
|
Denver
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$52.74
|
$64.26
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$43.79
|
$47.78
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$87.55
|
$103.45
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$117.47
|
$134.58
|
|
Austin vs. Denver - Cost of clothing
The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you.
We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world.
Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: December 2025
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