Cost of living comparison
compared to
Denver vs. Boulder Cost of Living Summary
Denver is 1.3% cheaper than Boulder.
- Restaurants
-
pay 10.1% less in Denver
- Groceries
-
pay 12.9% more in Denver
- Transportation
-
pay 2.5% less in Denver
- Housing
-
pay 6.5% less in Denver
- Childcare
-
pay 22.8% less in Denver
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 0.4% less in Denver
- Clothing
-
pay 20.4% more in Denver
The cost of clothing and groceries in Denver are more expensive than in Boulder. Expenses including childcare, restaurants, housing, transportation, and entertainment and sports are lower in Denver.
Denver vs. Boulder Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Denver instead of Boulder, you would:
pay 10.1% less for restaurants
|
Boulder
|
Denver
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$25.00
|
$20.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$11.00
|
$12.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$3.75
|
$2.92
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.38
|
$2.20
|
|
Boulder vs. Denver - Cost of restaurants
pay 12.9% more for groceries
|
Boulder
|
Denver
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$3.61
|
$4.11
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$6.61
|
$7.44
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$3.82
|
$3.91
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$5.50
|
$5.37
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$6.78
|
$6.32
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.04
|
$2.43
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.67
|
$0.89
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.69
|
$2.36
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.16
|
$2.57
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.20
|
$1.30
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.16
|
$1.20
|
|
Boulder vs. Denver - Cost of groceries
pay 2.5% less for transportation
|
Boulder
|
Denver
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.08
|
$3.34
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$150.00
|
$88.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$36,029.12
|
$34,514.56
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$13.70
|
$17.42
|
|
Boulder vs. Denver - Cost of transportation
pay 6.5% less for housing
|
Boulder
|
Denver
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$71.67
|
$64.18
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$2,100.00
|
$2,128.00
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,833.33
|
$1,704.17
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$146.62
|
$131.92
|
|
Boulder vs. Denver - Cost of housing
pay 22.8% less for childcare
|
Boulder
|
Denver
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,546.67
|
$1,571.72
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$30,700.00
|
$16,168.00
|
|
Boulder vs. Denver - Cost of childcare
pay 0.4% less for entertainment and sports
|
Boulder
|
Denver
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$6.25
|
$7.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.62
|
$5.51
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$10.00
|
$11.00
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$79.22
|
$69.09
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$16.50
|
$15.00
|
|
Boulder vs. Denver - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 20.4% more for clothing
|
Boulder
|
Denver
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$58.08
|
$64.26
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$37.50
|
$47.78
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$91.67
|
$103.45
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$103.00
|
$134.58
|
|
Boulder 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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