Cost of living comparison
compared to
Los Angeles vs. Denver Cost of Living Summary
Los Angeles is 12.5% more expensive than Denver.
- Restaurants
-
pay 8.3% more in Los Angeles
- Groceries
-
pay 9.3% more in Los Angeles
- Transportation
-
pay 11.9% more in Los Angeles
- Housing
-
pay 17.2% more in Los Angeles
- Childcare
-
pay 39.5% more in Los Angeles
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 2.4% more in Los Angeles
- Clothing
-
pay 1.0% less in Los Angeles
The cost of childcare, housing, transportation, groceries, restaurants, and entertainment and sports in Los Angeles are more expensive than in Denver.
Los Angeles vs. Denver Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Los Angeles instead of Denver, you would:
pay 8.3% more for restaurants
|
Denver
|
Los Angeles
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$20.00
|
$25.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$12.00
|
$13.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.92
|
$2.83
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.20
|
$2.26
|
|
Denver vs. Los Angeles - Cost of restaurants
pay 9.3% more for groceries
|
Denver
|
Los Angeles
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$4.11
|
$4.52
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$7.44
|
$6.67
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$3.91
|
$4.71
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$5.37
|
$7.43
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$6.32
|
$7.55
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.43
|
$2.60
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.89
|
$1.27
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.36
|
$2.00
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.57
|
$2.17
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.30
|
$1.38
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.20
|
$1.22
|
|
Denver vs. Los Angeles - Cost of groceries
pay 11.9% more for transportation
|
Denver
|
Los Angeles
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.34
|
$4.78
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$88.00
|
$93.48
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$34,514.56
|
$32,727.50
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$17.42
|
$18.01
|
|
Denver vs. Los Angeles - Cost of transportation
pay 17.2% more for housing
|
Denver
|
Los Angeles
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$64.18
|
$74.01
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$2,128.00
|
$2,536.54
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,704.17
|
$1,984.71
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$131.92
|
$155.53
|
|
Denver vs. Los Angeles - Cost of housing
pay 39.5% more for childcare
|
Denver
|
Los Angeles
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,571.72
|
$1,762.50
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$16,168.00
|
$27,000.00
|
|
Denver vs. Los Angeles - Cost of childcare
pay 2.4% more for entertainment and sports
|
Denver
|
Los Angeles
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$7.00
|
$8.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.51
|
$5.76
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$11.00
|
$11.50
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$69.09
|
$47.45
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$15.00
|
$18.00
|
|
Denver vs. Los Angeles - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 1.0% less for clothing
|
Denver
|
Los Angeles
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$64.26
|
$61.25
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$47.78
|
$44.15
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$103.45
|
$100.09
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$134.58
|
$149.85
|
|
Denver vs. Los Angeles - 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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