Cost of living comparison
compared to
Sacramento vs. Denver Cost of Living Summary
Sacramento is 11.4% more expensive than Denver.
- Restaurants
-
pay 9.8% less in Sacramento
- Groceries
-
pay 13.7% more in Sacramento
- Transportation
-
pay 17.7% more in Sacramento
- Housing
-
pay 28.9% more in Sacramento
- Childcare
-
pay 31.9% more in Sacramento
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 0.6% less in Sacramento
- Clothing
-
pay 1.8% less in Sacramento
The cost of childcare, housing, transportation, and groceries in Sacramento are more expensive than in Denver. Expenses including restaurants, clothing, and entertainment and sports are lower in Sacramento.
Sacramento vs. Denver Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Sacramento instead of Denver, you would:
pay 9.8% less for restaurants
|
Denver
|
Sacramento
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$20.00
|
$20.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$12.00
|
$11.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.92
|
$2.53
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.20
|
$2.04
|
|
Denver vs. Sacramento - Cost of restaurants
pay 13.7% more for groceries
|
Denver
|
Sacramento
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$4.11
|
$4.54
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$7.44
|
$8.13
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$3.91
|
$4.45
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$5.37
|
$5.03
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$6.32
|
$7.43
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.43
|
$2.36
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.89
|
$0.94
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.36
|
$1.93
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.57
|
$3.08
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.30
|
$1.70
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.20
|
$2.07
|
|
Denver vs. Sacramento - Cost of groceries
pay 17.7% more for transportation
|
Denver
|
Sacramento
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.34
|
$4.75
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$88.00
|
$100.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$34,514.56
|
$36,753.89
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$17.42
|
$18.91
|
|
Denver vs. Sacramento - Cost of transportation
pay 28.9% more for housing
|
Denver
|
Sacramento
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$64.18
|
$74.65
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$2,128.00
|
$2,061.79
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,704.17
|
$1,652.79
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$131.92
|
$270.98
|
|
Denver vs. Sacramento - Cost of housing
pay 31.9% more for childcare
|
Denver
|
Sacramento
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,571.72
|
$1,450.83
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$16,168.00
|
$27,750.00
|
|
Denver vs. Sacramento - Cost of childcare
pay 0.6% less for entertainment and sports
|
Denver
|
Sacramento
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$7.00
|
$8.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.51
|
$5.67
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$11.00
|
$12.25
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$69.09
|
$49.46
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$15.00
|
$14.50
|
|
Denver vs. Sacramento - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 1.8% less for clothing
|
Denver
|
Sacramento
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$64.26
|
$58.75
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$47.78
|
$54.83
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$103.45
|
$93.07
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$134.58
|
$130.00
|
|
Denver vs. Sacramento - 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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