Cost of living comparison
compared to
Seattle vs. Denver Cost of Living Summary
Seattle is 23.5% more expensive than Denver.
- Restaurants
-
pay 16.2% more in Seattle
- Groceries
-
pay 27.3% more in Seattle
- Transportation
-
pay 11.9% more in Seattle
- Housing
-
pay 23.9% more in Seattle
- Childcare
-
pay 62.8% more in Seattle
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 13.5% more in Seattle
- Clothing
-
pay 8.9% more in Seattle
The cost of childcare, groceries, housing, restaurants, entertainment and sports, and transportation in Seattle are more expensive than in Denver.
Seattle vs. Denver Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Seattle instead of Denver, you would:
pay 16.2% more for restaurants
|
Denver
|
Seattle
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$20.00
|
$25.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$12.00
|
$15.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.92
|
$3.00
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.20
|
$2.47
|
|
Denver vs. Seattle - Cost of restaurants
pay 27.3% more for groceries
|
Denver
|
Seattle
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$4.11
|
$5.23
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$7.44
|
$11.39
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$3.91
|
$5.40
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$5.37
|
$7.32
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$6.32
|
$7.35
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.43
|
$2.87
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.89
|
$1.26
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.36
|
$2.43
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.57
|
$3.18
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.30
|
$1.47
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.20
|
$1.57
|
|
Denver vs. Seattle - Cost of groceries
pay 11.9% more for transportation
|
Denver
|
Seattle
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.34
|
$4.55
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$88.00
|
$99.50
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$34,514.56
|
$36,656.56
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$17.42
|
$16.02
|
|
Denver vs. Seattle - Cost of transportation
pay 23.9% more for housing
|
Denver
|
Seattle
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$64.18
|
$78.37
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$2,128.00
|
$2,333.68
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,704.17
|
$1,900.00
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$131.92
|
$200.99
|
|
Denver vs. Seattle - Cost of housing
pay 62.8% more for childcare
|
Denver
|
Seattle
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,571.72
|
$2,200.00
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$16,168.00
|
$30,000.00
|
|
Denver vs. Seattle - Cost of childcare
pay 13.5% more for entertainment and sports
|
Denver
|
Seattle
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$7.00
|
$7.75
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.51
|
$6.04
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$11.00
|
$12.75
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$69.09
|
$85.87
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$15.00
|
$16.00
|
|
Denver vs. Seattle - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 8.9% more for clothing
|
Denver
|
Seattle
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$64.26
|
$69.52
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$47.78
|
$54.68
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$103.45
|
$116.24
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$134.58
|
$135.08
|
|
Denver vs. Seattle - 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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