Cost of living comparison
compared to
Denver vs. Tucson Cost of Living Summary
Denver is 16.4% more expensive than Tucson.
- Restaurants
-
pay 0.1% more in Denver
- Groceries
-
pay 20.0% more in Denver
- Transportation
-
pay 7.0% more in Denver
- Housing
-
pay 15.6% more in Denver
- Childcare
-
pay 23.8% more in Denver
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 25.2% more in Denver
- Clothing
-
pay 22.8% more in Denver
The cost of entertainment and sports, childcare, clothing, groceries, housing, and transportation in Denver are more expensive than in Tucson.
Denver vs. Tucson Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Denver instead of Tucson, you would:
pay 0.1% more for restaurants
|
Tucson
|
Denver
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$19.00
|
$20.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$12.00
|
$12.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.83
|
$2.92
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.40
|
$2.20
|
|
Tucson vs. Denver - Cost of restaurants
pay 20.0% more for groceries
|
Tucson
|
Denver
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$3.29
|
$4.11
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$5.82
|
$7.44
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$3.23
|
$3.91
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.35
|
$5.37
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$5.64
|
$6.32
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.08
|
$2.43
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.87
|
$0.89
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.75
|
$2.36
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.79
|
$2.57
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.12
|
$1.30
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.24
|
$1.20
|
|
Tucson vs. Denver - Cost of groceries
pay 7.0% more for transportation
|
Tucson
|
Denver
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.40
|
$3.34
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass | ?? |
$88.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$36,113.30
|
$34,514.56
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$13.69
|
$17.42
|
|
Tucson vs. Denver - Cost of transportation
pay 15.6% more for housing
|
Tucson
|
Denver
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$83.95
|
$64.18
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,258.25
|
$2,128.00
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,134.62
|
$1,704.17
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$197.85
|
$131.92
|
|
Tucson vs. Denver - Cost of housing
pay 23.8% more for childcare
|
Tucson
|
Denver
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,091.67
|
$1,571.72
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$15,605.00
|
$16,168.00
|
|
Tucson vs. Denver - Cost of childcare
pay 25.2% more for entertainment and sports
|
Tucson
|
Denver
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$6.00
|
$7.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.38
|
$5.51
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$9.22
|
$11.00
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$40.08
|
$69.09
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$13.00
|
$15.00
|
|
Tucson vs. Denver - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 22.8% more for clothing
|
Tucson
|
Denver
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$47.22
|
$64.26
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$41.00
|
$47.78
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$87.50
|
$103.45
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$111.67
|
$134.58
|
|
Tucson 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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