Denver vs. Washington Cost of Living Summary

Denver is 3.9% more expensive than Washington.

Restaurants
pay 5.8% more in Denver
Groceries
pay 7.6% more in Denver
Transportation
pay 2.0% more in Denver
Housing
pay 4.3% more in Denver
Childcare
pay 20.7% less in Denver
Entertainment and Sports
pay 7.3% more in Denver
Clothing
pay 21.2% more in Denver

The cost of clothing, groceries, entertainment and sports, restaurants, housing, and transportation in Denver are more expensive than in Washington.

Denver vs. Washington Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Denver instead of Washington, you would:

pay 5.8% more for restaurants

 
Washington
Denver
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $20.22
 
$20.00
 
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$12.00
 
$12.00
 
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $2.63
 
$2.92
 

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pay 7.6% more for groceries

 
Washington
Denver
Bread
1 loaf
$3.94
 
$4.11
 
Local cheese (8 oz) $7.07
 
$7.44
 
Milk (1 gallon) $4.20
 
$3.91
 

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pay 2.0% more for transportation

 
Washington
Denver
Gasoline (1 gallon) $4.20
 
$3.34
 
Monthly public transit pass $67.70
 
$88.00
 
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $34,322.93
 
$34,514.56
 

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pay 4.3% more for housing

 
Washington
Denver
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$72.42
 
$64.18
 
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $1,724.04
 
$2,128.00
 
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $1,522.88
 
$1,704.17
 

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pay 20.7% less for childcare

 
Washington
Denver
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $1,634.82
 
$1,571.72
 
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $25,866.06
 
$16,168.00
 

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pay 7.3% more for entertainment and sports

 
Washington
Denver
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $6.54
 
$7.00
 
Cappuccino in mid-range area $5.33
 
$5.51
 
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$11.03
 
$11.00
 

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pay 21.2% more for clothing

 
Washington
Denver
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$49.71
 
$64.26
 
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$41.67
 
$47.78
 
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$88.77
 
$103.45
 

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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: April 2026
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