Moving to Colorado from West Virginia
What to Expect
A comprehensive look at what changes when you move from West Virginia to Colorado — from daily expenses to quality of life.
If you moved from West Virginia to Colorado, you would find that Colorado is 30.9% more expensive than West Virginia. A $75,000 salary in West Virginia would need to be roughly $98,200 in Colorado to maintain the same lifestyle. Charleston and Denver are about 1,250 mi apart.
Is Colorado cheaper than West Virginia?
The biggest cost differences at a glance
Restaurants
pay 18.2% more
Groceries
pay 6.7% more
Transportation
pay 9.9% more
Housing
pay 66.4% more
Childcare
pay 24.6% more
Entertainment and Sports
pay 33.4% more
Data: MyLifeElsewhere's crowdsourced cost of living database, with prices submitted and updated by users worldwide. Exchange rates are refreshed regularly from public sources.
What salary do you need in Colorado?
What does your salary buy?
$75,000 → $98,200
To maintain the same standard of living in Colorado
Calculate with your salary →Key Indicator Comparison
How West Virginia and Colorado stack up on safety, healthcare, jobs, and infrastructure.
Is it safe?
incidents per 100,000 people per year
incidents per 100,000 people per year
West Virginia performs better than Colorado across all safety metrics.
How's the healthcare?
share of people without health insurance
share of adults with obesity
share of adults with diabetes
share of adults who smoke
Colorado generally does better on health & wellbeing, though West Virginia leads in uninsured rate.
What about housing?
typical price of a home
typical monthly gross rent
share of homes that are owner-occupied
West Virginia performs better than Colorado across all what about housing? metrics.
Will I have good infrastructure?
share of households with internet
minutes each way to work
Colorado performs significantly better than West Virginia across all infrastructure metrics.
What are the job prospects?
percentage of the labour force without work
a broad measure of economic output per person
typical annual income of a household
share of people below the poverty line
Colorado performs significantly better than West Virginia across all employment & economy metrics.
Is it good for families?
average years of life at birth
share of adults with a 4-year college degree
Colorado performs significantly better than West Virginia across all family life metrics.
Sources: US Census Bureau (American Community Survey) (2023), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (PLACES) (2022), FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (2023), Bureau of Labor Statistics (2025), Bureau of Economic Analysis (2024), OECD Regional Demography (2020). How we calculate this
Weather in Colorado vs West Virginia
Monthly averages — select a city to compare.
Avg. annual high / low
Avg. annual high / low
| Months | Charleston | Denver |
|---|---|---|
| Jan–Mar | 61°/47°F (16°/8°C) | 48°/21°F (9°/-6°C) |
| Apr–Jun | 79°/67°F (26°/19°C) | 72°/43°F (22°/6°C) |
| Jul–Sep | 85°/75°F (30°/24°C) | 85°/55°F (29°/13°C) |
| Oct–Dec | 67°/54°F (20°/12°C) | 53°/26°F (12°/-3°C) |
View all months
| Month | Charleston | Denver |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 57°/43°F (13.7°/6.0°C) | 44°/17°F (6.7°/-8.1°C) |
| Feb | 60°/46°F (15.3°/7.5°C) | 46°/19°F (7.9°/-7.3°C) |
| Mar | 65°/52°F (18.3°/10.9°C) | 54°/26°F (12.4°/-3.1°C) |
| Apr | 72°/59°F (22.2°/14.9°C) | 62°/33°F (16.4°/0.7°C) |
| May | 79°/67°F (25.9°/19.5°C) | 71°/43°F (21.9°/5.9°C) |
| Jun | 85°/74°F (29.2°/23.3°C) | 82°/52°F (28.0°/11.3°C) |
| Jul | 88°/77°F (30.9°/24.9°C) | 89°/59°F (31.9°/14.9°C) |
| Aug | 86°/76°F (30.2°/24.5°C) | 87°/58°F (30.7°/14.4°C) |
| Sep | 82°/72°F (27.8°/22.1°C) | 78°/48°F (25.8°/9.1°C) |
| Oct | 75°/62°F (23.7°/16.9°C) | 65°/37°F (18.5°/2.6°C) |
| Nov | 67°/54°F (19.6°/12.0°C) | 52°/24°F (11.2°/-4.2°C) |
| Dec | 60°/46°F (15.3°/7.6°C) | 43°/17°F (6.0°/-8.3°C) |
Data:
National Weather Service
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it cheaper to live in Colorado than West Virginia?
Day-to-day costs in Colorado run about 31% higher than West Virginia on average; specific cities can swing further.
How much money do I need to move to Colorado?
A safe rule of thumb is 3 months of local expenses plus relocation costs. On a $75,000 comparable salary, that's around $24,550 in Colorado for everyday spending, before movers, a truck rental, and a rental deposit.
Is Colorado safe?
West Virginia performs better than Colorado across all safety metrics.
How is healthcare in Colorado compared to West Virginia?
Colorado generally does better on health & wellbeing, though West Virginia leads in uninsured rate.
What's the weather like in Colorado compared to West Virginia?
The average high temperature in Denver is 65°F, compared to 73°F in Charleston. Denver receives around 14.3 in of rainfall per year, while Charleston gets 44.4 in.
