Denver composite
40.0 /100
Grade C- · weighted across 7 dims
Metro comparison
Denver vs New York
Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO and New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ side by side, cost of living, rent, wages, crime, schools, childcare and environment, all from the same federal datasets so every number is directly comparable.
- 40.0
- Denver Life Score
- C-
- Denver grade
- 35.4
- New York Life Score
- F
- New York grade
Head-to-head verdict
Across the seven dimensions, Denver scores higher on 5 (cost of living, rent, schools, childcare, environment) and New York on 2 (wages, safety). The radar shows the full shape; the tables below break out every figure.
Where each metro wins, and by how much
Every dimension is a national percentile (0–100). Each bar leans toward the stronger metro, a long lean is a decisive edge, a near-even split is a toss-up. The radar shows the overall shape; this shows the per-dimension margins.
◖ Denver New York ◗
cost of living
6
1
wages
94
99
rent
7
5
safety
7
39
schools
64
6
childcare
23
19
environment
92
63
Denver and New York differ across eleven dimensions of livability. Denver has a cost-of-living index of 105.8 vs New York's 112.6 (national average = 100). Median salaries are $78,519 in Denver and $87,148 in New York. A 2-bedroom averages $2,089/mo vs $2,324/mo.
Beyond the headline numbers
Reading the Denver vs New York Comparison
The cost gap above compounds fastest through housing: the difference in HUD's 2-bedroom Fair Market Rent between Denver and New York works out to $2,820 over a year, the largest single line item behind the headline spread.
Adjusted for cost of living rather than compared as nominal dollars, $100,000 earned in Denver carries the same local purchasing power as $106,410 in New York - the more honest read than the salary headline above, because nominal wages and rents move together in tight metros. State-level violent crime, the most reliable geographic tier FBI UCR publishes, is 481.2 per 100,000 residents in CO vs 380.0 in NY, with property-crime rates of 2640.7 and 1661.2 respectively.
Schools are reported at the state tier by NCES: CO lists 1,923 public schools at a 16.6:1 student-teacher ratio, while NY lists 4,812 schools at 11.8:1, a signal of class-size staffing, though individual district and school-level variation within each state is substantial. Department of Labor center-based infant care runs $12,821/yr in the Denver area versus $13,869/yr in New York - a line item that shifts the real cost-of-living picture for households with children under five far more than headline RPP does. When these pieces are read together rather than in isolation, Denver and New York are not simply "cheaper" or "more expensive" - they trade across dimensions, and which metro wins depends on whether your household optimizes for rent, wages, schools, childcare, safety, or environment. Treat the tables below as inputs to that trade-off, not as a single ranking.
New York composite
35.4 /100
Grade F · weighted across 7 dims
Environment score gap
30 pts
Denver cleaner, national percentile
Safety score gap
33 pts
New York safer, national percentile
Composite life score on the national 0–100 scale
Denver
Denver composite (Grade C-)
New York
New York composite (Grade F)
Composite is a weighted roll-up of seven dimensions: cost (20%), wages (20%), rent (15%), safety (15%), schools (10%), childcare (10%), environment (10%). Each input normalized to a 0–100 percentile across all metros.
💰 Cost of Living BEA →
| Category | Denver | New York |
|---|---|---|
| Overall RPP | 105.8 | 112.6 |
| Goods | 101.0 | 110.3 |
| Services | 87.9 | 127.0 |
| Rents | 146.9 | 148.6 |
Salary Equivalent Calculator
What salary in New York gives the same purchasing power as your salary in Denver?
$
Equivalent in New York:
$106,410
Based on BEA Regional Price Parities (Denver: 105.8, New York: 112.6, national avg = 100).
🏠 Rent (Fair Market Rent) HUD →
| Bedrooms | Denver | New York |
|---|---|---|
| Studio | $1,643/mo | $1,778/mo |
| 1 Bedroom | $1,754/mo | $2,024/mo |
| 2 Bedroom | $2,089/mo | $2,324/mo |
| 3 Bedroom | $2,734/mo | $2,835/mo |
| 4 Bedroom | $3,049/mo | $3,618/mo |
💼 Wages & Employment BLS →
| Metric | Denver | New York |
|---|---|---|
| Avg Median Salary | $78,519 | $87,148 |
| Total Employment | 1,580,940 | 9,414,820 |
🛡️ Crime Rates (state-level) FBI →
| Crime Type (per 100K) | Denver (CO) | New York (NY) |
|---|---|---|
| Violent Crime | 481.2 | 380.0 |
| Property Crime | 2640.7 | 1661.2 |
🎓 Schools (state-level) NCES →
| Metric | CO | NY |
|---|---|---|
| Total Schools | 1,923 | 4,812 |
| Student-Teacher Ratio | 16.6:1 | 11.8:1 |
| Charter Schools | 14.0% | 7.1% |
👶 Childcare Costs (Annual Avg) (state-level) DOL →
| Age Group | CO | NY |
|---|---|---|
| Infant (Center) | $12,821/yr | $13,869/yr |
| Toddler (Center) | $11,897/yr | $12,979/yr |
| Preschool (Center) | $11,013/yr | $11,679/yr |
🌿 Environment (state-level) EPA →
| Metric | CO | NY |
|---|---|---|
| EPA Facilities | 316 | 697 |
| Water Systems | 1,109 | 2,242 |
| Superfund Sites | 24 | 122 |
| Water Violations | 5,561 | 5,536 |
Government-verified data - Air quality (EPA AQS), water safety (EPA SDWIS), healthcare access (HRSA), and disaster risk (FEMA NRI) are sourced directly from U.S. federal agencies. No crowdsourced estimates.
💨 Air Quality (EPA AQS) EPA AQS →
| Metric | Denver | New York |
|---|---|---|
| Median AQI | 58.0 | 53.0 |
| Good Air Days | 28.8% | 42.2% |
| Unhealthy Air Days | 17 days | 25 days |
💧 Water Safety (EPA SDWIS, state-level) EPA SDWIS →
| Metric | CO | NY |
|---|---|---|
| Water Safety Score | 10/100 | 7/100 |
| Total Violations | 238,796 | 552,003 |
| Health-Based Violations | 30,589 | 26,817 |
| Systems with Violations | 92.6% | 94.4% |
🏥 Healthcare Access (HRSA, state-level) HRSA →
| Metric | CO | NY |
|---|---|---|
| Healthcare Access Score | 36/100 | 99/100 |
| Population in Shortage Area | 64.3% | 0.6% |
| HPSA Designations | 309 | 560 |
HPSA = Health Professional Shortage Area, designated by HRSA. Higher access score = better healthcare availability.
⚠️ Natural Disaster Risk (FEMA NRI, state-level) FEMA NRI →
| Metric | CO | NY |
|---|---|---|
| Disaster Safety Score | 76/100 | 37/100 |
| NRI Risk Score (avg county) | 40.7 | 69.4 |
| Expected Annual Loss Score | 44.2 | 70.4 |
FEMA National Risk Index (NRI) scores are county-level percentiles (0–100). Higher disaster safety score = lower relative risk. State-level values are county averages.
Crime, schools, childcare, and environment data shown at state level. Metro-specific data for these dimensions is not available.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Denver more expensive than New York? ▼
Denver has a cost of living index of 105.8 compared to New York's 112.6 (national average = 100). New York is 6.8 points above Denver on the BEA Regional Price Parity scale.
What is the rent difference between Denver and New York? ▼
A 2-bedroom apartment averages $2,089/mo in Denver vs $2,324/mo in New York, based on HUD Fair Market Rent data. Studios range from $1,643/mo to $1,778/mo.
How do salaries compare between Denver and New York? ▼
The average median salary across all occupations is $78,519 in Denver and $87,148 in New York, according to BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics. After adjusting for cost of living, $100,000 in Denver has the same purchasing power as $106,410 in New York.
Is Denver or New York safer? ▼
At the state level, CO has a violent crime rate of 481.2 per 100,000 residents compared to NY's 380.0 per 100,000. Property crime rates are 2640.7 vs 1661.2 per 100,000 respectively, based on FBI Uniform Crime Report data.
How do schools compare between Denver and New York? ▼
CO has 1,923 public schools with an average student-teacher ratio of 16.6:1, while NY has 4,812 schools at 11.8:1. Charter schools make up 14.0% of CO schools vs 7.1% in NY. Data from the National Center for Education Statistics.
Where does the comparison data come from? ▼
All data comes from official U.S. government sources: Bureau of Economic Analysis (cost of living), HUD (fair market rents), BLS (wages), FBI UCR (crime), NCES (schools), Department of Labor (childcare), EPA (environment, air quality, water safety), HRSA (healthcare access), and FEMA NRI (disaster risk). No crowdsourced estimates or proprietary ratings are used.
Research Guides
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Data from BEA, HUD, FBI UCR, BLS OES, NCES, DOL, EPA AQS, EPA SDWIS, HRSA, and FEMA NRI. Not affiliated with the U.S. Government.
Disclaimer: This comparison is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, legal, or relocation advice. Consult a qualified professional before making decisions based on this data.
Related
Data sourced from official public datasets, current as of 2026. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainCompare