Denver Cost of Living (2026)

Single renter, comfortable urban living: $75,000-$92,000 gross. After federal income tax (~$11,000), Colorado 4.4% state tax (~$3,400 at $80K), and FICA (~$6,100), net take-home runs roughly $54,000-$68,000. Apply 50/30/20: rent ($1,500-$1,800/mo = $18,000-$21,600/yr) + utilities + groceries + car + transit fits comfortably in the 50% allocation at $85K. The Denver income/cost ratio improved between 2022 and 2026 as housing prices retreated while wages continued growing.

Family of four, dual-income, comfortable suburban living: $145,000-$180,000 combined gross. Cherry Creek School District suburbs (Greenwood Village, Centennial, Englewood) offer $625K-$900K homes — a $4,000-$5,500/mo mortgage + property tax + insurance combined. Northern suburbs (Westminster, Thornton) run more affordable at $500K-$700K. Childcare runs $1,800-$2,400/mo per child for full-time daycare in Cherry Creek-area programs. Combined household at $160K with $24K childcare cost is workable in Cherry Creek-area suburbs.

Retirement, single or couple, no mortgage: $52,000-$72,000/yr from Social Security + retirement portfolio is comfortable in Denver. Colorado partially exempts Social Security (federal exemption applies; CO conforms with full federal Social Security taxability rules). Retirement income subtraction allows seniors 65+ to deduct up to $24,000/yr ($20,000 for ages 55-64) of pension and IRA distributions. Property tax on a paid-off Denver home runs $2,500-$5,000/yr — moderate. Colorado has no estate tax. Climate consideration: 5,280-foot altitude is medically significant for some respiratory and cardiovascular conditions; many retirees with COPD or recent cardiac events are advised to consider lower-elevation alternatives.

Denver is one of the more genuinely workable major-metro lifestyle propositions in the US — strong professional employer base (aerospace + finance + healthcare + outdoor-recreation industry), 300+ days of sunshine per year, immediate Rocky Mountain access for skiing/hiking/climbing, low property tax, moderate state income tax, and a recent housing-price reset that improved the income/cost ratio appreciably from 2022 peaks. The post-2020 migration wave produced understandable trade-offs (higher rents, traffic congestion on I-25 and I-70, ski-resort weekend overcrowding) but the structural fundamentals remain favorable. Daily expenses outside housing are appreciably above national (15-20%) but not at coastal-metro levels, so a moderate-income household can still afford restaurants, services, and outdoor-recreation gear without budget stress.

Single highest-leverage move: factor altitude into long-term planning if you have respiratory or cardiovascular sensitivity. The 5,280-foot elevation is medically real — VO2 max runs measurably lower, sleep quality changes, some chronic conditions (COPD, sickle cell trait, recent cardiac events) are advised against by physicians. For most healthy professionals altitude is a brief adjustment period; for some retirees and individuals with specific medical conditions, it's a permanent factor that may favor lower-elevation alternatives like Denver-area-foothill-but-lower options or Front Range cities like Fort Collins (5,003 ft is similar) versus Phoenix or San Diego at near-sea-level.