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Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Families relocating within Colorado face a complex equation: income, housing costs, healthcare, and quality schools. We ran the numbers on 11 cities. That's about what we'd expect given the state context. Denver — index 113 — which, honestly, is lower than you'd expect here — , rent $1,818/mo, healt…
Families relocating within Colorado face a complex equation: income, housing costs, healthcare, and quality schools. We ran the numbers on 11 cities. That's about what we'd expect given the state context. Denver — index 113 — which, honestly, is lower than you'd expect here — , rent $1,818/mo, healthcare index 117 — ranks #1 on our family-weighted model.
Here's Denver by the numbers — and there's a lot to like. Cost index: 113. Rent: $1,818/month. Income: $91,681/year. Home price: $530,920. Population: 716,577. The strongest category is Utilities at 104; the most expensive is Housing at 133. Translate that rent to annual numbers, and residents are saving renters $924 per year vs. the national median. At this level, the city practically pays for your move.
What to do with this data: use the ranking as a shortlist, then dig into the city profiles for trend lines and category breakdowns. The difference between #1 and #5 is often smaller than the difference between "good on paper" and "actually fits my life." Compare your top picks with our calculator to see real take-home numbers.
#1 Ranked: Denver — cost index 113, rent $1,818/mo, income $91,681
Family-weighted scoring: income $91,681, healthcare index 117, population 716,577 — balancing career, care, and schools
Data sourced from Census Bureau, Zillow, BLS, and Tax Foundation — current as of 2026
| Rank | City | Cost Index | Median Rent | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Denver | 113 | $1,818 | Details |
| 2 | Colorado Springs | 107 | $1,667 | Details |
| 3 | Aurora | 108 | $1,689 | Details |
| 4 | Greeley | 102 | $1,442 | Details |
| 5 | Pueblo | 94 | $1,316 | Details |
| 6 | Fort Collins | 117 | $1,970 | Details |
| 7 | Lakewood | 114 | $1,733 | Details |
| 8 | Thornton | 113 | $1,888 | Details |
| 9 | Arvada | 121 | $2,053 | Details |
| 10 | Westminster | 112 | $1,788 | Details |
| 11 | Centennial | 122 | $2,056 | Details |
716,577 residents · Colorado
The #1 spot goes to Denver, and the breakdown explains why. And for many people, renters here pay $1,818/month — saving renters $924 per year compared to the national average. Meanwhile, Utilities is the standout at index 104, keeping costs manageable. The weak spot? Housing at 133. At a 24% rent-to-income ratio, there's genuine breathing room in the average household budget.
488,664 residents · Colorado
Colorado Springs earns its position at #2 through a combination that's hard to replicate. The 107 cost index sits 5 points below the national baseline, and the $83,198 median income means purchasing power here is genuinely above average. Homes list at $446,132 — $21,238 below the national median — a genuine ownership opportunity. Nothing too surprising there. On the cost side, Utilities leads the way at 98, while Housing trails at 118.
395,052 residents · Colorado
Aurora earns its position at #3 through a combination that's hard to replicate. The 108 cost index sits 4 points below the national baseline, and the $84,320 median income means purchasing power here is genuinely above average. Homes list at $458,953 — $8,417 below the national median — a genuine ownership opportunity. On the cost side, Utilities leads the way at 99, while Housing trails at 120.
112,609 residents · Colorado
The #4 spot goes to Greeley, and the breakdown explains why. Moving on. Renters here pay $1,442/month — we had to double-check this one — — saving renters $5,436 per year compared to the national average. Meanwhile, Utilities is the standout at index 94, keeping costs manageable. The weak spot? Housing at 106. A 25% rent-to-income ratio keeps most households inside the safe zone.
111,077 residents · Colorado
Why Pueblo ranks #5: the numbers tell a clear story. At 94 on the cost index, residents save roughly 18% less than the typical American. Rent sits at $1,316/month while the median household pulls in $55,305/year. The Housing category is particularly strong at 85, though Healthcare (97) lags behind. Home prices average $283,780 — $183,590 below the national median.
Our persona scoring model weights cost, income, rent, healthcare, taxes, and city size based on what matters most to families. Each factor scores 10-25 points out of a 100-point composite. The guide ranks every tracked city in Colorado by this personalized metric. All data is sourced from federal agencies and verified research institutions. Cost of living indices are normalized to 100 (national median) using Zillow rent as the primary signal, with sub-category adjustments derived from regional BLS price data. Rankings are updated monthly as new data is released.
Denver ranks #1 in Colorado for this analysis with a cost index of 113 and median income of $91,681.
Denver scores highest for families due to its strong income potential, median rent of $1,818/mo, and above-average median income of $91,681.
Our cost of living index uses real Zillow rent data as the foundation, indexed to 100 (national median). Sub-categories (housing, food, transport, utilities, healthcare) are derived from the overall index with regional adjustments. Data is updated monthly.
Denver (ranked #1) has a cost index of 113 and rent of $1,818/mo, while Centennial (ranked #11) has a cost index of 122 and rent of $2,056/mo — a 9-point difference in cost of living.
City data is refreshed monthly from Census Bureau population estimates, Zillow rent and home price indices, BLS salary data, and Tax Foundation tax rates. Last updated: 2026.
The median 1-bedroom rent in Denver is $1,818/month as of 2026, based on Zillow's Observed Rent Index. This is $77 below the national median of $1,895/month.
The median home price in Denver is $530,920, which is 5.8× the local median income. Most median-income households would stretch to buy at this ratio. The national median home price is $467,370.
Colorado has a 4.4% state income tax rate. Combined state and local sales tax averages 7.81%, and the effective property tax rate is 0.49%.
This ranking was generated using data current as of early 2026. Population and income data comes from the Census Bureau's American Community Survey (5-year estimates). Rent and home price data is from Zillow's monthly releases. Tax rates are from the Tax Foundation's 2025 edition. Rankings are refreshed monthly.