2026 Relocation & Cost Arbitrage Engine

Relocation: New York-Newark, NY-NJ to Denver-Aurora, CO

Data updated · Sources: HUD FY 2027 Fair Market Rents, EPI 2026 Family Budget, 2026 tax tables · Methodology

Income tax, HUD Fair Market Rents and EPI living costs for a move from New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ to Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO.

Popular Corridors:
Equivalent Salary
$75,800
To maintain parity
Cost of Living Delta
-24.2%
Overall expenditure basket
Annual Tax Delta
+$4,540
State + local taxes
Annual 1BR Rent Delta
-$10,776
HUD Fair Market Rents
Net Annual Buffer
+$15,316/yr
Tax + housing gain

Interactive Purchasing Power Equivalency Workbench

Adjust your current salary at origin to dynamically compute the statutory tax burden, housing costs, and discretionary cash in both markets.

Presets:
$
$30,000 $100,000 $200,000 $300,000
Origin Location

New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ

COL 181.0
Gross Annual Income $100,000
Federal Income Tax -$13,170
FICA (SS & Medicare) -$7,650
State Income Tax -$4,860
Local / City Tax -$3,441
Net Annual Take-Home $70,879
HUD 1BR Fair Market Rent -$32,748
Discretionary Cash Flow $38,131
Target Market
Destination Location

Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO

COL 137.1
Gross Parity Income $75,800
Federal Income Tax -$7,846
FICA (SS & Medicare) -$5,799
State Income Tax -$2,627
Local / City Tax -$69
Net Annual Take-Home $59,460
HUD 1BR Fair Market Rent -$21,972
Discretionary Cash Flow $37,488

EPI family budgets put living costs 24.2% lower in Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO than in New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ, so $100,000 in New York goes about as far as $75,800 in Denver. HUD's one-bedroom Fair Market Rent is $2,729 a month in New York and $1,831 in Denver, $10,776 a year less. On the same $100,000 salary a single filer pays $4,540 less a year in federal, state and local income tax and FICA in Denver. Taxes and one-bedroom rent together leave you about $15,316 a year better off. The BLS median wage across all occupations is $61,430 in New York and $62,320 in Denver.

Itemized Cost of Living Expenditure Arbitrage

Category-by-category breakdown of monthly baseline consumption between origin and destination.

Expenditure Category New York-Newark-Jersey City (Monthly) Denver-Aurora-Centennial (Monthly) Monthly Delta ($) Difference (%)
Housing (1BR Fair Market Rent)$2,729$1,831-$898-32.9%
Food & Groceries$426$384-$42-9.9%
Transportation$693$1,047+$354+51.1%
Healthcare$748$436-$312-41.7%
Other Necessities$879$628-$251-28.6%
Total Taxes (Federal, State, Local, FICA)$2,427$2,048-$379-15.6%

HUD Fair Market Rent Differential

1-Bedroom Fair Market Rent -$898/mo (-32.9%)
New York-Newark-Jersey City: $2,729/mo Denver-Aurora-Centennial: $1,831/mo
2-Bedroom Fair Market Rent -$802/mo (-27.0%)
New York-Newark-Jersey City: $2,971/mo Denver-Aurora-Centennial: $2,169/mo

EPI Living Wage Benchmark Comparison

1 Adult (No Children) -$9.71/hr (-24.3%)
New York-Newark-Jersey City: $40.03/hr Denver-Aurora-Centennial: $30.32/hr
2 Adults + 1 Child (per earner) -$6.06/hr (-17.7%)
New York-Newark-Jersey City: $34.19/hr Denver-Aurora-Centennial: $28.13/hr

Top Local Occupations Wage Parity

BLS median wage comparisons across benchmark roles between both metropolitan labor markets.

Occupation Title Industry Sector New York-Newark-Jersey City Median Denver-Aurora-Centennial Median Nominal Wage Delta Action
Registered Nurse (RN)HealthcareHealthcare$119,720$101,130-$18,590 (-15.5%)View Dossier
General and Operations ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$157,000$142,330-$14,670 (-9.3%)View Dossier
Software EngineerTechnologyTechnology$166,830$137,610-$29,220 (-17.5%)View Dossier
Accountant & AuditorFinanceFinance$105,650$100,020-$5,630 (-5.3%)View Dossier
Financial ManagerFinanceFinance$221,010$193,400-$27,610 (-12.5%)View Dossier
Project Management SpecialistBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$126,660$116,740-$9,920 (-7.8%)View Dossier
Management AnalystBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$124,390$102,620-$21,770 (-17.5%)View Dossier
Computer and Information Systems ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$215,300$203,340-$11,960 (-5.6%)View Dossier
Financial AnalystFinanceFinance$128,930$104,480-$24,450 (-19.0%)View Dossier
Marketing ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$192,840$182,470-$10,370 (-5.4%)View Dossier
Sales ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$215,150$181,580-$33,570 (-15.6%)View Dossier
ElectricianSkilled TradesSkilled Trades$79,020$63,150-$15,870 (-20.1%)View Dossier

Major US Inter-Metro Relocation Corridors

Empirical cost differentials and statutory tax savings across high-volume migration routes.

New York-Newark-Jersey City → Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos

On $100k: $8,301 less tax and $14,388 less 1BR rent a year

-30.6% COL+$22,689/yr
San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont → Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos

On $100k: $6,211 less tax and $17,676 less 1BR rent a year

-30.4% COL+$23,887/yr
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin → Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington

On $100k: $4,805 less tax and $2,928 less 1BR rent a year

-2.2% COL+$7,733/yr
San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont → Columbus

On $100k: $1,729 less tax and $19,884 less 1BR rent a year

-41.0% COL+$21,613/yr
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim → Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler

On $100k: $4,113 less tax and $10,908 less 1BR rent a year

-13.5% COL+$15,021/yr
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue → Denver-Aurora-Centennial

On $100k: $3,761 more tax and $4,188 less 1BR rent a year

-13.6% COL+$427/yr
Boston-Cambridge-Newton → Raleigh-Cary

On $100k: $1,299 less tax and $11,592 less 1BR rent a year

-16.2% COL+$12,891/yr
New York-Newark-Jersey City → Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach

On $100k: $8,301 less tax and $7,296 less 1BR rent a year

-27.3% COL+$15,597/yr

New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ to Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO Relocation FAQs

About $75,800. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (181.0 in New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ, 137.1 in Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Triangular Relocation & Tax Silo

New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ to Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO: State Paychecks, Rents & Reciprocal Corridor

Reverse Route: Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO to New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ
Relocation: New York-Newark, NY-NJ to Denver-Aurora, CO Overview

New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ to Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO: 2026 federal, state & local income tax, HUD Fair Market Rents & EPI living costs compared. Official 2026 economic data for Relocation: New York-Newark, NY-NJ to Denver-Aurora, CO compiled from Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS surveys, HUD Fair Market Rents, and statutory tax codes.

Quick answers
How much salary do I need in Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO to match $100,000 in New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ?

About $75,800. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (181.0 in New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ, 137.1 in Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Is Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO cheaper than New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ?

EPI's family budgets for a single adult put overall living costs 24.2% lower in Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO than in New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ. The budgets cover housing, food, transportation, health care and other necessities.