Overall
- Denver-Aurora-Centennial
- 105.8
- Boston-Cambridge-Newton
- 108.3
Diff +2.5 RPP
Denver-Aurora-Centennial vs Boston-Cambridge-Newton
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Boston-Cambridge-Newton is 2.3% more expensive than Denver-Aurora-Centennial.
2.3% more expensive
Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH is 2.3% more expensive than Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 108.3 vs 105.8). A $100,000 salary in Denver-Aurora-Centennial buys about the same as $102,348 in Boston-Cambridge-Newton; the largest component gap is services.
- Overall RPP 105.8 (Denver-Aurora-Centennial) vs 108.3 (Boston-Cambridge-Newton)
- $100k in Denver-Aurora-Centennial ≈ $102,348 purchasing power in Boston-Cambridge-Newton
- Services drives the gap (+60.9 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair CO:MA 105.8→108.3
TIER-NEAR · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-ABOVE · PP-PAR
- TIER-NEAR Near tier
- CROSS-STATE CO × MA
- SPLIT-BUDGET Split budget
- BOTH-ABOVE Both above 100
- PP-PAR PP near-par
Instrument codes from this pair's BEA Regional Price Parities (overall · goods · services · rents · national benchmark 100 · purchasing-power conversion), not a ranking or recommendation.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Denver-Aurora-Centennial
- 101.0
Diff -1.3 RPP
Services
- Boston-Cambridge-Newton
- 148.8
Diff +60.9 RPP
Rents
- Denver-Aurora-Centennial
- 146.9
- Boston-Cambridge-Newton
- 148.4
Diff +1.5 RPP
| Category | Denver-Aurora-Centennial | Boston-Cambridge-Newton | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 105.8 | 108.3 | +2.5 |
| Goods | 101.0 | 99.7 | -1.3 |
| Services | 87.9 | 148.8 | +60.9 |
| Rents | 146.9 | 148.4 | +1.5 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Denver-Aurora-Centennial 105.8
Boston-Cambridge-Newton 108.3
Goods
Denver-Aurora-Centennial 101.0
Boston-Cambridge-Newton 99.7
Services
Denver-Aurora-Centennial 87.9
Boston-Cambridge-Newton 148.8
Rents
Denver-Aurora-Centennial 146.9
Boston-Cambridge-Newton 148.4
Vertical line = national average (100)
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Services creates the largest separation: Boston-Cambridge-Newton is 60.9 points higher. But goods move against the overall direction, so this is a split budget rather than a clean across-the-board winner.
Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH is 2.3% more expensive than Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO, a meaningful but not extreme shift. The move decision turns on which budget category creates the 2.5-point overall gap.
Both metros exceed the U.S. benchmark of 100. The choice is between two national premiums, so local wages need to clear the higher baseline in either market.
Comparable population context is incomplete for this pair, so no market-scale explanation is inferred from the price indexes.
For a service-heavy household, test childcare, health, and other locally supplied costs before relying on rent alone. The BEA ratio converts $100,000 in Denver-Aurora-Centennial to $102,348 in Boston-Cambridge-Newton, but it is not a personal spending weight.
Denver-Aurora-Centennial
105.8
Cost Index
Boston-Cambridge-Newton
108.3
Cost Index
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Denver-Aurora-Centennial would need to be in Boston-Cambridge-Newton for the same purchasing power:
| In Denver-Aurora-Centennial | In Boston-Cambridge-Newton | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $51,174 | +$1,174 |
| $75,000 | $76,761 | +$1,761 |
| $100,000 | $102,348 | +$2,348 |
| $150,000 | $153,522 | +$3,522 |
$ in Denver-Aurora-Centennial = in Boston-Cambridge-Newton
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (105.8 → 108.3), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
How the Price Gap Changed
Denver-Aurora-Centennial and Boston-Cambridge-Newton share 17 published annual releases from 2008 through 2024. Their overall gap held broadly steady, moving from 1.9 to 2.5 RPP points. Boston-Cambridge-Newton remained the higher-index metro in the latest release.
Rents changed the most within this pair: its gap moved 18.3 points between the first and latest shared releases (19.8 to 1.5 points). This describes a relative price-index history, not a forecast or a household budget.
| Release Year | Denver-Aurora-Centennial RPP | Boston-Cambridge-Newton RPP | Relative Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 105.8 | 107.7 | 1.9 points Boston-Cambridge-Newton higher |
| 2012 | 105.1 | 106.0 | 0.8 points Boston-Cambridge-Newton higher |
| 2016 | 105.2 | 110.1 | 5.0 points Boston-Cambridge-Newton higher |
| 2020 | 109.4 | 112.5 | 3.2 points Boston-Cambridge-Newton higher |
| 2024 | 105.8 | 108.3 | 2.5 points Boston-Cambridge-Newton higher |
Annual BEA Regional Price Parity releases; a higher index means a higher price level relative to the national average of 100. Selected years shown from the full shared series.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Boston-Cambridge-Newton more expensive than Denver-Aurora-Centennial?
Boston-Cambridge-Newton is 2.3% more expensive than Denver-Aurora-Centennial. The overall cost index is 108.3 vs 105.8 (national average = 100).
What salary in Boston-Cambridge-Newton equals $100K in Denver-Aurora-Centennial?
A $100,000 salary in Denver-Aurora-Centennial has the same purchasing power as $102,348 in Boston-Cambridge-Newton. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Denver-Aurora-Centennial and Boston-Cambridge-Newton?
Rents in Denver-Aurora-Centennial are indexed at 146.9 while Boston-Cambridge-Newton is at 148.4 (national average = 100). Boston-Cambridge-Newton has higher rents.
Data sources
- BEA Regional Price Parities (RPP), the cost-of-living indices shown on this page
- U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS), gross-rent observations behind the rents component
- BLS Consumer Price Index (CPI), goods and services price relatives
- BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), labor-driven services component
- HUD Fair Market Rents (FMR), 40th-percentile rent cross-reference
Every figure on PlainCost is rendered directly from BEA Regional Price Parity source data, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, our changelog, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026-08-11. Rankings measure the published cost-of-living index only; we don't recommend where to live or rate any metro's quality of life.