Overall
- Denver-Aurora-Centennial
- 105.8
Diff -1.0 RPP
Denver-Aurora-Centennial vs Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington is 0.9% less expensive than Denver-Aurora-Centennial.
0.9% less expensive
Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI is 0.9% less expensive than Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 104.8 vs 105.8). A $100,000 salary in Denver-Aurora-Centennial buys about the same as $99,092 in Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 105.8 (Denver-Aurora-Centennial) vs 104.8 (Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington)
- $100k in Denver-Aurora-Centennial ≈ $99,092 purchasing power in Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington
- Rents drives the gap (-35.1 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair CO:MN 105.8→104.8
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-ABOVE · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE CO × MN
- 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.
Denver-Aurora-Centennial
105.8
Cost Index
Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington
104.8
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO and Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI are a photo finish on overall price level, only 1.0 RPP points apart. A salary conversion is therefore a fine adjustment, not evidence of a fundamentally different cost regime.
Rents creates the largest separation: Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington is 35.1 points lower. But services and goods move against the overall direction, so this is a split budget rather than a clean across-the-board winner.
Comparable population context is incomplete for this pair, so no market-scale explanation is inferred from the price indexes.
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.
For a housing-sensitive move, validate the rent gap first: HUD Fair Market Rent and the actual unit size can overturn what the blended index implies. On the BEA ratio alone, $100,000 in Denver-Aurora-Centennial corresponds to $99,092 in Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Denver-Aurora-Centennial
- 101.0
Diff +2.1 RPP
Services
Diff +5.6 RPP
Rents
- Denver-Aurora-Centennial
- 146.9
Diff -35.1 RPP
| Category | Denver-Aurora-Centennial | Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 105.8 | 104.8 | -1.0 |
| Goods | 101.0 | 103.1 | +2.1 |
| Services | 87.9 | 93.5 | +5.6 |
| Rents | 146.9 | 111.8 | -35.1 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Denver-Aurora-Centennial 105.8
Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington 104.8
Goods
Denver-Aurora-Centennial 101.0
Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington 103.1
Services
Denver-Aurora-Centennial 87.9
Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington 93.5
Rents
Denver-Aurora-Centennial 146.9
Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington 111.8
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Denver-Aurora-Centennial would need to be in Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington for the same purchasing power:
| In Denver-Aurora-Centennial | In Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $49,546 | $-454 |
| $75,000 | $74,319 | $-681 |
| $100,000 | $99,092 | $-908 |
| $150,000 | $148,639 | $-1,361 |
$ in Denver-Aurora-Centennial = in Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (105.8 → 104.8), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington more expensive than Denver-Aurora-Centennial?
Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington is 0.9% less expensive than Denver-Aurora-Centennial. The overall cost index is 104.8 vs 105.8 (national average = 100).
What salary in Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington equals $100K in Denver-Aurora-Centennial?
A $100,000 salary in Denver-Aurora-Centennial has the same purchasing power as $99,092 in Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Denver-Aurora-Centennial and Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington?
Rents in Denver-Aurora-Centennial are indexed at 146.9 while Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington is at 111.8 (national average = 100). Denver-Aurora-Centennial 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.