Overall
- Denver-Aurora-Centennial
- 105.8
Diff +6.8 RPP
Denver-Aurora-Centennial vs New York-Newark-Jersey City
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. New York-Newark-Jersey City is 6.4% more expensive than Denver-Aurora-Centennial.
6.4% more expensive
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ is 6.4% more expensive than Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 112.6 vs 105.8). A $100,000 salary in Denver-Aurora-Centennial buys about the same as $106,410 in New York-Newark-Jersey City; the largest component gap is services.
- Overall RPP 105.8 (Denver-Aurora-Centennial) vs 112.6 (New York-Newark-Jersey City)
- $100k in Denver-Aurora-Centennial ≈ $106,410 purchasing power in New York-Newark-Jersey City
- Services drives the gap (+39.2 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair CO:NY 105.8→112.6
TIER-NEAR · CROSS-STATE · SERVICES-LED · BOTH-ABOVE · PP-SHIFT
- TIER-NEAR Near tier
- CROSS-STATE CO × NY
- SERVICES-LED Services-led gap
- BOTH-ABOVE Both above 100
- PP-SHIFT PP shift
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.
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
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.
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ is 6.4% more expensive than Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO, a meaningful but not extreme shift. The move decision turns on which budget category creates the 6.8-point overall gap.
Services leads the difference, with New York-Newark-Jersey City 39.2 points higher than Denver-Aurora-Centennial. Goods, services, and rents all point in the same broad direction, making the headline comparison more transferable across household types.
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 $106,410 in New York-Newark-Jersey City, but it is not a personal spending weight.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Denver-Aurora-Centennial
- 101.0
Diff +9.3 RPP
Services
Diff +39.2 RPP
Rents
- Denver-Aurora-Centennial
- 146.9
Diff +1.7 RPP
| Category | Denver-Aurora-Centennial | New York-Newark-Jersey City | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 105.8 | 112.6 | +6.8 |
| Goods | 101.0 | 110.3 | +9.3 |
| Services | 87.9 | 127.0 | +39.2 |
| Rents | 146.9 | 148.6 | +1.7 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Denver-Aurora-Centennial 105.8
New York-Newark-Jersey City 112.6
Goods
Denver-Aurora-Centennial 101.0
New York-Newark-Jersey City 110.3
Services
Denver-Aurora-Centennial 87.9
New York-Newark-Jersey City 127.0
Rents
Denver-Aurora-Centennial 146.9
New York-Newark-Jersey City 148.6
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Denver-Aurora-Centennial would need to be in New York-Newark-Jersey City for the same purchasing power:
| In Denver-Aurora-Centennial | In New York-Newark-Jersey City | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $53,205 | +$3,205 |
| $75,000 | $79,808 | +$4,808 |
| $100,000 | $106,410 | +$6,410 |
| $150,000 | $159,616 | +$9,616 |
$ in Denver-Aurora-Centennial = in New York-Newark-Jersey City
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (105.8 → 112.6), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Denver-Aurora-Centennial
105.8
Cost Index
New York-Newark-Jersey City
112.6
Cost Index
Frequently Asked Questions
Is New York-Newark-Jersey City more expensive than Denver-Aurora-Centennial?
New York-Newark-Jersey City is 6.4% more expensive than Denver-Aurora-Centennial. The overall cost index is 112.6 vs 105.8 (national average = 100).
What salary in New York-Newark-Jersey City equals $100K in Denver-Aurora-Centennial?
A $100,000 salary in Denver-Aurora-Centennial has the same purchasing power as $106,410 in New York-Newark-Jersey City. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Denver-Aurora-Centennial and New York-Newark-Jersey City?
Rents in Denver-Aurora-Centennial are indexed at 146.9 while New York-Newark-Jersey City is at 148.6 (national average = 100). New York-Newark-Jersey City 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.