Overall
- Denver-Aurora-Centennial
- 105.8
- Santa Fe
- 98.8
Diff -7.0 RPP
Denver-Aurora-Centennial vs Santa Fe
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Santa Fe is 6.6% less expensive than Denver-Aurora-Centennial.
6.6% less expensive
Santa Fe, NM is 6.6% less expensive than Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 98.8 vs 105.8). A $100,000 salary in Denver-Aurora-Centennial buys about the same as $93,368 in Santa Fe; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 105.8 (Denver-Aurora-Centennial) vs 98.8 (Santa Fe)
- $100k in Denver-Aurora-Centennial ≈ $93,368 purchasing power in Santa Fe
- Rents drives the gap (-38.9 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair CO:NM 105.8→98.8
TIER-NEAR · CROSS-STATE · RENT-LED · BENCH-CROSS · PP-SHIFT
- TIER-NEAR Near tier
- CROSS-STATE CO × NM
- RENT-LED Rent-led gap
- BENCH-CROSS Benchmark cross
- 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.
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Denver-Aurora-Centennial would need to be in Santa Fe for the same purchasing power:
| In Denver-Aurora-Centennial | In Santa Fe | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $46,684 | $-3,316 |
| $75,000 | $70,026 | $-4,974 |
| $100,000 | $93,368 | $-6,632 |
| $150,000 | $140,053 | $-9,947 |
$ in Denver-Aurora-Centennial = in Santa Fe
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (105.8 → 98.8), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Santa Fe, NM is 6.6% less expensive than Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO, a meaningful but not extreme shift. The move decision turns on which budget category creates the 7.0-point overall gap.
This route crosses the national benchmark: Denver-Aurora-Centennial is above 100 while Santa Fe is below it. That makes the move a change of price regime, not merely a rank swap.
Rents leads the difference, with Santa Fe 38.9 points lower 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 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 $93,368 in Santa Fe.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Denver-Aurora-Centennial
- 101.0
- Santa Fe
- 96.1
Diff -4.8 RPP
Services
- Santa Fe
- 76.7
Diff -11.2 RPP
Rents
- Denver-Aurora-Centennial
- 146.9
- Santa Fe
- 108.0
Diff -38.9 RPP
| Category | Denver-Aurora-Centennial | Santa Fe | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 105.8 | 98.8 | -7.0 |
| Goods | 101.0 | 96.1 | -4.8 |
| Services | 87.9 | 76.7 | -11.2 |
| Rents | 146.9 | 108.0 | -38.9 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Denver-Aurora-Centennial 105.8
Santa Fe 98.8
Goods
Denver-Aurora-Centennial 101.0
Santa Fe 96.1
Services
Denver-Aurora-Centennial 87.9
Santa Fe 76.7
Rents
Denver-Aurora-Centennial 146.9
Santa Fe 108.0
Vertical line = national average (100)
Denver-Aurora-Centennial
105.8
Cost Index
Santa Fe
98.8
Cost Index
How the Price Gap Changed
Denver-Aurora-Centennial and Santa Fe share 17 published annual releases from 2008 through 2024. Their overall gap held broadly steady, moving from 7.8 to 7.0 RPP points. Denver-Aurora-Centennial remained the higher-index metro in the latest release.
Rents changed the most within this pair: its gap moved 19.3 points between the first and latest shared releases (19.7 to 38.9 points). This describes a relative price-index history, not a forecast or a household budget.
| Release Year | Denver-Aurora-Centennial RPP | Santa Fe RPP | Relative Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 105.8 | 98.0 | 7.8 points Denver-Aurora-Centennial higher |
| 2012 | 105.1 | 102.1 | 3.0 points Denver-Aurora-Centennial higher |
| 2016 | 105.2 | 98.4 | 6.7 points Denver-Aurora-Centennial higher |
| 2020 | 109.4 | 96.6 | 12.7 points Denver-Aurora-Centennial higher |
| 2024 | 105.8 | 98.8 | 7.0 points Denver-Aurora-Centennial 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 Santa Fe more expensive than Denver-Aurora-Centennial?
Santa Fe is 6.6% less expensive than Denver-Aurora-Centennial. The overall cost index is 98.8 vs 105.8 (national average = 100).
What salary in Santa Fe equals $100K in Denver-Aurora-Centennial?
A $100,000 salary in Denver-Aurora-Centennial has the same purchasing power as $93,368 in Santa Fe. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Denver-Aurora-Centennial and Santa Fe?
Rents in Denver-Aurora-Centennial are indexed at 146.9 while Santa Fe is at 108.0 (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.