Overall
- Denver-Aurora-Centennial
- 105.8
Diff -8.4 RPP
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach vs Denver-Aurora-Centennial
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Denver-Aurora-Centennial is 7.3% less expensive than Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach.
7.3% less expensive
Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO is 7.3% less expensive than Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 105.8 vs 114.2). A $100,000 salary in Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach buys about the same as $92,665 in Denver-Aurora-Centennial; the largest component gap is services.
- Overall RPP 114.2 (Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach) vs 105.8 (Denver-Aurora-Centennial)
- $100k in Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach ≈ $92,665 purchasing power in Denver-Aurora-Centennial
- Services drives the gap (-9.4 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair FL:CO 114.2→105.8
TIER-GAP · CROSS-STATE · SERVICES-LED · BOTH-ABOVE · PP-SHIFT
- TIER-GAP Clear tier gap
- CROSS-STATE FL × CO
- 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.
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL and Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO sit in clearly different price tiers, separated by 8.4 RPP points. At this distance, treating the same nominal salary as equivalent would materially change purchasing power.
Services leads the difference, with Denver-Aurora-Centennial 9.4 points lower than Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach. 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 Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach to $92,665 in Denver-Aurora-Centennial, but it is not a personal spending weight.
How the Price Gap Changed
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach and Denver-Aurora-Centennial share 17 published annual releases from 2008 through 2024. Their overall gap widened, moving from 0.7 to 8.4 RPP points. Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach remained the higher-index metro in the latest release.
Services changed the most within this pair: its gap moved 15.9 points between the first and latest shared releases (25.3 to 9.4 points). This describes a relative price-index history, not a forecast or a household budget.
| Release Year | Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach RPP | Denver-Aurora-Centennial RPP | Relative Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 106.5 | 105.8 | 0.7 points Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach higher |
| 2012 | 107.5 | 105.1 | 2.3 points Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach higher |
| 2016 | 107.9 | 105.2 | 2.8 points Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach higher |
| 2020 | 109.5 | 109.4 | 0.1 points Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach higher |
| 2024 | 114.2 | 105.8 | 8.4 points Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach 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.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Denver-Aurora-Centennial
- 101.0
Diff -2.6 RPP
Services
Diff -9.4 RPP
Rents
- Denver-Aurora-Centennial
- 146.9
Diff -8.6 RPP
| Category | Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach | Denver-Aurora-Centennial | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 114.2 | 105.8 | -8.4 |
| Goods | 103.6 | 101.0 | -2.6 |
| Services | 97.2 | 87.9 | -9.4 |
| Rents | 155.6 | 146.9 | -8.6 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach 114.2
Denver-Aurora-Centennial 105.8
Goods
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach 103.6
Denver-Aurora-Centennial 101.0
Services
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach 97.2
Denver-Aurora-Centennial 87.9
Rents
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach 155.6
Denver-Aurora-Centennial 146.9
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach would need to be in Denver-Aurora-Centennial for the same purchasing power:
| In Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach | In Denver-Aurora-Centennial | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $46,333 | $-3,667 |
| $75,000 | $69,499 | $-5,501 |
| $100,000 | $92,665 | $-7,335 |
| $150,000 | $138,998 | $-11,002 |
$ in Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach = in Denver-Aurora-Centennial
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (114.2 → 105.8), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach
114.2
Cost Index
Denver-Aurora-Centennial
105.8
Cost Index
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Denver-Aurora-Centennial more expensive than Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach?
Denver-Aurora-Centennial is 7.3% less expensive than Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach. The overall cost index is 105.8 vs 114.2 (national average = 100).
What salary in Denver-Aurora-Centennial equals $100K in Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach?
A $100,000 salary in Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach has the same purchasing power as $92,665 in Denver-Aurora-Centennial. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach and Denver-Aurora-Centennial?
Rents in Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach are indexed at 155.6 while Denver-Aurora-Centennial is at 146.9 (national average = 100). Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach 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.