Overall
- Denver-Aurora-Centennial
- 105.8
Diff -0.9 RPP
Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom vs Denver-Aurora-Centennial
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Denver-Aurora-Centennial is 0.8% less expensive than Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom.
0.8% less expensive
Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO is 0.8% less expensive than Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 105.8 vs 106.7). A $100,000 salary in Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom buys about the same as $99,168 in Denver-Aurora-Centennial; the largest component gap is services.
- Overall RPP 106.7 (Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom) vs 105.8 (Denver-Aurora-Centennial)
- $100k in Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom ≈ $99,168 purchasing power in Denver-Aurora-Centennial
- Services drives the gap (-63.4 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair CA:CO 106.7→105.8
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-ABOVE · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE CA × CO
- 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.
Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom
106.7
Cost Index
Denver-Aurora-Centennial
105.8
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA and Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO are a photo finish on overall price level, only 0.9 RPP points apart. A salary conversion is therefore a fine adjustment, not evidence of a fundamentally different cost regime.
Services creates the largest separation: Denver-Aurora-Centennial is 63.4 points lower. But rents 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 service-heavy household, test childcare, health, and other locally supplied costs before relying on rent alone. The BEA ratio converts $100,000 in Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom to $99,168 in Denver-Aurora-Centennial, but it is not a personal spending weight.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Denver-Aurora-Centennial
- 101.0
Diff -4.2 RPP
Services
Diff -63.4 RPP
Rents
- Denver-Aurora-Centennial
- 146.9
Diff +16.7 RPP
| Category | Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom | Denver-Aurora-Centennial | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 106.7 | 105.8 | -0.9 |
| Goods | 105.2 | 101.0 | -4.2 |
| Services | 151.3 | 87.9 | -63.4 |
| Rents | 130.2 | 146.9 | +16.7 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom 106.7
Denver-Aurora-Centennial 105.8
Goods
Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom 105.2
Denver-Aurora-Centennial 101.0
Services
Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom 151.3
Denver-Aurora-Centennial 87.9
Rents
Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom 130.2
Denver-Aurora-Centennial 146.9
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom would need to be in Denver-Aurora-Centennial for the same purchasing power:
| In Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom | In Denver-Aurora-Centennial | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $49,584 | $-416 |
| $75,000 | $74,376 | $-624 |
| $100,000 | $99,168 | $-832 |
| $150,000 | $148,751 | $-1,249 |
$ in Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom = in Denver-Aurora-Centennial
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (106.7 → 105.8), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Denver-Aurora-Centennial more expensive than Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom?
Denver-Aurora-Centennial is 0.8% less expensive than Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom. The overall cost index is 105.8 vs 106.7 (national average = 100).
What salary in Denver-Aurora-Centennial equals $100K in Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom?
A $100,000 salary in Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom has the same purchasing power as $99,168 in Denver-Aurora-Centennial. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom and Denver-Aurora-Centennial?
Rents in Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom are indexed at 130.2 while Denver-Aurora-Centennial is at 146.9 (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.