?WhereToHQ

Residential comparison · 13 facts

Denver, CO vs Lakewood, CO

Compare the housing, tax, cost, income, safety, school, and climate facts that are available for both places. The table shows the numbers without declaring one city universally better.

A household earning $85,000 in Denver needs about $84,500 in Lakewood to keep the same lifestyle.
Coming from Lakewood, $85,000 of lifestyle costs about $85,500 in Denver.

A few differences

Denver vs Lakewood · facet by facet
FacetDenver, COLakewood, CO
Median home price$560,000$574,400
2-bedroom rent$2,150/mo$1,834/mo
Property tax rate0.5%0.5%
State & local income tax2.89%2.89%
Sales tax8.8%7.8%
Cost of living index112119
Groceries index102100
Utilities$160/mo$160/mo
Median household income$85,000$89,792
Unemployment rate3.8%3.7%
Crime index50/10052/100
School rating6.5/106.5/10
Sunny days / year245 days245 days

Data: Census ACS 2024 · BLS · Tax Foundation 2024 brackets · HUD/Zillow · NOAA 1991–2020 · FEMA NRI · Values are shown as reported; no universal winner is implied.

Full profiles: Denver, CO · Lakewood, CO
Questions & answers
Is Denver cheaper than Lakewood?
Denver has the lower day-to-day cost index (112 vs 119 against a national 100). The other differences are shown facet by facet in the table.
What household income in Lakewood equals $85,000 in Denver?
A household earning $85,000 in Denver needs about $84,500 in Lakewood to keep the same lifestyle; coming the other way, $85,000 of Lakewood lifestyle costs about $85,500 in Denver.