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Cost of Living

ACCRA, a national nonprofit research organization for community and economic development, produces a quarterly index, which measures relative price levels for consumer goods and services.  Cost data from these cities are used to derive a relative ranking so that an easy comparison of cost of living in different metropolitan areas can be made.  The average value for each category is assigned a value of 100.  A value of greater than 100 indicates a cost of living higher than the average, with a value lower than 100 indicating a lower than average cost.  The table below contains relative cost of living information for those Colorado cities, which participated in the ACCRA Cost of Living Index in the first quarter of 2006.

Colorado Cities' Cost of Living Index

First Quarter, 2006  (297 cities participating nationwide)

Source: ACCRA Cost of Living Index, First Quarter, 2006, published May 2006

Metropolitan Cost of Living Index Comparisons

While Denver is slightly higher than the national average in terms of its cost of living, a comparison with some of the largest cities in the survey shows that Denver and other cities in Colorado enjoy a competitive cost of living.  Denver is significantly lower than many of the largest cities in the nation, and generally comparable to major cities in the western United States.  The composite index for selected participating cities is as follows:

Major Metro Areas

First Quarter 2006

Smaller Cities

First Quarter 2006