Cost of Living in Denver, CO (2026): What Renters Should Budget

Updated October 2026. Rent figures reflect September 2026 estimates from Apartment List's October report.

According to the Apartment List October 2026 Rent Index, the median rent across all apartment sizes in Denver is $1,613, with one-bedrooms at $1,427 and two-bedrooms at $1,778. That runs about 16% above the national median of $1,388.

A renter living alone in a median one-bedroom should plan on about $1,974 a month for rent, electricity, and groceries, before natural gas, water and sewer, transportation, and anything else. Denver's rent fell 3.08% over the 12 months through September 2026, the seventh-steepest decline among the 100 largest U.S. cities, against 0.39% nationally. The median is 12.1% below its July 2022 peak of $1,834, and the decline has narrowed for three months running, yet the city still runs $225 above the national figure.

Denver Cost of Living at a Glance

Source for rent rows: Apartment List's October 2026 release; September 2026 rent estimates. Full method and sources are in the appendix.

How to use these numbers: Start with the rent for the unit size you're considering. Add the planning estimates that apply to you, then replace them with listing-specific charges and your expected usage.

What Is the Median Rent in Denver in 2026?

The median one-bedroom rent in Denver is $1,427, according to the Apartment List October 2026 Rent Index. Two-bedrooms run $1,778 and the all-sizes median is $1,613.

Apartment List reports median rent, not a simple average. The median is the market midpoint, so it's less swayed than an average by a handful of very expensive listings. Apartment List's methodology frames it as the median rent an apartment searcher could expect across the full rental market, not only what's advertised right now.

Denver's median rent fell 3.08% over the 12 months through September 2026, while the national median fell 0.39%, and it slipped 0.17% in September after rising every month from April through August. These are citywide figures, and they don't establish what any one building is asking. Compare current listings for the size and neighborhood you want, ask each property about concessions, fees, and the move-in total, and check the quote against the medians above.

Denver's Median Rent Is 12.1% Below Its July 2022 Peak

Denver's all-sizes median peaked at $1,834 in July 2022 and is $221 below that now, a 12.1% drop that is the seventh-largest from a city's own peak among the 50 largest U.S. cities (Apartment List, October 2026 report). The 12-month change has been negative every month since April 2024, 30 months in a row, and was as deep as 5.67% in May 2025. It has narrowed for three months running, from 5.08% in June 2026 to 3.08% in September, and the monthly readings went from five straight rises, April through August, to a 0.17% slip in September.

For a lease, that means the medians are lower than they were a year ago, so check a renewal quote or a new listing against them and ask what concessions the building is offering. The figures describe the citywide midpoint, not the direction of any one building's price.

How Does Denver Rent Compare With Other Western Cities?

The table sets Denver against selected Mountain West and Southwest cities, its closest in-state alternatives, and the national median. It is not a ranking of every Western rental market.

Source: Apartment List's October 2026 release; September 2026 rent estimates. City-level medians at the same grain, not total-cost comparisons.

Denver is the second most expensive city in this table, behind Boulder. Salt Lake City and Phoenix are within $3 of each other, about $360 below Denver, and Albuquerque is $392 below. Closer to home, Colorado Springs runs $241 less and Aurora, inside Denver's own metro, $87 less. Against the national median, Denver is $225 higher. The one-bedroom gaps are similar: Denver's $1,427 is $351 above Phoenix's, $293 above Colorado Springs's, and $160 below Boulder's. Before you treat a lower-rent city as savings, compare the same unit size and price the commute in each place.

Denver's $1,613 median is 1.9% below the Denver-Aurora-Lakewood metro's $1,644, but the direction depends on unit size. The one-bedroom medians are within $3 of each other, $1,427 in the city and $1,424 across the metro. The city's two-bedroom median of $1,778 is 4.3% above the metro's $1,704. The metro figure covers ten counties, so it includes Denver itself alongside Aurora, Lakewood, Arvada, and Thornton; read it as a regional benchmark rather than a measure of what any one suburb costs.

What Income Corresponds to Denver Rent at the 30% Benchmark?

Using the $1,427 median one-bedroom rent from Apartment List's October 2026 report, the rent-only 30% calculation corresponds to about $57,080 in annual gross income.

Each income figure is the monthly rent multiplied by 12 and divided by 0.30. The shared row assumes an equal split of the two-bedroom median between two renters, $889 each. Source: Apartment List's October 2026 release; September 2026 rent estimates.

The 30% figure is the share of gross income the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) considers affordable, and HUD counts utilities inside it where this table does not, so add the electricity figure above to get closer to a housing budget. This calculation uses gross income, while the Apartment List Cost of Living Calculator asks for after-tax income and will produce a different estimate. Colorado levies a flat state income tax, 4.4% for tax year 2025, the latest rate the Department of Revenue has published, and no local income tax on wages, though Denver employees earning $500 or more in a month pay a $5.75 monthly occupational privilege tax.

Treat these as planning benchmarks, not salary requirements or screening rules. Many renter budgets don't fit beneath 30%: Apartment List research found that 51.8% of U.S. renter households, about 22.2 million, spent more than that on rent in 2024, a national figure rather than a Denver one. Our guide to the 30% rule and how much to spend on rent walks through when to flex it.

How Do You Know if You Can Afford a Denver Apartment?

Work backward from your income. Multiply your gross annual income by 0.30 and divide by 12 for a monthly rent ceiling at the 30% benchmark. On a $70,000 gross salary that is $1,750 a month. Against Denver's $1,427 one-bedroom median (Apartment List, October 2026 report), that leaves about $323 for electricity and a parking or pet fee. It also puts a $1,778 two-bedroom $28 over the ceiling, so at that income a solo two-bedroom at the median crosses the benchmark before utilities. Then run the same math on the listing's rent rather than the city median, add the costs your household carries, ask what rent includes and how any shared bills are divided, and compare that fuller estimate against your income, debts, and savings goals before applying. Some Denver buildings include water, sewer, or trash in the rent, which changes the all-in comparison between two listings, so ask. The Rent Calculator runs it against your actual income, and our guide to finding an apartment in your budget walks through the rest.

What Should You Budget Beyond Rent in Denver?

Price the costs that apply to you, then confirm which charges the building bills separately. Whether you need a car depends on your address and commute, so check the RTD rail and bus map for the apartment you're considering before you budget either way.

How Much Does Electricity Cost in Denver?

Budget about $107 a month at about 600 kWh. Xcel Energy is the regulated utility, so there's no plan to shop, but the schedule you're on depends on the meter. After the rate increase that took effect August 29, 2026, the Public Utilities Commission put the average residential bill at $109.92 for 601 kWh, about $5 more than before, and Xcel's quarterly fuel adjustment then trimmed about $3 from October 1. Apartments with a smart meter are on time-of-use pricing by default, where summer power costs more in the late afternoon than overnight, so the same usage can produce a different bill depending on when you run the dryer and the air conditioning. You can opt out to a flat rate of 10.38 cents per kilowatt-hour in summer and 8.57 cents in winter, plus a $7.10 monthly service charge, before riders and taxes. For scale, EIA puts Colorado's 2024 residential average at 674 kWh and $100.57 a month. Two questions for the building: which rate schedule the meter is on, and what a recent January bill and a recent July bill came to on a similar apartment.

Do You Need to Budget for Natural Gas in Denver?

Only if the apartment heats or cooks with gas, so ask the property first; if it does, most of the cost arrives in winter. Xcel Energy supplies gas as well, and new base rates took effect on October 6, 2026, after the Public Utilities Commission approved a settlement that raises the average residential bill about 8.6%, or $5.16 a month. Xcel's own filing for the October through December quarter put the average residential gas bill at about $59 a month averaged across the year before that increase, so about $64 after it. That average covers every residential customer, houses included, so a gas-heated apartment runs below it in summer and above it in the coldest months. The gas itself is priced separately and resets each quarter, so ask who pays the heating bill and what the highest winter bill was on a comparable apartment.

How Much Are Water and Sewer Bills in Denver?

There is no single renter estimate, because the lease decides whether you ever see a water bill: a property may fold water and sewer into rent, charge a flat fee, divide one building bill among residents, or leave you to hold a direct account. On a direct account inside the city, Denver Water charges $20.91 a month for a standard residential meter plus $3.02 per 1,000 gallons at the cheapest rate. At 5,000 gallons the bill comes to about $36. That cheapest rate covers an allowance set by your winter use, from your January through March bills, and at least 5,000 gallons; use above it costs $5.44 per 1,000 gallons plus a temporary drought charge of $1.10 that runs through April 30, 2027. Denver Water bills water only; sewer and stormwater are separate City of Denver charges on the same statement. Those charges apply only when the account is in your name, which is why this guide leaves water and sewer outside the monthly total. Ask which arrangement the building uses, and if it is a shared split, how it is calculated.

How Much Is Public Transit in Denver?

RTD charges $2.75 for a pass that covers three hours of bus and rail travel, so a round trip inside that window costs one fare. A day pass is $5.50 and a monthly pass is $88, and fare capping means you never pay more than the day or monthly price when you pay with Tap-n-Ride or a signed-in MyRide account. Riders 19 and under ride free, and seniors 65 and over, Medicare recipients, riders with disabilities, and LiVE enrollees pay $1.35 a ride and $27 a month. Trips to or from Denver International Airport need an Airport Day Pass at $10, which discount fares already include. Check whether a route connects your building to where you work and whether it reaches a light-rail station; if it doesn't, plan for a car payment, insurance, fuel, parking, and winter tires.

How Much Should You Budget for Groceries in Denver?

The national USDA Moderate-Cost plan puts groceries for one adult at about $440 a month, as of the August 2026 report. That's a national benchmark for food you cook at home, not a Denver price, so treat it as a starting point and adjust for your household and how often you eat out.

How Do Solo and Shared Denver Budgets Compare?

Splitting a two-bedroom is the single biggest saving on housing cost here. Based on Apartment List's September 2026 medians, a solo renter starts from the $1,427 one-bedroom, while two roommates splitting the $1,778 two-bedroom start from $889 each before utilities, which also split.

Source: Apartment List's October 2026 release; September 2026 rent estimates. The shared column splits one two-bedroom and one electric bill between two renters ($53.50 each, shown rounded); groceries do not split. Natural gas, water and sewer, transportation, internet, insurance, and parking are excluded; see the appendix.

That is $538 a month less per renter in rent than a one-bedroom alone, roughly $6,456 a year, and about $592 less once you count the shared power bill. The $351 step from a one-bedroom to a two-bedroom is 24.6% here, wider than the 19.5% typical across the 50 largest U.S. cities (Apartment List, October 2026 report), so the split saves less than in cities where the two medians are close, and almost all of the saving comes from the rent line.

Compare Denver With Your Current City

If you are moving to Denver from somewhere else, compare total cost rather than rent alone. The Apartment List Cost of Living Calculator compares two cities using after-tax income and includes data from the Council for Community and Economic Research. Denver's $1,613 median is $225 above the national one and fell 3.08% over the year through September 2026 against 0.39% nationally (Apartment List, October 2026 report), and the calculator will price Colorado's flat income tax along with the parts of a budget rent doesn't cover, starting with whether you'd still need a car.

What Should You Confirm Before Paying an Application Fee?

When you budget for application or move-in fees, remember those are the property's charges; Apartment List is paid by the property when you sign a lease and never charges renters a fee. Use the rent on the listing, not the Denver city median, as your working number. Add up the listing's rent and the unit-level fees disclosed on its detail page (application, admin, pet, and parking), confirm whether water, sewer, and trash are included in rent or billed to you, ask which Xcel rate schedule the meter is on, whether the unit heats with gas and who pays for it, and what the highest winter bill came to on a comparable unit, check whether an RTD route connects the building to your commute, and ask what concessions the building is offering. Get the total move-in amount in writing.

The citywide median is a starting point, not your ceiling. The cheapest neighborhoods in Denver guide ranks places to start if price is driving your search, the best Denver neighborhoods guide covers lifestyle fit, and the safest Denver neighborhoods guide adds published safety data to the same search. Rate My Rent grades a listing you're already considering against comparable local apartments. Then browse Denver apartments and run the check on real listings.

Appendix: Methodology and Data Sources

Rent figures come from the Apartment List Rent Estimates, October 2026 release, with data as of September 2026, built on the Apartment List Rent Estimate Methodology, a same-unit, repeat-transaction analysis.

Income figures are calculations based on the cited Apartment List rent medians and the 30% rent-to-income benchmark, not measured income data.

The $1,974 monthly planning total combines the median one-bedroom rent with the electricity and grocery estimates from the At-a-Glance table. Electricity is the Public Utilities Commission's average residential bill at 601 kWh after the August 2026 rate increase, less the October 2026 fuel-adjustment cut, so a summer bill or a time-of-use bill can differ. Natural gas is excluded because it applies only to units that use it, and water and sewer because whether you pay them directly depends on the lease. The total also excludes transportation, internet, insurance, parking, and anything discretionary.

Frequently Asked Questions About Denver Rent and Cost of Living

What Is the Average Rent in Denver?

People use "average" and "median" interchangeably, but Apartment List reports the median, the middle of the market, which is less skewed by a handful of luxury units. The median one-bedroom in Denver is $1,427, the median two-bedroom is $1,778, and the all-sizes median is $1,613 as of September 2026.

Is Denver Rent Going Up or Down?

Down. According to the Apartment List October 2026 Rent Index, Denver rent fell 3.08% over the 12 months through September 2026, the seventh-steepest decline among the 100 largest U.S. cities, while the national median fell 0.39%. The 12-month change has been negative every month since April 2024 and has narrowed for three months running, from 5.08% in June. The median is 12.1% below its July 2022 peak of $1,834. Compare current listings for the size and neighborhood you want and ask properties directly about any concessions.

Is Denver Affordable for Renters?

It depends on your income and the size you need. At an all-sizes median of $1,613 in September 2026, Denver runs about 16% above Apartment List's national median of $1,388, second-highest of the Western cities compared here behind Boulder. Under a rent-only 30% benchmark, a $1,427 one-bedroom lines up with about $57,080 in annual gross income. A $1,778 two-bedroom lines up with about $71,120. This is a planning benchmark, not an approval standard, and it doesn't include utilities and other living costs. Splitting a two-bedroom cuts rent per renter to $889, about $538 below the one-bedroom median.

What Salary Do You Need to Rent in Denver?

Denver doesn't have one required renter salary. Using Apartment List's September 2026 median one-bedroom rent of $1,427, the rent-only 30% calculation corresponds to about $57,080 in annual gross income. On the $1,778 two-bedroom median, the same benchmark corresponds to about $71,120. These are planning benchmarks, not requirements, and they use gross income, while the Apartment List Cost of Living Calculator uses after-tax income and will give a different number.

How Much Are Utilities in a Denver Apartment?

About $107 a month for electricity at about 600 kWh, the Public Utilities Commission's average residential bill after Xcel Energy's August 2026 rate increase less the October fuel-adjustment cut; apartments with a smart meter are on time-of-use pricing by default, so ask which schedule the meter is on. If the unit heats with gas, Xcel's average residential gas bill is about $64 a month averaged across the year after the October 6, 2026 increase, with winter months well above that. Denver Water's fixed charge plus its cheapest rate comes to about $36 at 5,000 gallons, but that bill reaches you only if the account is in your name, and sewer and stormwater are separate city charges. Ask exactly which utilities rent includes before you compare prices.

Is 30% of Income a Hard Limit for Rent?

No. The 30% benchmark is a planning guideline, not a rule. HUD defines a household as cost-burdened when housing costs exceed 30% of income, and per Apartment List research about 51.8% of U.S. renter households were cost-burdened in 2024, with 26.1% severely cost-burdened above 50%. Those are national figures, not Denver-specific. Treat 30% as a starting point, then adjust for your other costs and priorities.

How Do Solo and Shared Denver Budgets Compare?

Using the medians from the Apartment List October 2026 Rent Index, a two-bedroom costs $889 per renter if two people split the rent equally, against $1,427 for a one-bedroom on your own, a difference of about $538 a month, or $6,456 a year, before utilities and fees. With electricity and groceries added, a solo renter is looking at about $1,974 a month and each roommate at about $1,383. That $889 share corresponds to about $35,560 in annual gross income at the rent-only 30% benchmark.