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Daycare Cost Calculator for Denver, CO
Local data pre-filled
Daycare in Denver, CO costs approximately $1,452/month per child, based on a cost of living index of 121. That's about 17.0% of the median household income. Estimate your total childcare costs and explore tax credit eligibility.
✓ Calculator below is pre-filled with Denver local data
Data as of · Sources: Zillow, Census ACS, Tax Foundation, Freddie Mac
Colorado Financial Snapshot (2026) — Daycare Cost Calculator
Local cost-of-living pushes typical expense for the daycare cost calculator in Colorado.
How the Daycare Cost Calculator Math Works Under Colorado Law
The Daycare Cost Calculator runs a well-known formula (principal × rate, discounted cash flow, amortization, or equivalent) client-side and layers on Colorado's tax and cost-of-living inputs. State-specific numbers — brackets, exemptions, and averages — come from public federal / state datasets cited in the sources section.
Local context: Denver, CO
Housing economics in Denver, CO. The median home value runs 60.2% above the U.S. baseline for Denver, CO is $573,363 per Zillow's home-value index. Median rent runs $1,858 a month per Zillow ZORI, a premium over the national $1,850 baseline. Effective property tax sits at 0.55% of assessed value, below the 0.99% national average tracked by the Tax Foundation.
Income and tax climate. Colorado's top marginal state income tax bracket lands at 4.63% — compared to the volume-weighted national average around 4-5%. BEA's Regional Price Parity scores Denver, CO at 121.0 (national = 100), meaning a dollar in Denver, CO buys 83¢ of national purchasing power.
Local context as of 2026-04-19.
Denver versus the U.S. baseline
| Metric | Denver, CO | U.S. baseline | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median home value[zillow] | $573,363 | $358,000 | 60.2% |
| Median monthly rent[zillow] | $1,858 | $1,850 | 0.4% |
| Property tax (effective)[tax-foundation] | 0.55% | 0.99% | -44.4% |
| State top marginal income tax[tax-foundation] | 4.63% | ~4.08% (volume-weighted) | 0.5 pp |
| State cost-of-living index[bea-rpp] | 121.0 | 100.0 | 21.0 pts |
How to use the Daycare Cost Calculator
Walk through using the Daycare Cost Calculator with Denver, CO-specific defaults pre-loaded from primary sources.
- Enter your Denver numbersFill in the daycare cost inputs. Defaults reflect Denver, CO 2026: median home $573,363, median rent $1,858/mo, 0.55% effective property tax.
- Apply the local 2026 inputsThe median home value in Denver is $573,363 (Zillow ZHVI), with median monthly rent running $1,858/mo.
- Compare against Denver contextMonthly PITI on the $573,363 median home in Denver is ~$3,494/mo — vs a $1,858/mo median rent.
How Colorado Compares to Neighboring States
| State | Median home | Top inc tax | Prop tax rate | RPP (US=100) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Colorado (this page) | $560,000 | 4.40% | 0.51% | 101.9 |
| Arizona equivalent | $430,000 | 2.50% | 0.66% | 100.7 |
| see Kansas | $225,000 | 5.58% | 1.41% | 89.9 |
| compare to Nebraska | $265,000 | 5.20% | 1.73% | 90.3 |
| New Mexico | $305,000 | 5.90% | 0.80% | 91.0 |
Sources: Zillow ZHVI[1], state Departments of Revenue / Tax Foundation[2], Tax Foundation property taxes[3], BEA Regional Price Parities[4].
What Changes Your Result in Colorado
- Colorado cost-of-living drag:Line-item costs in Colorado deviate from the US mean by whatever the BEA all-items RPP deviates from 100. Weight your budget toward the state average rather than the national average.
Related Calculations for Colorado
- how childcare cost works for Colorado residents — near-duplicate slugs — canonical cross-link.
How Denver Compares to the National Average
Understanding how Denver stacks up helps you calibrate your financial planning.
| Metric | Denver, CO | US Average | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Home Price | $573,363 | $420,800 | +36.3% |
| Median Monthly Rent | $1,858 | $1,713 | +8.5% |
| Median Household Income | $102,339 | $74,580 | +37.2% |
| Property Tax Rate | 0.55% | 1.10% | -50.0% |
| Cost of Living Index | 121 | 100 | +21.0% |
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, BLS, Zillow, NAR (2024–2025). Green = favorable for residents; red = less favorable.
Denver Financial Snapshot
- Population (Metro)
- 2,930,000
- Unemployment
- 3.3%
- Avg Commute
- 26 min
- Median Age
- 36.6
- Price-to-Rent Ratio
- 25.7x
- Annual Property Tax
- $3,153
More Financial Calculators for Denver, CO
Daycare Cost Calculator in Other Colorado Cities
Frequently Asked Questions — Denver
- Can median-income households afford the median home in Denver?
- With a ~$3,494 monthly PITI and $102,339 median income, housing would consume ~41.0% of gross annual income. Qualifying under the 28% DTI rule requires ~$149,743 in annual income. Educational reference only.
- Is it better to rent or buy in Denver?
- Denver's price-to-rent ratio (25.7x) tilts toward renting — above 20x, buying is generally expensive relative to renting.
- What is the annual property tax bill on the median home in Denver?
- Approximately $3,153/yr at the 0.55% effective rate on the $573,363 median home. The national average effective rate is 1.07%.
- What share of median income goes to rent in Denver?
- The $1,858/mo median rent represents 21.8% of the $102,339 median household income. The recommended housing cost threshold is 30%; Denver falls within that guideline. Educational reference only.
- How much does commuting cost in Denver?
- Average commute time in Denver is 26 minutes per ACS. Estimated annual commute cost runs about $3,700. Educational reference only.
- How does the cost of living in Denver compare to the national average?
- Denver's BEA RPP index is 121, 21% above the national baseline of 100. For a household earning the national median income of $77,540, this translates to ~$16,283/yr in purchasing power difference. Educational reference only.
- What is the median home price in Denver, CO?
- The median home price in Denver is $573,363 as of 2025–2026.
- What is the average rent in Denver?
- The median monthly rent in Denver, CO is $1,858.
- Does the daycare cost replace professional advice?
- No. This calculator gives educational estimates using public Denver data and standard formulas. It is not personalized tax, legal, or investment advice. Consult a licensed professional for decisions with material consequences.
How we compute this — methodology
The Denver page uses local median home price ($573,363), median rent ($1,858/mo), and property tax rate (0.55%) alongside the calculator's client-side formula. Calculations run in your browser — no inputs are sent to a server.
Known limits: ZIP-level variance within Denver can be substantial — the figures shown are city-wide medians. For a precise property tax quote, consult your county assessor.
Sources
- Zillow Research — ZHVI (Zillow Home Value Index) + ZORI (Zillow Observed Rent Index), city-level. zillow.com/research/data. Retrieved 2026-04-19.
- U.S. Census Bureau — American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year estimates for median household income and population. census.gov/programs-surveys/acs.
- CalcFi state financial context — tips + first-time homebuyer programs compiled from each state's Housing Finance Authority (HFA) public pages. See
src/data/state-financial-context.ts. - Tax Foundation — state property tax effective rates and state/local sales tax rates. taxfoundation.org.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS) — weekly national mortgage rate averages used by mortgage-related calculators. freddiemac.com/pmms.
- Bureau of Economic Analysis — Regional Price Parities by State — www.bea.gov/data/prices-inflation/regional-price-parities-state-and-metro-area. Retrieved 2026-04-19.
- BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) — state-level occupational wages — www.bls.gov/oes. Retrieved 2026-04-19.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS) — weekly national mortgage rates — www.freddiemac.com/pmms. Retrieved 2026-04-19.
- NAIC Dwelling Fire, Homeowners Owners, and Homeowners Tenants Insurance Report — content.naic.org/article/homeowners-insurance-report. Retrieved 2026-04-19.
- State Departments of Revenue — official bracket + deduction publications (one primary URL per state; linked in the brackets table below) — taxfoundation.org/data/all/state/state-income-tax-rates. Retrieved 2026-04-19.
- U.S. Department of Labor — State Minimum Wage Laws — www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/minimum-wage/state. Retrieved 2026-04-19.
- FRED (Federal Reserve Economic Data) — real median household income, unemployment, HPI, LFPR per state — fred.stlouisfed.org. Retrieved 2026-04-19.
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National reference: Daycare Cost Calculator Calculator