Denver-Aurora-Centennial → Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater

Relocation analysis based on 7 federal data sources

Should you move?

Moving from Denver-Aurora-Centennial to Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater is strongly favorable: BEA regional price parity goes from 105.8 to 100.9 (US = 100), and HUD 2-bedroom rent falls by $112/mo.

-$10,115
BLS median salary lower in Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater
481 to 210
violent crimes per 100K (FBI UCR, state-level)
15.7:1 to 17.8:1
NCES student-teacher ratio
$2,316
DOL infant care lower / yr in Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater

BEA Regional Price Parity, HUD Fair Market Rent, BLS OEWS, FBI UCR, NCES, and DOL. The table below lets you override the composite with your own priorities.

Verdict
Strongly Favorable
Cost Index: 105.8 → 100.9
Rent Delta: -$112/mo

Pros of Moving

  • + 5% lower cost of living
  • + $112/mo cheaper rent (2BR)
  • + Lower violent crime rate
  • + More affordable childcare
  • + Fewer environmental violations

Cons of Moving

  • - $10K lower median salary
  • - Higher student-teacher ratios

Purchasing power stays near-even: BEA RPP moves only from 105.8 to 100.9 (ratio 0.95), inside a ±5% band. HUD 2BR Fair Market Rent drops $112/mo ($1,344/yr) from $2,089 in Denver-Aurora-Centennial to $1,977 in Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater.

Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater leads on 5 of 7 federal dimensions, a destination-heavy ledger. Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater sits #338 of 387 metros on PlainRelocate livability (bottom third of the corpus). Denver-Aurora-Centennial is #377/387 on the same ranking. Composite verdict: Strongly Favorable. Override it with the dimension table below.

BLS OEWS median salary moves $10,115 lower ($78,519 → $68,404). Labor-market size: 1,580,940 tracked jobs at origin vs 1,402,180 at destination.

State retirement friendliness favors the destination: Florida scores 62 (C, #23/51) vs Colorado at 46 (F, #44/51). Full state tax and healthcare sub-scores sit in the retirement desk below.

Dimension
Denver-Aurora-Centennial
Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater
Winner
Cost of Living
RPP 105.8
RPP 100.9
Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater
Rent (2BR)
$2,089/mo
$1,977/mo
Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater
Wages
$78,519
$68,404
Denver-Aurora-Centennial
Crime
481 per 100K
210 per 100K
Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater
Schools
15.7:1
17.8:1
Denver-Aurora-Centennial
Childcare
$12,821/yr
$10,505/yr
Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater
Environment
5561 violations
2736 violations
Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater

State retirement friendliness

Primary-state scores from PlainRelocate's retirement registry (tax + healthcare + climate composite). Metro pairs use each metro's primary state abbreviation.

Origin state · Colorado
46 F #44/51
Income tax
80
Property tax
90
Estate tax
100
Healthcare
26
Destination state · Florida
62 C #23/51
Income tax
100
Property tax
67
Estate tax
100
Healthcare
12

Full retirement ranking · Source composite documented on methodology (Tax Foundation + AARP tax guides + federal healthcare/climate inputs).

Salary Adjustment Calculator

Enter your current salary in Denver-Aurora-Centennial to see what you'd need to earn in Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater to maintain the same purchasing power.

Equivalent salary in Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater
-

Source: BEA Regional Price Parities, HUD Fair Market Rents, BLS OES, FBI UCR, NCES, DOL, EPA; retirement desk: Tax Foundation + AARP tax guides June 2026