Boulder vs Burlington
Metro-area medians — Boulder, CO Metro Area vs Burlington-South Burlington, VT Metro Area — not the cities proper.
Burlington comes out ahead, winning 5 of the 9 clearly-decided measures.
Burlington is about 4% cheaper to live in, while Boulder households earn about 15% more. Adjusted for local prices, a typical paycheck stretches further in Boulder.
Their widest everyday difference: Burlington has the tighter job market — 2.4% unemployment versus 4.6%.
For your salary & household
Enter your pay and household size to see what it's really worth here — the numbers update live and the link stays shareable.
On $75,000 for just you, Burlington leaves you about $2,056/yr better off after tax and local prices.
Take-home estimates a single filer taking the standard deduction (2025 federal brackets, FICA, and state income tax) and isn't tax advice. “Real value” rebases take-home to average U.S. prices using the BEA cost-of-living index; the per-person figure uses the OECD square-root equivalence scale.
Choose Boulder for
- + Livability (CityLedger)
- + Cost-adjusted income (pay's real value)
- + Median household income
- + Bachelor's degree or higher
Choose Burlington for
- + Cost of living (price level, US = 100)
- + Median rent
- + Median home value
- + Unemployment
- + Air quality (median AQI)
More comparisons
Metros closest to Boulder and Burlington on cost, income, size, and education.
Boulder vs Burlington — frequently asked
- Is Boulder cheaper than Burlington?
- Burlington is cheaper: its overall cost of living runs about 4% below Boulder's (BEA Regional Price Parities).
- Which has higher household income, Boulder or Burlington?
- Boulder has the higher median household income — $102,697 versus $89,615 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS), about 15% more.
- Does a paycheck go further in Boulder or Burlington?
- A paycheck stretches further in Boulder. Adjusted for local prices, the median income is worth $97,619 there versus $88,773 in Burlington.
- Which has cheaper rent, Boulder or Burlington?
- Burlington has cheaper rent — a median of $1,631/mo versus $1,966/mo (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS).