Is Greeley cheaper than Waterbury?

They are about even — the overall cost of living in the Greeley and Waterbury metros is within 3% of each other (BEA Regional Price Parities), so neither is meaningfully cheaper.

Which has higher household income, Greeley or Waterbury?

Greeley has the higher median household income — $101,563 versus $79,889 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS), about 27% more.

Does a paycheck go further in Greeley or Waterbury?

A paycheck stretches further in Greeley. Adjusted for local prices, the median income is worth $101,385 there versus $80,067 in Waterbury.

Which has cheaper rent, Greeley or Waterbury?

Waterbury has cheaper rent — a median of $1,407/mo versus $1,579/mo (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS).

Greeley vs Waterbury

Metro-area medians — Greeley, CO Metro Area vs Waterbury-Shelton, CT Metro Area — not the cities proper.

Greeley comes out ahead, winning 6 of the 8 clearly-decided measures.

Greeley and Waterbury cost about the same to live in, but Greeley households earn about 27% more. Adjusted for local prices, a typical paycheck stretches further in Greeley.

Their widest everyday difference: Greeley has the tighter job market — 3.9% unemployment versus 4.9%.

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.

Annual salary (gross)

Household size

Greeley, CO

$58,707

take-home / yr · 22% to tax

$58,603

real value after local prices

Waterbury, CT

$57,939

take-home / yr · 23% to tax

$58,067

real value after local prices

On $75,000 for just you, Greeley leaves you about $536/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.

Measure

Greeley

Waterbury

Livability (CityLedger)

70/100

47/100

Cost of living (price level, US = 100)

100.2

99.8

Cost-adjusted income (pay's real value)

$101,385

$80,067

Median household income

$101,563

$79,889

Median rent

$1,579/mo

$1,407/mo

Median home value

$496,100

$344,300

Unemployment

3.9%

4.9%

Bachelor's degree or higher

33.9%

32.6%

Average commute

27.6 min

28.5 min

Air quality (median AQI)

—

Avg temperature

47°F

51°F

Choose Greeley for

+ Livability (CityLedger)
+ Cost-adjusted income (pay's real value)
+ Median household income
+ Unemployment
+ Bachelor's degree or higher
+ Average commute

Full Greeley profile →

Choose Waterbury for

+ Median rent
+ Median home value

Full Waterbury profile →

More comparisons

Metros closest to Greeley and Waterbury on cost, income, size, and education.

Greeley vs Reno→Greeley vs Gainesville→Greeley vs Crestview→Waterbury vs Allentown→Waterbury vs Atlantic City→Waterbury vs Pensacola→

Greeley vs Waterbury — frequently asked

Is Greeley cheaper than Waterbury?: They are about even — the overall cost of living in the Greeley and Waterbury metros is within 3% of each other (BEA Regional Price Parities), so neither is meaningfully cheaper.
Which has higher household income, Greeley or Waterbury?: Greeley has the higher median household income — $101,563 versus $79,889 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS), about 27% more.
Does a paycheck go further in Greeley or Waterbury?: A paycheck stretches further in Greeley. Adjusted for local prices, the median income is worth $101,385 there versus $80,067 in Waterbury.
Which has cheaper rent, Greeley or Waterbury?: Waterbury has cheaper rent — a median of $1,407/mo versus $1,579/mo (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS).