Columbus, OH vs Fort Collins, CO
Moving from Columbus to Fort Collins? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($333,537 → $556,500 median home) and taxes.
Columbus vs Fort Collins at a glance
Bars scaled to the range across all 200 metros; labels show actual values.
To keep the same standard of living as $100,000 in Columbus, OH, you'd need about $102,830 in Fort Collins, CO (+$2,830).
Livability — Columbus, OH: 69 · Fort Collins, CO: 59 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,474 sqft in Columbus vs 1,707 sqft in Fort Collins ($202 vs $293 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Columbus, OH | Fort Collins, CO | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $18,288 | $23,136 | +$4,848 |
| Groceries | $4,706 | $4,814 | +$108 |
| Transportation | $3,025 | $4,050 | +$1,025 |
| Utilities | $2,100 | $1,788 | −$312 |
| Insurance | $1,300 | $2,800 | +$1,500 |
| Taxes | $9,711 | $9,647 | −$64 |
| Total | $39,130 | $46,234 | +$7,104 |
Side by side
| Metric | Columbus, OH | Fort Collins, CO |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 94.6 | 97.3 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.20% | 4.57% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 5.6% | 8.6% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.38 | $5.54 |
| Median home price | $333,537 | $556,500 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.4× | 6.4× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 1.2% | -1.5% |
| Price per square foot | $202 | $293 |
| Median rent | $1,524 | $1,928 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.0% | 9.7% |
| Combined sales tax | 7.24% | 7.77% |
| Capital gains tax | 3.50% | 4.40% |
| Property tax rate | 1.46% | 0.52% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,400 | $6,800 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $10,000 | $16,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 1.79% |
| Avg commute (min) | 24 | 23 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,300 | $2,800 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,300 | $2,000 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $600 | $550 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 19.5 | 16.5 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.25 | 3.30 |
| Natural gas / mo | $78 | $65 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $104 | $120 |
| Home internet / mo | $76 | $87 |
| Violent crime /100k | 300 | 490 |
| Avg summer high °F | 85 | 88 |
| Avg winter low °F | 20 | 18 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 41.6 | 15.4 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 28.2 | 49.0 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 50% | 69% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 3 |