Dallas, TX vs Colorado Springs, CO
Moving from Dallas to Colorado Springs? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($366,823 → $457,300 median home) and taxes.
Dallas vs Colorado Springs 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 Dallas, TX, you'd need about $95,729 in Colorado Springs, CO (−$4,271).
Livability — Dallas, TX: 67 · Colorado Springs, CO: 60 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,862 sqft in Dallas vs 2,077 sqft in Colorado Springs ($175 vs $241 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Dallas, TX | Colorado Springs, CO | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $20,136 | $21,204 | +$1,068 |
| Groceries | $5,182 | $4,814 | −$368 |
| Transportation | $3,675 | $4,050 | +$375 |
| Utilities | $1,836 | $1,788 | −$48 |
| Insurance | $3,600 | $2,800 | −$800 |
| Taxes | $8,136 | $8,740 | +$604 |
| Total | $42,565 | $43,395 | +$830 |
Side by side
| Metric | Dallas, TX | Colorado Springs, CO |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 102.5 | 98.1 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.62% | 5.60% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 8.0% | 8.1% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 59 | 49 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.83 | $5.58 |
| Median home price | $366,823 | $457,300 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.4× | 5.6× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -3.3% | -1.9% |
| Price per square foot | $175 | $241 |
| Median rent | $1,678 | $1,767 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 8.6% | 9.7% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.20% | 7.77% |
| Capital gains tax | None | 4.40% |
| Property tax rate | 1.76% | 0.41% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,800 | $6,800 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $9,500 | $16,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 1.79% |
| Avg commute (min) | 28 | 24 |
| Home insurance / yr | $3,600 | $2,800 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,100 | $2,000 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $900 | $550 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 17.0 | 16.5 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.00 | 3.30 |
| Violent crime /100k | 430 | 490 |
| Avg summer high °F | 96 | 88 |
| Avg winter low °F | 38 | 18 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 3 |