Detroit, MI vs Fort Collins, CO
Moving from Detroit to Fort Collins? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($269,080 → $556,500 median home) and taxes.
Detroit 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 Detroit, MI, you'd need about $99,105 in Fort Collins, CO (−$895).
Livability — Detroit, MI: 62 · Fort Collins, CO: 59 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 3,066 sqft in Detroit vs 1,707 sqft in Fort Collins ($163 vs $293 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Detroit, MI | Fort Collins, CO | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $18,000 | $23,136 | +$5,136 |
| Groceries | $4,896 | $4,814 | −$82 |
| Transportation | $4,575 | $4,050 | −$525 |
| Utilities | $2,316 | $1,788 | −$528 |
| Insurance | $1,300 | $2,800 | +$1,500 |
| Taxes | $9,547 | $9,647 | +$100 |
| Total | $40,634 | $46,234 | +$5,600 |
Side by side
| Metric | Detroit, MI | Fort Collins, CO |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 98.2 | 97.3 |
| Unemployment rate | 6.60% | 4.57% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 1.7% | 8.6% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.59 | $5.54 |
| Median home price | $269,080 | $556,500 |
| Home price ÷ income | 3.7× | 6.4× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 2.8% | -1.5% |
| Price per square foot | $163 | $293 |
| Median rent | $1,500 | $1,928 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.0% | 9.7% |
| Combined sales tax | 6.00% | 7.77% |
| Capital gains tax | 4.25% | 4.40% |
| Property tax rate | 1.43% | 0.52% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,500 | $6,800 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $11,000 | $16,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 0.61% | 1.79% |
| Avg commute (min) | 27 | 23 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,300 | $2,800 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,700 | $2,000 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $600 | $550 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 21.4 | 16.5 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.35 | 3.30 |
| Natural gas / mo | $78 | $65 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $74 | $120 |
| Home internet / mo | $78 | $87 |
| Violent crime /100k | 460 | 490 |
| Avg summer high °F | 83 | 88 |
| Avg winter low °F | 16 | 18 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 34.3 | 15.4 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 45.0 | 49.0 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 53% | 69% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 3 |