Fort Collins, CO vs New York, NY
Moving from Fort Collins to New York? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($556,500 → $727,625 median home) and taxes.
Fort Collins vs New York 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 Fort Collins, CO, you'd need about $115,761 in New York, NY (+$15,761).
Livability — Fort Collins, CO: 59 · New York, NY: 44 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,707 sqft in Fort Collins vs 1,099 sqft in New York ($293 vs $455 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Fort Collins, CO | New York, NY | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $23,136 | $42,036 | +$18,900 |
| Groceries | $4,814 | $5,415 | +$601 |
| Transportation | $4,050 | $3,895 | −$155 |
| Utilities | $1,788 | $3,180 | +$1,392 |
| Insurance | $2,800 | $1,600 | −$1,200 |
| Taxes | $9,647 | $23,496 | +$13,850 |
| Total | $46,234 | $79,622 | +$33,387 |
Side by side
| Metric | Fort Collins, CO | New York, NY |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 97.3 | 112.6 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.57% | 6.55% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 8.6% | -1.4% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 54 | 52 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.54 | $6.41 |
| Median home price | $556,500 | $727,625 |
| Home price ÷ income | 6.4× | 7.8× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -1.5% | 4.1% |
| Price per square foot | $293 | $455 |
| Median rent | $1,928 | $3,503 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.7% | 15.9% |
| Combined sales tax | 7.77% | 8.52% |
| Capital gains tax | 4.40% | 10.90% |
| Property tax rate | 0.52% | 1.74% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,800 | $7,800 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $16,000 | $17,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 1.79% | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 23 | 36 |
| Home insurance / yr | $2,800 | $1,600 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,000 | $2,100 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $550 | $800 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 16.5 | 29.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.30 | 3.45 |
| Violent crime /100k | 490 | 350 |
| Avg summer high °F | 88 | 83 |
| Avg winter low °F | 18 | 16 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 5 |