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Fort Collins, CO vs Sacramento, CA

Moving from Fort Collins to Sacramento? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($556,500 → $582,707 median home) and taxes.

Fort Collins vs Sacramento at a glance

Bars scaled to the range across all 200 metros; labels show actual values.

Fort Collins, CO Sacramento, CA Cost-of-living index Fort Collins, CO — Cost-of-living index: 97 97 Sacramento, CA — Cost-of-living index: 109 109 Median home price Fort Collins, CO — Median home price: $557k $557k Sacramento, CA — Median home price: $583k $583k Price per sqft Fort Collins, CO — Price per sqft: $293 $293 Sacramento, CA — Price per sqft: $389 $389 Median rent Fort Collins, CO — Median rent: $1,928 $1,928 Sacramento, CA — Median rent: $2,283 $2,283 Combined sales tax Fort Collins, CO — Combined sales tax: 7.8% 7.8% Sacramento, CA — Combined sales tax: 8.8% 8.8% Property tax rate Fort Collins, CO — Property tax rate: 0.52% 0.52% Sacramento, CA — Property tax rate: 0.79% 0.79% Violent crime /100k Fort Collins, CO — Violent crime /100k: 490 490 Sacramento, CA — Violent crime /100k: 500 500 Electricity ¢/kWh Fort Collins, CO — Electricity ¢/kWh: 16.5 16.5 Sacramento, CA — Electricity ¢/kWh: 35.3 35.3 Avg commute (min) Fort Collins, CO — Avg commute (min): 23 23 Sacramento, CA — Avg commute (min): 28 28 Avg summer high °F Fort Collins, CO — Avg summer high °F: 88° 88° Sacramento, CA — Avg summer high °F: 84° 84° Avg winter low °F Fort Collins, CO — Avg winter low °F: 18° 18° Sacramento, CA — Avg winter low °F: 45° 45°

To keep the same standard of living as $100,000 in Fort Collins, CO, you'd need about $112,109 in Sacramento, CA (+$12,109).

Livability — Fort Collins, CO: 59 · Sacramento, CA: 49 (0–100).

What your home budget buys

A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,707 sqft in Fort Collins vs 1,287 sqft in Sacramento ($293 vs $389 per sqft).

Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)

CategoryFort Collins, COSacramento, CADifference
Housing $23,136 $27,396 +$4,260
Groceries $4,814 $5,247 +$433
Transportation $4,050 $5,125 +$1,075
Utilities $1,788 $3,804 +$2,016
Insurance $2,800 $1,500 −$1,300
Taxes $9,647 $20,410 +$10,764
Total $46,234 $63,482 +$17,247

Side by side

MetricFort Collins, COSacramento, CA
Cost-of-living index97.3109.1
Unemployment rate4.57%5.74%
Population growth (5-yr)8.6%5.6%
Air quality (median AQI)5455
Big Mac price (est.)$5.54$6.21
Median home price$556,500$582,707
Home price ÷ income6.4×6.5×
1-yr home appreciation-1.5%-1.6%
Price per square foot$293$389
Median rent$1,928$2,283
Total tax burden (% income)9.7%13.5%
Combined sales tax7.77%8.82%
Capital gains tax4.40%13.30%
Property tax rate0.52%0.79%
Healthcare (annual)$6,800$7,200
Childcare (annual, infant)$16,000$19,000
Vehicle property tax1.79%0.65%
Avg commute (min)2328
Home insurance / yr$2,800$1,500
Auto insurance / yr$2,000$2,400
Flood insurance / yr$550$750
Earthquake insurance / yr$100$950
Electricity ¢/kWh16.535.3
Gas $/gal3.304.85
Violent crime /100k490500
Avg summer high °F8884
Avg winter low °F1845
Permit difficulty (1–5)35

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