SalaryCompareTool

Fort Collins, CO vs San Francisco, CA

Moving from Fort Collins to San Francisco? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($556,500 → $1,149,215 median home) and taxes.

Fort Collins vs San Francisco at a glance

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

Fort Collins, CO San Francisco, CA Cost-of-living index Fort Collins, CO — Cost-of-living index: 97 97 San Francisco, CA — Cost-of-living index: 118 118 Median home price Fort Collins, CO — Median home price: $557k $557k San Francisco, CA — Median home price: $1149k $1149k Price per sqft Fort Collins, CO — Price per sqft: $293 $293 San Francisco, CA — Price per sqft: $766 $766 Median rent Fort Collins, CO — Median rent: $1,928 $1,928 San Francisco, CA — Median rent: $3,258 $3,258 Combined sales tax Fort Collins, CO — Combined sales tax: 7.8% 7.8% San Francisco, CA — Combined sales tax: 8.8% 8.8% Property tax rate Fort Collins, CO — Property tax rate: 0.52% 0.52% San Francisco, CA — Property tax rate: 0.72% 0.72% Violent crime /100k Fort Collins, CO — Violent crime /100k: 490 490 San Francisco, CA — Violent crime /100k: 500 500 Electricity ¢/kWh Fort Collins, CO — Electricity ¢/kWh: 16.5 16.5 San Francisco, CA — Electricity ¢/kWh: 35.3 35.3 Avg commute (min) Fort Collins, CO — Avg commute (min): 23 23 San Francisco, CA — Avg commute (min): 33 33 Avg summer high °F Fort Collins, CO — Avg summer high °F: 88° 88° San Francisco, CA — Avg summer high °F: 84° 84° Avg winter low °F Fort Collins, CO — Avg winter low °F: 18° 18° San Francisco, 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 $120,803 in San Francisco, CA (+$20,803).

Livability — Fort Collins, CO: 59 · San Francisco, CA: 35 (0–100).

What your home budget buys

A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,707 sqft in Fort Collins vs 653 sqft in San Francisco ($293 vs $766 per sqft).

Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)

CategoryFort Collins, COSan Francisco, CADifference
Housing $23,136 $39,096 +$15,960
Groceries $4,814 $5,761 +$947
Transportation $4,050 $5,125 +$1,075
Utilities $1,788 $3,804 +$2,016
Insurance $2,800 $1,500 −$1,300
Taxes $9,647 $24,108 +$14,462
Total $46,234 $79,394 +$33,159

Side by side

MetricFort Collins, COSan Francisco, CA
Cost-of-living index97.3117.6
Unemployment rate4.57%5.22%
Population growth (5-yr)8.6%1.1%
Air quality (median AQI)5453
Big Mac price (est.)$5.54$6.69
Median home price$556,500$1,149,215
Home price ÷ income6.4×8.9×
1-yr home appreciation-1.5%-0.8%
Price per square foot$293$766
Median rent$1,928$3,258
Total tax burden (% income)9.7%13.5%
Combined sales tax7.77%8.82%
Capital gains tax4.40%13.30%
Property tax rate0.52%0.72%
Healthcare (annual)$6,800$7,200
Childcare (annual, infant)$16,000$19,000
Vehicle property tax1.79%0.65%
Avg commute (min)2333
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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