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San Diego, CA vs Fort Collins, CO

Moving from San Diego to Fort Collins? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($946,365 → $556,500 median home) and taxes.

San Diego vs Fort Collins at a glance

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

San Diego, CA Fort Collins, CO Cost-of-living index San Diego, CA — Cost-of-living index: 111 111 Fort Collins, CO — Cost-of-living index: 97 97 Median home price San Diego, CA — Median home price: $946k $946k Fort Collins, CO — Median home price: $557k $557k Price per sqft San Diego, CA — Price per sqft: $631 $631 Fort Collins, CO — Price per sqft: $293 $293 Median rent San Diego, CA — Median rent: $2,951 $2,951 Fort Collins, CO — Median rent: $1,928 $1,928 Combined sales tax San Diego, CA — Combined sales tax: 8.8% 8.8% Fort Collins, CO — Combined sales tax: 7.8% 7.8% Property tax rate San Diego, CA — Property tax rate: 0.72% 0.72% Fort Collins, CO — Property tax rate: 0.52% 0.52% Violent crime /100k San Diego, CA — Violent crime /100k: 500 500 Fort Collins, CO — Violent crime /100k: 490 490 Electricity ¢/kWh San Diego, CA — Electricity ¢/kWh: 35.3 35.3 Fort Collins, CO — Electricity ¢/kWh: 16.5 16.5 Avg commute (min) San Diego, CA — Avg commute (min): 26 26 Fort Collins, CO — Avg commute (min): 23 23 Avg summer high °F San Diego, CA — Avg summer high °F: 84° 84° Fort Collins, CO — Avg summer high °F: 88° 88° Avg winter low °F San Diego, CA — Avg winter low °F: 45° 45° Fort Collins, CO — Avg winter low °F: 18° 18°

To keep the same standard of living as $100,000 in San Diego, CA, you'd need about $87,870 in Fort Collins, CO (−$12,130).

Livability — San Diego, CA: 44 · Fort Collins, CO: 59 (0–100).

What your home budget buys

A $500,000 home budget gets you about 793 sqft in San Diego vs 1,707 sqft in Fort Collins ($631 vs $293 per sqft).

Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)

CategorySan Diego, CAFort Collins, CODifference
Housing $35,412 $23,136 −$12,276
Groceries $5,112 $4,814 −$298
Transportation $5,125 $4,050 −$1,075
Utilities $3,804 $1,788 −$2,016
Insurance $1,500 $2,800 +$1,300
Taxes $21,601 $9,647 −$11,954
Total $72,554 $46,234 −$26,320

Side by side

MetricSan Diego, CAFort Collins, CO
Cost-of-living index110.797.3
Unemployment rate6.34%4.57%
Population growth (5-yr)0.2%8.6%
Air quality (median AQI)7154
Big Mac price (est.)$6.30$5.54
Median home price$946,365$556,500
Home price ÷ income9.8×6.4×
1-yr home appreciation-1.1%-1.5%
Price per square foot$631$293
Median rent$2,951$1,928
Total tax burden (% income)13.5%9.7%
Combined sales tax8.82%7.77%
Capital gains tax13.30%4.40%
Property tax rate0.72%0.52%
Healthcare (annual)$7,200$6,800
Childcare (annual, infant)$19,000$16,000
Vehicle property tax0.65%1.79%
Avg commute (min)2623
Home insurance / yr$1,500$2,800
Auto insurance / yr$2,400$2,000
Flood insurance / yr$750$550
Earthquake insurance / yr$950$100
Electricity ¢/kWh35.316.5
Gas $/gal4.853.30
Violent crime /100k500490
Avg summer high °F8488
Avg winter low °F4518
Permit difficulty (1–5)53
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