SalaryCompareTool

San Francisco, CA vs Fort Collins, CO

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

San Francisco vs Fort Collins at a glance

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

San Francisco, CA Fort Collins, CO Cost-of-living index San Francisco, CA — Cost-of-living index: 118 118 Fort Collins, CO — Cost-of-living index: 97 97 Median home price San Francisco, CA — Median home price: $1149k $1149k Fort Collins, CO — Median home price: $557k $557k Price per sqft San Francisco, CA — Price per sqft: $766 $766 Fort Collins, CO — Price per sqft: $293 $293 Median rent San Francisco, CA — Median rent: $3,258 $3,258 Fort Collins, CO — Median rent: $1,928 $1,928 Combined sales tax San Francisco, CA — Combined sales tax: 8.8% 8.8% Fort Collins, CO — Combined sales tax: 7.8% 7.8% Property tax rate San Francisco, CA — Property tax rate: 0.72% 0.72% Fort Collins, CO — Property tax rate: 0.52% 0.52% Violent crime /100k San Francisco, CA — Violent crime /100k: 500 500 Fort Collins, CO — Violent crime /100k: 490 490 Electricity ¢/kWh San Francisco, CA — Electricity ¢/kWh: 35.3 35.3 Fort Collins, CO — Electricity ¢/kWh: 16.5 16.5 Avg commute (min) San Francisco, CA — Avg commute (min): 33 33 Fort Collins, CO — Avg commute (min): 23 23 Avg summer high °F San Francisco, CA — Avg summer high °F: 84° 84° Fort Collins, CO — Avg summer high °F: 88° 88° Avg winter low °F San Francisco, 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 Francisco, CA, you'd need about $82,779 in Fort Collins, CO (−$17,221).

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

What your home budget buys

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

Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)

CategorySan Francisco, CAFort Collins, CODifference
Housing $39,096 $23,136 −$15,960
Groceries $5,761 $4,814 −$947
Transportation $5,125 $4,050 −$1,075
Utilities $3,804 $1,788 −$2,016
Insurance $1,500 $2,800 +$1,300
Taxes $24,108 $9,647 −$14,461
Total $79,394 $46,234 −$33,159

Side by side

MetricSan Francisco, CAFort Collins, CO
Cost-of-living index117.697.3
Unemployment rate5.22%4.57%
Population growth (5-yr)1.1%8.6%
Air quality (median AQI)5354
Big Mac price (est.)$6.69$5.54
Median home price$1,149,215$556,500
Home price ÷ income8.9×6.4×
1-yr home appreciation-0.8%-1.5%
Price per square foot$766$293
Median rent$3,258$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)3323
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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