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Seattle, WA vs Fort Collins, CO

Moving from Seattle to Fort Collins? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($750,279 → $556,500 median home) and taxes.

Seattle vs Fort Collins at a glance

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

Seattle, WA Fort Collins, CO Cost-of-living index Seattle, WA — Cost-of-living index: 113 113 Fort Collins, CO — Cost-of-living index: 97 97 Median home price Seattle, WA — Median home price: $750k $750k Fort Collins, CO — Median home price: $557k $557k Price per sqft Seattle, WA — Price per sqft: $417 $417 Fort Collins, CO — Price per sqft: $293 $293 Median rent Seattle, WA — Median rent: $2,232 $2,232 Fort Collins, CO — Median rent: $1,928 $1,928 Combined sales tax Seattle, WA — Combined sales tax: 9.4% 9.4% Fort Collins, CO — Combined sales tax: 7.8% 7.8% Property tax rate Seattle, WA — Property tax rate: 0.88% 0.88% Fort Collins, CO — Property tax rate: 0.52% 0.52% Violent crime /100k Seattle, WA — Violent crime /100k: 375 375 Fort Collins, CO — Violent crime /100k: 490 490 Electricity ¢/kWh Seattle, WA — Electricity ¢/kWh: 14.4 14.4 Fort Collins, CO — Electricity ¢/kWh: 16.5 16.5 Avg commute (min) Seattle, WA — Avg commute (min): 30 30 Fort Collins, CO — Avg commute (min): 23 23 Avg summer high °F Seattle, WA — Avg summer high °F: 76° 76° Fort Collins, CO — Avg summer high °F: 88° 88° Avg winter low °F Seattle, WA — Avg winter low °F: 37° 37° Fort Collins, CO — Avg winter low °F: 18° 18°

To keep the same standard of living as $100,000 in Seattle, WA, you'd need about $86,319 in Fort Collins, CO (−$13,681).

Livability — Seattle, WA: 48 · Fort Collins, CO: 59 (0–100).

What your home budget buys

A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,200 sqft in Seattle vs 1,707 sqft in Fort Collins ($417 vs $293 per sqft).

Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)

CategorySeattle, WAFort Collins, CODifference
Housing $26,784 $23,136 −$3,648
Groceries $5,405 $4,814 −$591
Transportation $4,075 $4,050 −$25
Utilities $1,548 $1,788 +$240
Insurance $1,500 $2,800 +$1,300
Taxes $8,826 $9,647 +$821
Total $48,138 $46,234 −$1,904

Side by side

MetricSeattle, WAFort Collins, CO
Cost-of-living index112.797.3
Unemployment rate4.59%4.57%
Population growth (5-yr)7.1%8.6%
Air quality (median AQI)4754
Big Mac price (est.)$6.41$5.54
Median home price$750,279$556,500
Home price ÷ income7.0×6.4×
1-yr home appreciation-1.9%-1.5%
Price per square foot$417$293
Median rent$2,232$1,928
Total tax burden (% income)10.7%9.7%
Combined sales tax9.38%7.77%
Capital gains tax7.00%4.40%
Property tax rate0.88%0.52%
Healthcare (annual)$6,600$6,800
Childcare (annual, infant)$16,000$16,000
Vehicle property taxNone1.79%
Avg commute (min)3023
Home insurance / yr$1,500$2,800
Auto insurance / yr$1,600$2,000
Flood insurance / yr$700$550
Earthquake insurance / yr$700$100
Electricity ¢/kWh14.416.5
Gas $/gal4.553.30
Violent crime /100k375490
Avg summer high °F7688
Avg winter low °F3718
Permit difficulty (1–5)53
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