Cost of living comparison
compared to
United States vs. Fort Collins Cost of Living Summary
United States is 5.0% more expensive than Fort Collins.
- Restaurants
-
pay 7.0% less in United States
- Groceries
-
pay 18.9% more in United States
- Transportation
-
pay 0.5% more in United States
- Housing
-
pay 3.6% more in United States
- Childcare
-
pay 38.3% more in United States
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 2.7% less in United States
- Clothing
-
pay 16.4% less in United States
The cost of childcare, groceries, housing, and transportation in United States are more expensive than in Fort Collins. Expenses including clothing, restaurants, and entertainment and sports are lower in United States.
United States vs. Fort Collins Cost Breakdown
If you lived in United States instead of Fort Collins, you would:
pay 7.0% less for restaurants
|
Fort Collins
|
United States
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$18.00
|
$19.45
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$12.00
|
$11.12
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.60
|
$2.56
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.75
|
$2.00
|
|
Fort Collins vs. United States - Cost of restaurants
pay 18.9% more for groceries
|
Fort Collins
|
United States
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$3.09
|
$3.56
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$5.51
|
$6.50
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$3.89
|
$3.97
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.33
|
$4.27
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$3.90
|
$5.41
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.76
|
$2.37
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.70
|
$0.78
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.95
|
$2.04
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.28
|
$2.21
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.05
|
$1.34
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.87
|
$1.38
|
|
Fort Collins vs. United States - Cost of groceries
pay 0.5% more for transportation
|
Fort Collins
|
United States
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.09
|
$3.41
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass | ?? |
$65.85
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$36,029.12
|
$32,336.38
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$17.41
|
$17.61
|
|
Fort Collins vs. United States - Cost of transportation
pay 3.6% more for housing
|
Fort Collins
|
United States
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$76.67
|
$68.97
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,783.33
|
$1,664.59
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,250.00
|
$1,416.15
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$127.72
|
$150.19
|
|
Fort Collins vs. United States - Cost of housing
pay 38.3% more for childcare
|
Fort Collins
|
United States
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,525.00
|
$1,387.27
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$12,500.00
|
$23,196.46
|
|
Fort Collins vs. United States - Cost of childcare
pay 2.7% less for entertainment and sports
|
Fort Collins
|
United States
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$7.00
|
$5.84
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.17
|
$5.15
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$9.50
|
$9.90
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$60.00
|
$51.45
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$12.00
|
$13.64
|
|
Fort Collins vs. United States - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 16.4% less for clothing
|
Fort Collins
|
United States
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$67.50
|
$51.08
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$91.67
|
$41.81
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$80.00
|
$87.56
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$108.33
|
$112.04
|
|
Fort Collins vs. United States - Cost of clothing
The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you.
We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world.
Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: December 2025
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