Colorado vs. South Dakota Cost of Living Summary

Colorado is 33.5% more expensive than South Dakota.

Restaurants
pay 29.3% more in Colorado
Groceries
pay 13.6% more in Colorado
Transportation
pay 27.9% more in Colorado
Housing
pay 47.6% more in Colorado
Childcare
pay 2.3 times more in Colorado
Entertainment and Sports
pay 26.4% more in Colorado
Clothing
pay 6.1% more in Colorado

The cost of childcare, housing, restaurants, transportation, entertainment and sports, and groceries in Colorado are more expensive than in South Dakota. Notably, childcare is significantly more expensive in Colorado.

Colorado vs. South Dakota Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Colorado instead of South Dakota, you would:

pay 29.3% more for restaurants

 
South Dakota
Colorado
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $13.00
 
$20.04
 
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$10.33
 
$11.71
 
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $2.53
 
$2.81
 

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pay 13.6% more for groceries

 
South Dakota
Colorado
Bread
1 loaf
$2.80
 
$3.75
 
Local cheese (8 oz) $5.94
 
$6.72
 
Milk (1 gallon) $3.55
 
$3.89
 

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pay 27.9% more for transportation

 
South Dakota
Colorado
Gasoline (1 gallon) $3.52
 
$3.77
 
Monthly public transit pass $30.00
 
$76.33
 
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $35,246.50
 
$33,330.00
 

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pay 47.6% more for housing

 
South Dakota
Colorado
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$58.99
 
$71.45
 
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $1,145.83
 
$2,019.84
 
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $1,105.14
 
$1,732.21
 

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pay 2.3 times more for childcare

 
South Dakota
Colorado
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $833.31
 
$1,465.53
 
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $7,800.00
 
$23,211.68
 

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pay 26.4% more for entertainment and sports

 
South Dakota
Colorado
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $4.00
 
$6.32
 
Cappuccino in mid-range area $4.71
 
$5.54
 
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$9.54
 
$10.27
 

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pay 6.1% more for clothing

 
South Dakota
Colorado
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$46.56
 
$60.67
 
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$43.33
 
$45.03
 
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$91.03
 
$88.67
 

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We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated October 2026). How we calculate this

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