Cost of living comparison
compared to
Fort Collins vs. Washington Cost of Living Summary
Fort Collins is 19.3% cheaper than Washington.
- Restaurants
-
pay 16.0% less in Fort Collins
- Groceries
-
pay 26.6% less in Fort Collins
- Transportation
-
pay 2.5% less in Fort Collins
- Housing
-
pay 18.2% less in Fort Collins
- Childcare
-
pay 55.7% less in Fort Collins
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 25.0% less in Fort Collins
- Clothing
-
pay 9.1% more in Fort Collins
Expenses including childcare, groceries, entertainment and sports, housing, restaurants, and transportation are lower in Fort Collins.
Fort Collins vs. Washington Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Fort Collins instead of Washington, you would:
pay 16.0% less for restaurants
|
Washington
|
Fort Collins
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$25.00
|
$18.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$12.00
|
$12.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$3.20
|
$2.60
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.79
|
$2.75
|
|
Washington vs. Fort Collins - Cost of restaurants
pay 26.6% less for groceries
|
Washington
|
Fort Collins
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$4.43
|
$3.09
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$8.04
|
$5.51
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.19
|
$3.89
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.55
|
$4.33
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$7.74
|
$3.90
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.95
|
$1.76
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.92
|
$0.70
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.20
|
$1.95
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$3.00
|
$2.28
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.35
|
$1.05
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.64
|
$0.87
|
|
Washington vs. Fort Collins - Cost of groceries
pay 2.5% less for transportation
|
Washington
|
Fort Collins
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.53
|
$3.09
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$77.50
|
?? | |
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$35,699.74
|
$36,029.12
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$16.73
|
$17.41
|
|
Washington vs. Fort Collins - Cost of transportation
pay 18.2% less for housing
|
Washington
|
Fort Collins
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$69.41
|
$76.67
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$2,568.48
|
$1,783.33
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$2,088.16
|
$1,250.00
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$146.54
|
$127.72
|
|
Washington vs. Fort Collins - Cost of housing
pay 55.7% less for childcare
|
Washington
|
Fort Collins
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$2,650.00
|
$1,525.00
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$40,166.67
|
$12,500.00
|
|
Washington vs. Fort Collins - Cost of childcare
pay 25.0% less for entertainment and sports
|
Washington
|
Fort Collins
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$8.00
|
$7.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$6.07
|
$5.17
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$13.00
|
$9.50
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$103.76
|
$60.00
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$16.75
|
$12.00
|
|
Washington vs. Fort Collins - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 9.1% more for clothing
|
Washington
|
Fort Collins
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$76.00
|
$67.50
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$48.40
|
$91.67
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$104.31
|
$80.00
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$133.22
|
$108.33
|
|
Washington vs. Fort Collins - 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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