Moving to California from Colorado
What to Expect
A comprehensive look at what changes when you move from Colorado to California — from daily expenses to quality of life.
If you moved from Colorado to California, you would find that California is 12.0% more expensive than Colorado. A $75,000 salary in Colorado would need to be roughly $82,429 in California to maintain the same lifestyle. Expect a noticeable climate shift — Sacramento averages 74°F vs 65°F in Denver, making it significantly warmer.
How Far Will Your Money Go?
How your spending power changes when you relocate from Colorado to California.
What does your salary buy?
$75,000 → $82,429
To maintain the same standard of living in California
Calculate with your salary →The biggest cost differences at a glance
Restaurants
pay 2.6% more
Groceries
pay 12.1% more
Transportation
pay 12.9% more
Housing
pay 14.8% more
Childcare
pay 34.6% more
Entertainment and Sports
pay 11.7% more
Data: MyLifeElsewhere's crowdsourced cost of living database, with prices submitted and updated by users worldwide. Exchange rates are refreshed regularly from public sources.
Cost of living by city
Cost of living varies a lot by city. Each figure is a city's overall cost of living as a percentage of New York City (the priciest, = 100%).
On average, cities in California cost about 18% more than cities in Colorado.
Compare cities head-to-head
Key Indicator Comparison
How Colorado and California stack up on safety, healthcare, jobs, and infrastructure.
Is it safe?
incidents per 100,000 people per year
incidents per 100,000 people per year
Colorado generally does better on safety, though California leads in property crime rate.
How's the healthcare?
share of people without health insurance
share of adults with obesity
share of adults with diabetes
share of adults who smoke
Colorado generally does better on health & wellbeing, though California leads in uninsured rate.
What about housing?
typical price of a home
typical monthly gross rent
share of homes that are owner-occupied
Colorado performs better than California across all what about housing? metrics.
Will I have good infrastructure?
share of households with internet
minutes each way to work
Colorado performs better than California across all infrastructure metrics.
What are the job prospects?
percentage of the labour force without work
a broad measure of economic output per person
typical annual income of a household
share of people below the poverty line
Colorado generally does better on employment & economy, though California leads in gdp per capita.
Is it good for families?
average years of life at birth
share of adults with a 4-year college degree
Colorado generally does better on family life, though California leads in life expectancy.
Data: Bureau of Economic Analysis, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (PLACES), FBI Uniform Crime Reporting, OECD Regional Demography, US Census Bureau (American Community Survey)
What's the Climate Like?
Monthly averages — select a city to compare.
Avg. annual high / low
Avg. annual high / low
| Months | Denver | Sacramento |
|---|---|---|
| Jan–Mar | 48°/21°F (9°/-6°C) | 60°/41°F (15°/5°C) |
| Apr–Jun | 72°/43°F (22°/6°C) | 79°/51°F (26°/11°C) |
| Jul–Sep | 85°/55°F (29°/13°C) | 90°/57°F (32°/14°C) |
| Oct–Dec | 53°/26°F (12°/-3°C) | 65°/44°F (18°/7°C) |
View all months
| Month | Denver | Sacramento |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 44°/17°F (6.7°/-8.1°C) | 54°/39°F (12.1°/3.8°C) |
| Feb | 46°/19°F (7.9°/-7.3°C) | 60°/41°F (15.7°/5.2°C) |
| Mar | 54°/26°F (12.4°/-3.1°C) | 65°/44°F (18.4°/6.7°C) |
| Apr | 62°/33°F (16.4°/0.7°C) | 71°/46°F (21.7°/7.9°C) |
| May | 71°/43°F (21.9°/5.9°C) | 80°/51°F (26.6°/10.6°C) |
| Jun | 82°/52°F (28.0°/11.3°C) | 87°/56°F (30.6°/13.2°C) |
| Jul | 89°/59°F (31.9°/14.9°C) | 92°/58°F (33.4°/14.7°C) |
| Aug | 87°/58°F (30.7°/14.4°C) | 91°/58°F (32.9°/14.4°C) |
| Sep | 78°/48°F (25.8°/9.1°C) | 87°/56°F (30.7°/13.2°C) |
| Oct | 65°/37°F (18.5°/2.6°C) | 78°/50°F (25.3°/10.1°C) |
| Nov | 52°/24°F (11.2°/-4.2°C) | 64°/43°F (17.7°/6.0°C) |
| Dec | 43°/17°F (6.0°/-8.3°C) | 54°/38°F (12.2°/3.6°C) |
Data:
National Weather Service
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it cheaper to live in California than Colorado?
Day-to-day costs in California run about 10% higher than Colorado on average; specific cities can swing further.
How much money do I need to move to California?
A safe rule of thumb is 3 months of local expenses plus relocation costs. On a $75,000 comparable salary, that's around $20,607 in California for everyday spending, before movers, a truck rental, and a rental deposit.
Is California safe?
Colorado generally does better on safety, though California leads in property crime rate.
How is healthcare in California compared to Colorado?
Colorado generally does better on health & wellbeing, though California leads in uninsured rate.
What's the weather like in California compared to Colorado?
The average high temperature in Sacramento is 74°F, compared to 65°F in Denver. Sacramento receives around 18.5 in of rainfall per year, while Denver gets 14.3 in.
