Moving to Colorado from Louisiana
What to Expect
Everything you need to know before relocating from Louisiana to Colorado — costs, safety, healthcare, and practical first steps.
If you moved from Louisiana to Colorado, you would find that Colorado is 25.4% more expensive than Louisiana. A $75,000 salary in Louisiana would need to be roughly $94,000 in Colorado to maintain the same lifestyle. Expect a noticeable climate shift — Denver averages 65°F vs 77°F in New Orleans, making it significantly cooler. New Orleans and Denver are about 1,100 mi apart.
Is Colorado cheaper than Louisiana?
Where you'll feel the difference day-to-day
Restaurants
pay 6.9% more
Groceries
pay 4.9% more
Transportation
pay 13.4% more
Housing
pay 52.6% more
Childcare
pay 44.2% more
Entertainment and Sports
pay 22.1% 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.
What salary do you need in Colorado?
What does your salary buy?
$75,000 → $94,000
To maintain the same standard of living in Colorado
Calculate with your salary →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 Colorado cost about 13% more than cities in Louisiana.
Compare cities head-to-head
Key Indicator Comparison
Key indicators for anyone considering a move from Louisiana to Colorado.
Is it safe?
incidents per 100,000 people per year
incidents per 100,000 people per year
Louisiana generally does better on safety, though Colorado leads in violent 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 performs significantly better than Louisiana across all health & wellbeing metrics.
What about housing?
typical price of a home
typical monthly gross rent
share of homes that are owner-occupied
Louisiana performs better than Colorado across all what about housing? metrics.
Will I have good infrastructure?
share of households with internet
minutes each way to work
Colorado performs significantly better than Louisiana 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 performs significantly better than Louisiana across all employment & economy metrics.
Is it good for families?
average years of life at birth
share of adults with a 4-year college degree
Colorado performs significantly better than Louisiana across all family life metrics.
Sources: US Census Bureau (American Community Survey) (2023), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (PLACES) (2022), FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (2023), Bureau of Labor Statistics (2025), Bureau of Economic Analysis (2024), OECD Regional Demography (2020). How we calculate this
Weather in Colorado vs Louisiana
Monthly averages — select a city to compare.
Avg. annual high / low
Avg. annual high / low
| Months | New Orleans | Denver |
|---|---|---|
| Jan–Mar | 65°/51°F (18°/10°C) | 48°/21°F (9°/-6°C) |
| Apr–Jun | 84°/70°F (29°/21°C) | 72°/43°F (22°/6°C) |
| Jul–Sep | 89°/77°F (32°/25°C) | 85°/55°F (29°/13°C) |
| Oct–Dec | 71°/57°F (21°/14°C) | 53°/26°F (12°/-3°C) |
View all months
| Month | New Orleans | Denver |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 60°/46°F (15.6°/8.0°C) | 44°/17°F (6.7°/-8.1°C) |
| Feb | 64°/50°F (17.9°/9.9°C) | 46°/19°F (7.9°/-7.3°C) |
| Mar | 71°/56°F (21.4°/13.3°C) | 54°/26°F (12.4°/-3.1°C) |
| Apr | 77°/63°F (25.2°/17.1°C) | 62°/33°F (16.4°/0.7°C) |
| May | 85°/71°F (29.2°/21.5°C) | 71°/43°F (21.9°/5.9°C) |
| Jun | 89°/76°F (31.8°/24.4°C) | 82°/52°F (28.0°/11.3°C) |
| Jul | 90°/78°F (32.5°/25.5°C) | 89°/59°F (31.9°/14.9°C) |
| Aug | 91°/78°F (32.7°/25.7°C) | 87°/58°F (30.7°/14.4°C) |
| Sep | 87°/75°F (30.4°/23.7°C) | 78°/48°F (25.8°/9.1°C) |
| Oct | 79°/66°F (25.9°/18.9°C) | 65°/37°F (18.5°/2.6°C) |
| Nov | 71°/57°F (21.5°/13.7°C) | 52°/24°F (11.2°/-4.2°C) |
| Dec | 63°/49°F (17.0°/9.3°C) | 43°/17°F (6.0°/-8.3°C) |
Data:
National Weather Service
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it cheaper to live in Colorado than Louisiana?
No — Colorado is on average about 25% more expensive than Louisiana. City-level variation matters.
How much money do I need to move to Colorado?
Plan for at least 3 months of living expenses — roughly $23,500 in Colorado on a $75,000 comparable salary — plus one-off moving costs (movers, a truck rental, and a rental deposit).
Is Colorado safe?
Louisiana generally does better on safety, though Colorado leads in violent crime rate.
How is healthcare in Colorado compared to Louisiana?
Colorado performs significantly better than Louisiana across all health & wellbeing metrics.
What's the weather like in Colorado compared to Louisiana?
The average high temperature in Denver is 65°F, compared to 77°F in New Orleans. Denver receives around 14.3 in of rainfall per year, while New Orleans gets 56.8 in.
