Moving to Colorado from Michigan
What to Expect
A comprehensive look at what changes when you move from Michigan to Colorado — from daily expenses to quality of life.
If you moved from Michigan to Colorado, you would find that Colorado is 21.6% more expensive than Michigan. A $75,000 salary in Michigan would need to be roughly $92,064 in Colorado to maintain the same lifestyle.
How Far Will Your Money Go?
How your spending power changes when you relocate from Michigan to Colorado.
What does your salary buy?
$75,000 → $92,064
To maintain the same standard of living in Colorado
Calculate with your salary →The biggest cost differences at a glance
Restaurants
pay 18.9% more
Groceries
pay 12.0% more
Transportation
pay 19.8% more
Housing
pay 34.8% more
Childcare
pay 17.5% more
Entertainment and Sports
pay 23.5% 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.
Key Indicator Comparison
How Michigan and Colorado 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
Michigan performs better than Colorado across all safety metrics.
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 Michigan leads in uninsured rate.
What about housing?
typical price of a home
typical monthly gross rent
share of homes that are owner-occupied
Michigan 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
Michigan generally does better on infrastructure, though Colorado leads in internet access.
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 Michigan 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 Michigan across all family life metrics.
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 | Lansing | Denver |
|---|---|---|
| Jan–Mar | 36°/21°F (2°/-6°C) | 48°/21°F (9°/-6°C) |
| Apr–Jun | 68°/48°F (20°/9°C) | 72°/43°F (22°/6°C) |
| Jul–Sep | 79°/57°F (26°/14°C) | 85°/55°F (29°/13°C) |
| Oct–Dec | 47°/32°F (9°/0°C) | 53°/26°F (12°/-3°C) |
View all months
| Month | Lansing | Denver |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 31°/17°F (-0.8°/-8.3°C) | 44°/17°F (6.7°/-8.1°C) |
| Feb | 34°/19°F (0.9°/-7.4°C) | 46°/19°F (7.9°/-7.3°C) |
| Mar | 44°/27°F (6.7°/-2.8°C) | 54°/26°F (12.4°/-3.1°C) |
| Apr | 58°/38°F (14.2°/3.3°C) | 62°/33°F (16.4°/0.7°C) |
| May | 69°/48°F (20.5°/8.9°C) | 71°/43°F (21.9°/5.9°C) |
| Jun | 78°/58°F (25.8°/14.2°C) | 82°/52°F (28.0°/11.3°C) |
| Jul | 82°/61°F (27.9°/16.2°C) | 89°/59°F (31.9°/14.9°C) |
| Aug | 81°/60°F (27.0°/15.5°C) | 87°/58°F (30.7°/14.4°C) |
| Sep | 74°/51°F (23.1°/10.8°C) | 78°/48°F (25.8°/9.1°C) |
| Oct | 60°/41°F (15.8°/5.1°C) | 65°/37°F (18.5°/2.6°C) |
| Nov | 47°/33°F (8.6°/0.5°C) | 52°/24°F (11.2°/-4.2°C) |
| Dec | 35°/22°F (1.6°/-5.3°C) | 43°/17°F (6.0°/-8.3°C) |
Data:
National Weather Service
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it cheaper to live in Colorado than Michigan?
Day-to-day costs in Colorado run about 23% higher than Michigan on average; specific cities can swing further.
How much money do I need to move to Colorado?
A safe rule of thumb is 3 months of local expenses plus relocation costs. On a $75,000 comparable salary, that's around $23,016 in Colorado for everyday spending, before movers, a truck rental, and a rental deposit.
Is Colorado safe?
Michigan performs better than Colorado across all safety metrics.
How is healthcare in Colorado compared to Michigan?
Colorado generally does better on health & wellbeing, though Michigan leads in uninsured rate.
What's the weather like in Colorado compared to Michigan?
The average high temperature in Denver is 65°F, compared to 58°F in Lansing. Denver receives around 14.3 in of rainfall per year, while Lansing gets 32.2 in.
