Moving to Colorado from New York
What to Expect
Everything you need to know before relocating from New York to Colorado — costs, safety, healthcare, and practical first steps.
If you moved from New York to Colorado, you would find that Colorado is 3.7% cheaper than New York. A $75,000 salary in New York would need to be roughly $74,185 in Colorado to maintain the same lifestyle.
How Far Will Your Money Go?
What to expect for your wallet after moving from New York to Colorado.
What does your salary buy?
$75,000 → $74,185
To maintain the same standard of living in Colorado
Calculate with your salary →Where you'll feel the difference day-to-day
Restaurants
pay 8.5% more
Groceries
pay 9.8% less
Transportation
pay 9.3% less
Housing
pay 5.9% more
Childcare
pay 20.6% less
Entertainment and Sports
pay 8.6% less
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%).
Compare cities head-to-head
Key Indicator Comparison
Key indicators for anyone considering a move from New York to Colorado.
Is it safe?
incidents per 100,000 people per year
incidents per 100,000 people per year
New York 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 New York leads in uninsured rate.
What about housing?
typical price of a home
typical monthly gross rent
share of homes that are owner-occupied
New York generally does better on what about housing?, though Colorado leads in homeownership rate.
Will I have good infrastructure?
share of households with internet
minutes each way to work
Colorado performs significantly better than New York 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 New York 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 performs significantly better than New York 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 | Albany | Denver |
|---|---|---|
| Jan–Mar | 37°/19°F (2°/-7°C) | 48°/21°F (9°/-6°C) |
| Apr–Jun | 68°/47°F (20°/8°C) | 72°/43°F (22°/6°C) |
| Jul–Sep | 78°/58°F (26°/14°C) | 85°/55°F (29°/13°C) |
| Oct–Dec | 48°/31°F (9°/-1°C) | 53°/26°F (12°/-3°C) |
View all months
| Month | Albany | Denver |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 31°/15°F (-0.8°/-9.7°C) | 44°/17°F (6.7°/-8.1°C) |
| Feb | 35°/17°F (1.4°/-8.2°C) | 46°/19°F (7.9°/-7.3°C) |
| Mar | 44°/26°F (6.9°/-3.5°C) | 54°/26°F (12.4°/-3.1°C) |
| Apr | 58°/37°F (14.6°/2.9°C) | 62°/33°F (16.4°/0.7°C) |
| May | 69°/47°F (20.8°/8.4°C) | 71°/43°F (21.9°/5.9°C) |
| Jun | 78°/56°F (25.5°/13.6°C) | 82°/52°F (28.0°/11.3°C) |
| Jul | 82°/61°F (27.9°/16.3°C) | 89°/59°F (31.9°/14.9°C) |
| Aug | 80°/60°F (26.9°/15.5°C) | 87°/58°F (30.7°/14.4°C) |
| Sep | 72°/52°F (22.3°/10.9°C) | 78°/48°F (25.8°/9.1°C) |
| Oct | 60°/40°F (15.4°/4.2°C) | 65°/37°F (18.5°/2.6°C) |
| Nov | 48°/31°F (8.8°/-0.3°C) | 52°/24°F (11.2°/-4.2°C) |
| Dec | 36°/21°F (2.1°/-6.0°C) | 43°/17°F (6.0°/-8.3°C) |
Data:
National Weather Service
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it cheaper to live in Colorado than New York?
Costs in Colorado and New York are broadly similar overall, though categories like rent and dining differ between cities.
How much money do I need to move to Colorado?
Plan for at least 3 months of living expenses — roughly $18,546 in Colorado on a $75,000 comparable salary — plus one-off moving costs (movers, a truck rental, and a rental deposit).
Is Colorado safe?
New York performs better than Colorado across all safety metrics.
How is healthcare in Colorado compared to New York?
Colorado generally does better on health & wellbeing, though New York leads in uninsured rate.
What's the weather like in Colorado compared to New York?
The average high temperature in Denver is 65°F, compared to 58°F in Albany. Denver receives around 14.3 in of rainfall per year, while Albany gets 39.4 in.
