Moving to Colorado from United States
What to Expect
A comprehensive look at what changes when you move from United States to Colorado — from daily expenses to quality of life.
If you moved from United States to Colorado, you would find that Colorado is 3.8% more expensive than United States overall. A $75,000 salary in United States would need to be roughly $68,240 in Colorado to maintain the same lifestyle.
How Far Will Your Money Go?
How your spending power changes when you relocate from United States to Colorado.
What does your salary buy?
$75,000 → $68,240
To maintain the same standard of living in Colorado
Calculate with your salary →The biggest cost differences at a glance
Restaurants
pay 7.6% more
Groceries
pay 2.3% less
Transportation
pay 4.2% more
Housing
pay 9.2% more
Childcare
pay 6.0% less
Entertainment and Sports
pay 4.8% 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 Colorado cost about 19% less than cities in United States.
Compare cities head-to-head
Key Indicator Comparison
How United States and Colorado stack up on safety, healthcare, jobs, and infrastructure.
How's the healthcare?
share of adults with obesity
Colorado performs significantly better than United States across all health & wellbeing metrics.
Will I have good infrastructure?
share of households with internet
Colorado performs significantly better than United States across all infrastructure metrics.
What are the job prospects?
percentage of the labour force without work
a broad measure of economic output per person
share of people below the poverty line
Colorado performs significantly better than United States across all employment & economy metrics.
Is it good for families?
average years of life at birth
United States performs better than Colorado across all family life metrics.
Data: The World Factbook
What's the Climate Like?
Monthly averages — select a city to compare.
Avg. annual high / low
Avg. annual high / low
| Months | Washington | Denver |
|---|---|---|
| Jan–Mar | 48°/28°F (9°/-2°C) | 48°/21°F (9°/-6°C) |
| Apr–Jun | 75°/51°F (24°/11°C) | 72°/43°F (22°/6°C) |
| Jul–Sep | 85°/62°F (29°/17°C) | 85°/55°F (29°/13°C) |
| Oct–Dec | 57°/35°F (14°/2°C) | 53°/26°F (12°/-3°C) |
View all months
| Month | Washington | Denver |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 42°/24°F (5.8°/-4.5°C) | 44°/17°F (6.7°/-8.1°C) |
| Feb | 46°/26°F (8.0°/-3.3°C) | 46°/19°F (7.9°/-7.3°C) |
| Mar | 56°/33°F (13.1°/0.5°C) | 54°/26°F (12.4°/-3.1°C) |
| Apr | 67°/42°F (19.3°/5.6°C) | 62°/33°F (16.4°/0.7°C) |
| May | 75°/51°F (23.9°/10.7°C) | 71°/43°F (21.9°/5.9°C) |
| Jun | 84°/61°F (28.8°/16.1°C) | 82°/52°F (28.0°/11.3°C) |
| Jul | 88°/65°F (31.1°/18.6°C) | 89°/59°F (31.9°/14.9°C) |
| Aug | 87°/64°F (30.3°/17.9°C) | 87°/58°F (30.7°/14.4°C) |
| Sep | 79°/56°F (26.3°/13.5°C) | 78°/48°F (25.8°/9.1°C) |
| Oct | 68°/44°F (20.1°/6.6°C) | 65°/37°F (18.5°/2.6°C) |
| Nov | 58°/35°F (14.2°/1.8°C) | 52°/24°F (11.2°/-4.2°C) |
| Dec | 46°/27°F (7.8°/-2.7°C) | 43°/17°F (6.0°/-8.3°C) |
Data:
National Weather Service
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it cheaper to live in Colorado than United States?
Generally yes: Colorado runs about 9% cheaper than United States on average, though it depends heavily on the city.
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 $17,060 in Colorado for everyday spending, before flights, shipping, a rental deposit, and visa fees.
Can I work remotely from Colorado?
Working remotely from Colorado's major cities is generally feasible. The legal layer matters more — visa category, employer policy on overseas employees, and tax residency in United States and Colorado.
How is healthcare in Colorado compared to United States?
Colorado performs significantly better than United States across all health & wellbeing metrics.
What's the weather like in Colorado compared to United States?
The average high temperature in Denver is 65°F, compared to 66°F in Washington. Denver receives around 14.3 in of rainfall per year, while Washington gets 41.5 in.
What language do they speak in Colorado?
Both United States and Colorado share the same official language: English.
