Cost of Living in Colorado: A Guide for Homebuyers

If you’re considering a move to Colorado, understanding the cost of living in the Centennial State can help you make plans with more confidence.

In this guide, we break down what makes up the cost of living in Colorado, from housing expenses to food and healthcare costs. We’ll provide data from state cost of living index tools and how Colorado ranks in the nation for livability.

We’ll also share a handy set of additional online resources to measure and compare cost of living expenses in different Colorado communities.

What makes up the ‘cost of living’ in Colorado?

When you’re planning to live in a new state, the cost of living there will be a combination of expenses required to maintain your desired lifestyle. Statista a leading market data platform, defines “cost of living” as “the monetary cost of goods and services necessary to maintaining a certain standard of living.”

This overall cost will vary significantly based on location, even within the state. But the core living expenses you’ll pay for typically include the following categories:

Housing (rent/mortgage)
Energy (utilities)
Food (groceries)
Transportation (vehicles or transit systems)
Healthcare (doctors, hospitals, etc.)

However, the costs often extend beyond these basics to cover other expenses, such as:

Clothing
Education
Childcare
Entertainment

These elements, when combined, establish the core costs associated with a particular way of living. However, the standard of living you achieve is largely influenced by your income and debts, and how the dollar amounts compare to the costs of basic needs in the Colorado city where you live — or want to live.

Let’s take a quick look at some ways you can compare the cost of living you have now with what you might experience if you move to Colorado.

What’s a Colorado cost of living index (CLI)?

A cost of living index (CLI) monitors how much these basic expenses go up or down over time in different cities or regions. They provide a way for you to compare the price of maintaining a certain standard of living.

The CLI is calculated by assessing the price of essential goods and services such as housing, food, healthcare, and transportation in different areas.

An index is typically standardized, with a base city or region being assigned a baseline index value (often set at 100). Other cities or regions are then compared against this benchmark. For example, a Colorado area with a CLI of 120 would signify that living there is 20% more expensive than the base location, while an index of 80 indicates it’s 20% less expensive.

A cost of living index will typically break down and score each basic expense by category. Here are separate scores for Colorado from the worldpopulationreview.com Cost of Living Index:

Groceries: 100.60
Housing: 116.10
Utilities: 90.90
Transportation: 107.40
Health: 102.00
Miscellaneous: 103.00