Colorado Springs vs Boulder leftover
You'd keep $156 more a month in Boulder
$2,496/mo leftover in Boulder vs $2,340 in Colorado Springs after tax and rent ($156 more). +$1,872 a year for the same registered nurse, the same household size, and the same number of bedrooms. Not a cost-of-living index.
Colorado Springs leftover
$2,340
a month after tax and rent
Boulder leftover
$2,496
+$156 vs Colorado Springs
Compare Colorado Springs to another metro
Same paycheck. Try a different city next to Colorado Springs.
Monthly gap
Colorado Springs → Boulder
$156
more / month in Boulder
$2,496 in Boulder · $2,340 in Colorado Springs · One adult, renting a 1-bedroom
Home
Only when you tap. We match the nearest metro and don't keep the coordinates.
Destination
In 2022-2023, 190 households moved Colorado Springs → Boulder (avg AGI $68,668). 183 went the other way. The whole move →
+$156 / mo
| Per month | Colorado Springs | Boulder | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $7,417 | $7,799 | +$383 |
| Income and payroll tax | $1,773 | $1,903 | +$130 |
| Take-home pay | $5,644 | $5,896 | +$252 |
| Rent | $1,298 | $1,647 | +$349 |
| Getting around | $571 | $342 | −$229 |
| Groceries | $396 | $389 | −$7 |
| Healthcare | $446 | $438 | −$8 |
| Utilities | $248 | $243 | −$5 |
| Everything else | $347 | $341 | −$6 |
| Left over | $2,340 | $2,496 | +$156 |
To break even in Boulder, you'd need to earn
$91,000
Household gross, versus $89,000 today. That's the salary that leaves you exactly as much at the end of the month as Colorado Springs does now.
The tax difference alone
−$202
A year, in state and local income tax. Effective rates: 23.9% in Colorado Springs, 24.4% in Boulder.
More about Boulder
Colorado Springs, CO in full
Denver's mountains and sunshine, with the lowest property tax on this list.
Boulder, CO in full
A flat 4.4% state income tax, a median 2-bedroom asking rent of $1,961 and 250 sunny days; commutes average 23 minutes.
The reverse move
Same two cities, but starting from Boulder on Boulder wages.
Boulder → Colorado Springs →Questions
Is the cost of living lower in Boulder than Colorado Springs?
A one-bedroom is about $1,298 in Colorado Springs versus $1,647 in Boulder. On a one-adult, one-bedroom household, leftover is about $156 a month higher in Boulder. Change the job or household on the comparison to see your number.
Does Boulder have state income tax?
Boulder is in Colorado, which taxes wage income.
What changes if you move from Colorado Springs to Boulder?
Take-home pay is recalculated under Colorado tax, rent is priced at the same bedroom count, and leftover is the gap. The from-to page also lists IRS households that already made the move, when that data exists.
Leftover is take-home after federal, state and city wage tax, minus asking rent at the bedroom count you set, minus a modelled month of groceries, utilities, healthcare, transport and childcare. It is not a cost-of-living index and not a moving quote. The dollar gap between Colorado Springs and Boulder moves when you change the job, remote versus local pay, or bedrooms. How the math works · Leftover vs a COL index · Why a cheaper COL% can still lose leftover.
Rent is Zillow's asking rent for each metro; taxes and living costs are modelled. An estimate, not a quote or tax advice. How this is calculated.