Fort Collins vs Denver leftover
You'd keep $247 more a month in Denver
$2,631/mo leftover in Denver vs $2,384 in Fort Collins after tax and rent ($247 more). +$2,964 a year for the same registered nurse, the same household size, and the same number of bedrooms. Not a cost-of-living index.
Fort Collins leftover
$2,384
a month after tax and rent
Denver leftover
$2,631
+$247 vs Fort Collins
Compare Fort Collins to another metro
Same paycheck. Try a different city next to Fort Collins.
Monthly gap
Fort Collins → Denver
$247
more / month in Denver
$2,631 in Denver · $2,384 in Fort Collins · 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, 2,366 households moved Fort Collins → Denver (avg AGI $62,492). 2,438 went the other way. The whole move →
+$247 / mo
| Per month | Fort Collins | Denver | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $7,542 | $8,250 | +$708 |
| Income and payroll tax | $1,816 | $2,057 | +$241 |
| Take-home pay | $5,726 | $6,193 | +$467 |
| Rent | $1,473 | $1,489 | +$16 |
| Getting around | $459 | $551 | +$92 |
| Groceries | $389 | $420 | +$31 |
| Healthcare | $438 | $473 | +$35 |
| Utilities | $243 | $263 | +$20 |
| Everything else | $341 | $368 | +$27 |
| Left over | $2,384 | $2,631 | +$247 |
To break even in Denver, you'd need to earn
$94,500
Household gross, versus $90,500 today. That's the salary that leaves you exactly as much at the end of the month as Fort Collins does now.
The tax difference alone
−$374
A year, in state and local income tax. Effective rates: 24.1% in Fort Collins, 24.9% in Denver.
More about Denver
Fort Collins, CO in full
A flat 4.4% state income tax, a median 2-bedroom asking rent of $1,753 and 253 sunny days; commutes average 23 minutes.
Denver, CO in full
Mountains in an hour, 245 sunny days, and a flat 4.4% state tax.
The reverse move
Same two cities, but starting from Denver on Denver wages.
Denver → Fort Collins →Questions
Is the cost of living lower in Denver than Fort Collins?
A one-bedroom is about $1,473 in Fort Collins versus $1,489 in Denver. On a one-adult, one-bedroom household, leftover is about $247 a month higher in Denver. Change the job or household on the comparison to see your number.
Does Denver have state income tax?
Denver is in Colorado, which taxes wage income.
What changes if you move from Fort Collins to Denver?
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 Fort Collins and Denver 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.