Grand Junction vs Fort Collins leftover
You'd keep $274 more a month in Fort Collins
$2,405/mo leftover in Fort Collins vs $2,131 in Grand Junction after tax and rent ($274 more). +$3,288 a year for the same registered nurse, the same household size, and the same number of bedrooms. Not a cost-of-living index.
Grand Junction leftover
$2,131
a month after tax and rent
Fort Collins leftover
$2,405
+$274 vs Grand Junction
Compare Grand Junction to another metro
Same paycheck. Try a different city next to Grand Junction.
Monthly gap
Grand Junction → Fort Collins
$274
more / month in Fort Collins
$2,405 in Fort Collins · $2,131 in Grand Junction · 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, 91 households moved Grand Junction → Fort Collins (avg AGI $62,473). 88 went the other way. The whole move →
+$274 / mo
| Per month | Grand Junction | Fort Collins | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $6,917 | $7,573 | +$657 |
| Income and payroll tax | $1,603 | $1,826 | +$224 |
| Take-home pay | $5,314 | $5,747 | +$433 |
| Rent | $1,252 | $1,473 | +$221 |
| Getting around | $520 | $459 | −$61 |
| Groceries | $389 | $389 | $0 |
| Healthcare | $438 | $438 | $0 |
| Utilities | $243 | $243 | $0 |
| Everything else | $341 | $341 | $0 |
| Left over | $2,131 | $2,405 | +$274 |
To break even in Fort Collins, you'd need to earn
$86,000
Household gross, versus $83,000 today. That's the salary that leaves you exactly as much at the end of the month as Grand Junction does now.
The tax difference alone
−$347
A year, in state and local income tax. Effective rates: 23.2% in Grand Junction, 24.1% in Fort Collins.
More about Fort Collins
Grand Junction, CO in full
A flat 4.4% state income tax, a median 2-bedroom asking rent of $1,490 and 260 sunny days; commutes average 19 minutes.
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.
The reverse move
Same two cities, but starting from Fort Collins on Fort Collins wages.
Fort Collins → Grand Junction →Questions
Is the cost of living lower in Fort Collins than Grand Junction?
A one-bedroom is about $1,252 in Grand Junction versus $1,473 in Fort Collins. On a one-adult, one-bedroom household, leftover is about $274 a month higher in Fort Collins. Change the job or household on the comparison to see your number.
Does Fort Collins have state income tax?
Fort Collins is in Colorado, which taxes wage income.
What changes if you move from Grand Junction to Fort Collins?
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 Grand Junction and Fort Collins 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.