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Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Thornton breaks the usual trade-off between income and cost of living. Most affordable cities pay less — but Thornton delivers a median household income of $100,985 (26% above the national median) while keeping costs 1 points below national average. That's a rare combination shared by only 40 of the…
#1 Ranked: Thornton — cost index 110, rent $1,888/mo, income $100,985
Thornton: high income, low cost — a rare combo
8 of 11 cities come in below the national cost-of-living average of 111
Data sourced from Census Bureau, Zillow, BLS, and Tax Foundation — current as of 2026
| Rank | City | Cost Index | Median Rent | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Thornton | 110 | $1,888 | Details |
| 2 | Centennial | 120 | $2,056 | Details |
| 3 | Pueblo | 77 | $1,316 | Details |
| 4 | Colorado Springs | 97 | $1,667 | Details |
| 5 | Arvada | 120 | $2,053 | Details |
| 6 | Westminster | 104 | $1,788 | Details |
| 7 | Aurora | 99 | $1,689 | Details |
| 8 | Denver | 106 | $1,818 | Details |
| 9 | Greeley | 84 | $1,442 | Details |
| 10 | Lakewood | 101 | $1,733 | Details |
| 11 | Fort Collins | 115 | $1,970 | Details |
Thornton breaks the usual trade-off between income and cost of living. Most affordable cities pay less — but Thornton delivers a median household income of $100,985 (26% above the national median) while keeping costs 1 points below national average. That's a rare combination shared by only 40 of the 288 cities we track (and that gap widens if you factor in state taxes).
Here's Thornton by the numbers — and there's a lot to like (and a little to watch). Cost index: 110. Rent: $1,888/month. Income: $100,985/year. Home price: $497,741. Population: 144,922. The strongest category is Healthcare at 102; the most expensive is Housing at 110. Translate that rent to annual numbers, and residents are saving renters $84 per year vs. the national median. The delta here is big enough to fund a retirement account.
If you're ready to act on this, three things to do next: 1) Click into the city pages for the top 3 and check rent trends — direction matters more than the snapshot. 2) Run your income through the salary calculator for a personalized cost comparison. 3) Compare your top two picks head-to-head on our comparison page. The data is here; the decision is yours.
144,922 residents · Colorado
Here's Thornton by the numbers — and there's a lot to like (and a little to watch). Cost index: 110. Rent: $1,888/month. Income: $100,985/year. Home price: $497,741. Population: 144,922. The strongest category is Healthcare at 102; the most expensive is Housing at 110. Translate that rent to annual numbers, and residents are saving renters $84 per year vs. the national median. This alone could tip the scales.
106,883 residents · Colorado
Centennial earns its position at #2 through a combination that's hard to replicate. The 120 cost index sits 9 points above the national baseline, and the $128,167 — though some people might weigh that differently — median income means purchasing power here is partially offset by higher costs. Homes list at $638,401 — $171,031 above the national median, reflecting the local market dynamics. On the cost side, Healthcare leads the way at 104, while Housing trails at 120.
111,077 residents · Colorado
The #3 spot goes to Pueblo, and the breakdown explains why. Renters here pay $1,316/month — for better or worse — — saving renters $6,948 per year compared to the national average. Meanwhile, Housing is the standout at index 77, making it one of the cheapest in the country for that category. The weak spot? Healthcare at 95. A 29% rent-to-income ratio keeps most households inside the safe zone.
488,664 residents · Colorado
A closer look at Colorado Springs: the cost index of 97 — we had to double-check this one — breaks down to a Housing index of 97 (strongest category) and a Healthcare index of 99 (weakest). And from what we can tell, fairly typical for a city this size. Median rent is $1,667/month — 12% below the national median — while household income sits at $83,198, meaning locals spend about 24% of income on rent. That's a healthy margin by any standard.
121,414 residents · Colorado
What does daily life actually cost in Arvada? Start with the 22% rent-to-income ratio — that's the kind of margin that lets people build savings. On the category level, Healthcare (index 104) is where the real savings show up, while Housing (index 120) is the line item most likely to surprise newcomers. Income at $113,396 and homes at $608,988 round out a profile that ranks #5 for clear reasons.
Thornton ranks #1 in Colorado for this analysis with a cost index of 110 and median income of $100,985.
Our cost of living index uses real Zillow rent data as the foundation, indexed to 100 (national median). Sub-categories (housing, food, transport, utilities, healthcare) are derived from the overall index with regional adjustments. Data is updated monthly.
Thornton (ranked #1) has a cost index of 110 and rent of $1,888/mo, while Fort Collins (ranked #11) has a cost index of 115 and rent of $1,970/mo — a 5-point difference in cost of living.
City data is refreshed monthly from Census Bureau population estimates, Zillow rent and home price indices, BLS salary data, and Tax Foundation tax rates. Last updated: 2026.
The median 1-bedroom rent in Thornton is $1,888/month as of 2026, based on Zillow's Observed Rent Index. This is $7 below the national median of $1,895/month.
The median home price in Thornton is $497,741, which is 4.9× the local median income. It's on the edge of affordability for median-income households. The national median home price is $467,370.
Colorado has a 4.4% state income tax rate. Combined state and local sales tax averages 7.81%, and the effective property tax rate is 0.49%.
This ranking was generated using data current as of early 2026. Population and income data comes from the Census Bureau's American Community Survey (5-year estimates). Rent and home price data is from Zillow's monthly releases. Tax rates are from the Tax Foundation's 2025 edition. Rankings are refreshed monthly.