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Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
The remote work era changed the math: earn a tech salary, live in an affordable market. We analyzed 11 cities across Colorado for that equation. Colorado Springs — cost index 97, utilities 99, rent $1,667/mo — leads (that's pre-tax, of course).
| Rank | City | Cost Index | Median Rent | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Colorado Springs | 97 | $1,667 | Details |
| 2 | Aurora | 99 | $1,689 | Details |
| 3 | Greeley | 84 | $1,442 | Details |
| 4 | Pueblo | 77 | $1,316 | Details |
| 5 | Denver | 106 | $1,818 | Details |
| 6 | Fort Collins | 115 | $1,970 | Details |
| 7 | Lakewood | 101 | $1,733 | Details |
| 8 | Thornton | 110 | $1,888 | Details |
| 9 | Arvada | 120 | $2,053 | Details |
| 10 | Westminster | 104 | $1,788 | Details |
| 11 | Centennial | 120 | $2,056 | Details |
#1 Ranked: Colorado Springs — cost index 97, rent $1,667/mo, income $83,198
Colorado Springs: high income, low cost — a rare combo
Remote-worker scoring: cost index 97, utilities index 99, income $83,198 — maximizing geographic arbitrage
Data sourced from Census Bureau, Zillow, BLS, and Tax Foundation — current as of 2026
The remote work era changed the math: earn a tech salary, live in an affordable market. We analyzed 11 cities across Colorado for that equation. Colorado Springs — cost index 97, utilities 99, rent $1,667/mo — leads (that's pre-tax, of course).
Why Colorado Springs ranks #1: the numbers tell a clear story. At 97 on the cost index, residents save roughly 14% less than the typical American. Rent sits at $1,667/month while the median household pulls in $83,198/year. The Housing category is particularly strong at 97, though Healthcare (99) lags behind. Home prices average $446,132 — $21,238 below the national median.
Remote workers profit from geographic arbitrage. Our model scores cost index (20pts), local income as a proxy for economic infrastructure (15pts), and utility costs (10pts) — because when your living room is your office, reliable affordable internet and power matter. Colorado Springs scores highest with a 97 cost index and 99 utilities index. Aurora offers a different cost profile. I'll say what the data can't: this city punches above its weight in ways that don't show up in a spreadsheet. There's a reason people who move here tend to stay. You can call it quality of life, you can call it vibes, whatever — the point is, the cost structure gives people room to actually enjoy where they live, and that's increasingly rare in this country.
Colorado Springs: high income, low cost — a rare combo. Colorado Springs earns above the national median ($83,198 — not a number you see very often, by the way — vs $80,367) while keeping costs below average (index 97 vs 111). That combination is exceptionally rare — only 40 of 288 cities share it.
If the first stat impressed you, this one grounds it. Here's the state-level backdrop: Colorado averages a 103 cost index, $1,765/mo rent, and $90,112 income across 11 cities. That's $130 less than the national rent average. Outdoor lifestyle with a rising price tag — and that context shapes every city in this ranking.
What to do with this data: use the ranking as a shortlist, then dig into the city profiles for trend lines and category breakdowns. The difference between #1 and #5 is often smaller than the difference between "good on paper" and "actually fits my life." Compare your top picks with our calculator to see real take-home numbers.
488,664 residents · Colorado
Look, What does daily life actually cost in Colorado Springs? Start with the 24% rent-to-income ratio — that's the kind of margin that lets people build savings. That's about what we'd expect given the state context. On the category level, Housing (index 97) is where the real savings show up, while Healthcare (index 99) is the line item most likely to surprise newcomers. Income at $83,198 and homes at $446,132 round out a profile that ranks #1 for clear reasons (that's pre-tax, of course).
177,563 residents · Colorado
Dive into Aurora's numbers: cost index 99 (12 points below national average), rent $1,689/month, income $84,320, and a home price of $458,953. The city's cost profile isn't flat — Housing is the cheapest category at 99, while Healthcare runs 100. With 177,563 residents, it balances mid-size city convenience with manageable costs.
112,609 residents · Colorado
Put it this way: Why Greeley ranks #3: the numbers tell a clear story. At 84 on the cost index, residents save roughly 27% less than the typical American. Rent sits at $1,442/month while the median household pulls in $68,650/year. The Housing category is particularly strong at 84, though Healthcare (97) lags behind. Home prices average $418,757 — $48,613 below the national median.
111,077 residents · Colorado
A closer look at Pueblo: the cost index of 77 breaks down to a Housing index of 77 (strongest category) and a Healthcare index of 95 (weakest). Median rent is $1,316/month — 31% below the national median — while household income sits at $55,305, meaning locals spend about 29% of income on rent. That's within the recommended 30% threshold, though it doesn't leave much room.
716,577 residents · Colorado
What does daily life actually cost in Denver? Start with the 24% rent-to-income ratio — that's the kind of margin that lets people build savings. On the category level, Healthcare (index 101) is where the real savings show up, while Housing (index 106) is the line item most likely to surprise newcomers. Income at $91,681 and homes at $530,920 round out a profile that ranks #5 for clear reasons.
Our persona scoring model weights cost, income, rent, healthcare, taxes, and city size based on what matters most to remote workers. Each factor scores 10-25 points out of a 100-point composite. The guide ranks every tracked city in Colorado by this personalized metric. All data is sourced from federal agencies and verified research institutions. Cost of living indices are normalized to 100 (national median) using Zillow rent as the primary signal, with sub-category adjustments derived from regional BLS price data. Rankings are updated monthly as new data is released.
Colorado Springs ranks #1 in Colorado for this analysis with a cost index of 97 and median income of $83,198.
Colorado Springs scores highest for remote workers due to its below-average cost of living, median rent of $1,667/mo, and above-average median income of $83,198.
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.
Colorado Springs (ranked #1) has a cost index of 97 and rent of $1,667/mo, while Centennial (ranked #11) has a cost index of 120 and rent of $2,056/mo — a 23-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 Colorado Springs is $1,667/month as of 2026, based on Zillow's Observed Rent Index. This is $228 below the national median of $1,895/month.
The median home price in Colorado Springs is $446,132, which is 5.4× the local median income. Most median-income households would stretch to buy at this ratio. 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.