Overall
- Bakersfield-Delano
- 100.9
- Fort Collins-Loveland
- 101.1
Diff +0.2 RPP
Bakersfield-Delano vs Fort Collins-Loveland
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Fort Collins-Loveland is 0.2% more expensive than Bakersfield-Delano.
0.2% more expensive
Fort Collins-Loveland, CO is 0.2% more expensive than Bakersfield-Delano, CA on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 101.1 vs 100.9). A $100,000 salary in Bakersfield-Delano buys about the same as $100,240 in Fort Collins-Loveland; the largest component gap is services.
- Overall RPP 100.9 (Bakersfield-Delano) vs 101.1 (Fort Collins-Loveland)
- $100k in Bakersfield-Delano ≈ $100,240 purchasing power in Fort Collins-Loveland
- Services drives the gap (-76.1 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair CA:CO 100.9→101.1
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-ABOVE · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE CA × CO
- SPLIT-BUDGET Split budget
- BOTH-ABOVE Both above 100
- PP-PAR PP near-par
Instrument codes from this pair's BEA Regional Price Parities (overall · goods · services · rents · national benchmark 100 · purchasing-power conversion), not a ranking or recommendation.
Bakersfield-Delano
100.9
Cost Index
Fort Collins-Loveland
101.1
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Bakersfield-Delano, CA and Fort Collins-Loveland, CO are a photo finish on overall price level, only 0.2 RPP points apart. A salary conversion is therefore a fine adjustment, not evidence of a fundamentally different cost regime.
Services creates the largest separation: Fort Collins-Loveland is 76.1 points lower. But services and goods move against the overall direction, so this is a split budget rather than a clean across-the-board winner.
Comparable population context is incomplete for this pair, so no market-scale explanation is inferred from the price indexes.
Both metros exceed the U.S. benchmark of 100. The choice is between two national premiums, so local wages need to clear the higher baseline in either market.
For a service-heavy household, test childcare, health, and other locally supplied costs before relying on rent alone. The BEA ratio converts $100,000 in Bakersfield-Delano to $100,240 in Fort Collins-Loveland, but it is not a personal spending weight.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Bakersfield-Delano
- 105.2
Diff -9.1 RPP
Services
- Bakersfield-Delano
- 158.3
Diff -76.1 RPP
Rents
- Bakersfield-Delano
- 90.3
- Fort Collins-Loveland
- 120.6
Diff +30.3 RPP
| Category | Bakersfield-Delano | Fort Collins-Loveland | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 100.9 | 101.1 | +0.2 |
| Goods | 105.2 | 96.1 | -9.1 |
| Services | 158.3 | 82.2 | -76.1 |
| Rents | 90.3 | 120.6 | +30.3 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Bakersfield-Delano 100.9
Fort Collins-Loveland 101.1
Goods
Bakersfield-Delano 105.2
Fort Collins-Loveland 96.1
Services
Bakersfield-Delano 158.3
Fort Collins-Loveland 82.2
Rents
Bakersfield-Delano 90.3
Fort Collins-Loveland 120.6
Vertical line = national average (100)
How the Price Gap Changed
Bakersfield-Delano and Fort Collins-Loveland share 17 published annual releases from 2008 through 2024. Their overall gap held broadly steady, moving from 0.3 to 0.2 RPP points. Fort Collins-Loveland remained the higher-index metro in the latest release.
Services changed the most within this pair: its gap moved 54.9 points between the first and latest shared releases (21.2 to 76.1 points). This describes a relative price-index history, not a forecast or a household budget.
| Release Year | Bakersfield-Delano RPP | Fort Collins-Loveland RPP | Relative Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 96.9 | 97.2 | 0.3 points Fort Collins-Loveland higher |
| 2012 | 101.1 | 104.7 | 3.7 points Fort Collins-Loveland higher |
| 2016 | 96.5 | 101.4 | 4.8 points Fort Collins-Loveland higher |
| 2020 | 100.3 | 98.5 | 1.8 points Bakersfield-Delano higher |
| 2024 | 100.9 | 101.1 | 0.2 points Fort Collins-Loveland higher |
Annual BEA Regional Price Parity releases; a higher index means a higher price level relative to the national average of 100. Selected years shown from the full shared series.
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Bakersfield-Delano would need to be in Fort Collins-Loveland for the same purchasing power:
| In Bakersfield-Delano | In Fort Collins-Loveland | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $50,120 | +$120 |
| $75,000 | $75,180 | +$180 |
| $100,000 | $100,240 | +$240 |
| $150,000 | $150,360 | +$360 |
$ in Bakersfield-Delano = in Fort Collins-Loveland
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (100.9 → 101.1), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Fort Collins-Loveland more expensive than Bakersfield-Delano?
Fort Collins-Loveland is 0.2% more expensive than Bakersfield-Delano. The overall cost index is 101.1 vs 100.9 (national average = 100).
What salary in Fort Collins-Loveland equals $100K in Bakersfield-Delano?
A $100,000 salary in Bakersfield-Delano has the same purchasing power as $100,240 in Fort Collins-Loveland. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Bakersfield-Delano and Fort Collins-Loveland?
Rents in Bakersfield-Delano are indexed at 90.3 while Fort Collins-Loveland is at 120.6 (national average = 100). Fort Collins-Loveland has higher rents.
Data sources
- BEA Regional Price Parities (RPP), the cost-of-living indices shown on this page
- U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS), gross-rent observations behind the rents component
- BLS Consumer Price Index (CPI), goods and services price relatives
- BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), labor-driven services component
- HUD Fair Market Rents (FMR), 40th-percentile rent cross-reference
Every figure on PlainCost is rendered directly from BEA Regional Price Parity source data, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, our changelog, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026-08-11. Rankings measure the published cost-of-living index only; we don't recommend where to live or rate any metro's quality of life.