Overall
- Fort Collins-Loveland
- 101.1
Diff +0.2 RPP
Burlington-South Burlington vs Fort Collins-Loveland
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Fort Collins-Loveland is 0.2% more expensive than Burlington-South Burlington.
0.2% more expensive
Fort Collins-Loveland, CO is 0.2% more expensive than Burlington-South Burlington, VT on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 101.1 vs 100.9). A $100,000 salary in Burlington-South Burlington buys about the same as $100,177 in Fort Collins-Loveland; the largest component gap is services.
- Overall RPP 100.9 (Burlington-South Burlington) vs 101.1 (Fort Collins-Loveland)
- $100k in Burlington-South Burlington ≈ $100,177 purchasing power in Fort Collins-Loveland
- Services drives the gap (-43.4 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair VT:CO 100.9→101.1
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-ABOVE · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE VT × 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.
Burlington-South Burlington
100.9
Cost Index
Fort Collins-Loveland
101.1
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Burlington-South Burlington, VT 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 43.4 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 Burlington-South Burlington to $100,177 in Fort Collins-Loveland, but it is not a personal spending weight.
Category Breakdown
Goods
Diff -1.2 RPP
Services
Diff -43.4 RPP
Rents
- Fort Collins-Loveland
- 120.6
Diff +16.8 RPP
| Category | Burlington-South Burlington | Fort Collins-Loveland | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 100.9 | 101.1 | +0.2 |
| Goods | 97.3 | 96.1 | -1.2 |
| Services | 125.5 | 82.2 | -43.4 |
| Rents | 103.8 | 120.6 | +16.8 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Burlington-South Burlington 100.9
Fort Collins-Loveland 101.1
Goods
Burlington-South Burlington 97.3
Fort Collins-Loveland 96.1
Services
Burlington-South Burlington 125.5
Fort Collins-Loveland 82.2
Rents
Burlington-South Burlington 103.8
Fort Collins-Loveland 120.6
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Burlington-South Burlington would need to be in Fort Collins-Loveland for the same purchasing power:
| In Burlington-South Burlington | In Fort Collins-Loveland | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $50,089 | +$89 |
| $75,000 | $75,133 | +$133 |
| $100,000 | $100,177 | +$177 |
| $150,000 | $150,266 | +$266 |
$ in Burlington-South Burlington = 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 Burlington-South Burlington?
Fort Collins-Loveland is 0.2% more expensive than Burlington-South Burlington. The overall cost index is 101.1 vs 100.9 (national average = 100).
What salary in Fort Collins-Loveland equals $100K in Burlington-South Burlington?
A $100,000 salary in Burlington-South Burlington has the same purchasing power as $100,177 in Fort Collins-Loveland. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Burlington-South Burlington and Fort Collins-Loveland?
Rents in Burlington-South Burlington are indexed at 103.8 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.