Overall
- Colorado Springs
- 100.7
- Bakersfield-Delano
- 100.9
Diff +0.2 RPP
Colorado Springs vs Bakersfield-Delano
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Bakersfield-Delano is 0.2% more expensive than Colorado Springs.
0.2% more expensive
Bakersfield-Delano, CA is 0.2% more expensive than Colorado Springs, CO on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 100.9 vs 100.7). A $100,000 salary in Colorado Springs buys about the same as $100,178 in Bakersfield-Delano; the largest component gap is services.
- Overall RPP 100.7 (Colorado Springs) vs 100.9 (Bakersfield-Delano)
- $100k in Colorado Springs ≈ $100,178 purchasing power in Bakersfield-Delano
- Services drives the gap (+75.1 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair CO:CA 100.7→100.9
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-ABOVE · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE CO × CA
- 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.
Colorado Springs
100.7
Cost Index
Bakersfield-Delano
100.9
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Colorado Springs, CO and Bakersfield-Delano, CA 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: Bakersfield-Delano is 75.1 points higher. But rents 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 Colorado Springs to $100,178 in Bakersfield-Delano, but it is not a personal spending weight.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Colorado Springs
- 96.1
- Bakersfield-Delano
- 105.2
Diff +9.1 RPP
Services
- Colorado Springs
- 83.2
- Bakersfield-Delano
- 158.3
Diff +75.1 RPP
Rents
- Colorado Springs
- 116.2
- Bakersfield-Delano
- 90.3
Diff -25.9 RPP
| Category | Colorado Springs | Bakersfield-Delano | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 100.7 | 100.9 | +0.2 |
| Goods | 96.1 | 105.2 | +9.1 |
| Services | 83.2 | 158.3 | +75.1 |
| Rents | 116.2 | 90.3 | -25.9 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Colorado Springs 100.7
Bakersfield-Delano 100.9
Goods
Colorado Springs 96.1
Bakersfield-Delano 105.2
Services
Colorado Springs 83.2
Bakersfield-Delano 158.3
Rents
Colorado Springs 116.2
Bakersfield-Delano 90.3
Vertical line = national average (100)
How the Price Gap Changed
Colorado Springs and Bakersfield-Delano share 17 published annual releases from 2008 through 2024. Their overall gap narrowed, moving from 1.1 to 0.2 RPP points. Bakersfield-Delano remained the higher-index metro in the latest release.
Services changed the most within this pair: its gap moved 54.4 points between the first and latest shared releases (20.6 to 75.1 points). This describes a relative price-index history, not a forecast or a household budget.
| Release Year | Colorado Springs RPP | Bakersfield-Delano RPP | Relative Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 98.0 | 96.9 | 1.1 points Colorado Springs higher |
| 2012 | 102.2 | 101.1 | 1.1 points Colorado Springs higher |
| 2016 | 99.0 | 96.5 | 2.4 points Colorado Springs higher |
| 2020 | 98.6 | 100.3 | 1.7 points Bakersfield-Delano higher |
| 2024 | 100.7 | 100.9 | 0.2 points Bakersfield-Delano 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 Colorado Springs would need to be in Bakersfield-Delano for the same purchasing power:
| In Colorado Springs | In Bakersfield-Delano | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $50,089 | +$89 |
| $75,000 | $75,133 | +$133 |
| $100,000 | $100,178 | +$178 |
| $150,000 | $150,267 | +$267 |
$ in Colorado Springs = in Bakersfield-Delano
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (100.7 → 100.9), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Bakersfield-Delano more expensive than Colorado Springs?
Bakersfield-Delano is 0.2% more expensive than Colorado Springs. The overall cost index is 100.9 vs 100.7 (national average = 100).
What salary in Bakersfield-Delano equals $100K in Colorado Springs?
A $100,000 salary in Colorado Springs has the same purchasing power as $100,178 in Bakersfield-Delano. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Colorado Springs and Bakersfield-Delano?
Rents in Colorado Springs are indexed at 116.2 while Bakersfield-Delano is at 90.3 (national average = 100). Colorado Springs 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.