Overall
- Colorado Springs
- 100.7
Diff +0.2 RPP
Colorado Springs vs Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater is 0.2% more expensive than Colorado Springs.
0.2% more expensive
Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL 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 $100,182 in Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 100.7 (Colorado Springs) vs 100.9 (Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater)
- $100k in Colorado Springs ≈ $100,182 purchasing power in Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater
- Rents drives the gap (+9.6 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair CO:FL 100.7→100.9
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-ABOVE · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE CO × FL
- 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
Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater
100.9
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Colorado Springs, CO and Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL 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.
Rents creates the largest separation: Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater is 9.6 points higher. But 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 housing-sensitive move, validate the rent gap first: HUD Fair Market Rent and the actual unit size can overturn what the blended index implies. On the BEA ratio alone, $100,000 in Colorado Springs corresponds to $100,182 in Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Colorado Springs
- 96.1
Diff -0.6 RPP
Services
- Colorado Springs
- 83.2
Diff +5.3 RPP
Rents
- Colorado Springs
- 116.2
Diff +9.6 RPP
| Category | Colorado Springs | Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 100.7 | 100.9 | +0.2 |
| Goods | 96.1 | 95.5 | -0.6 |
| Services | 83.2 | 88.5 | +5.3 |
| Rents | 116.2 | 125.8 | +9.6 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Colorado Springs 100.7
Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater 100.9
Goods
Colorado Springs 96.1
Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater 95.5
Services
Colorado Springs 83.2
Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater 88.5
Rents
Colorado Springs 116.2
Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater 125.8
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Colorado Springs would need to be in Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater for the same purchasing power:
| In Colorado Springs | In Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $50,091 | +$91 |
| $75,000 | $75,136 | +$136 |
| $100,000 | $100,182 | +$182 |
| $150,000 | $150,273 | +$273 |
$ in Colorado Springs = in Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater
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 Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater more expensive than Colorado Springs?
Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater is 0.2% more expensive than Colorado Springs. The overall cost index is 100.9 vs 100.7 (national average = 100).
What salary in Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater equals $100K in Colorado Springs?
A $100,000 salary in Colorado Springs has the same purchasing power as $100,182 in Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Colorado Springs and Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater?
Rents in Colorado Springs are indexed at 116.2 while Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater is at 125.8 (national average = 100). Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater 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.