Overall
- Napa
- 112.6
- Fort Collins-Loveland
- 101.1
Diff -11.4 RPP
Napa vs Fort Collins-Loveland
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Fort Collins-Loveland is 10.2% less expensive than Napa.
10.2% less expensive
Fort Collins-Loveland, CO is 10.2% less expensive than Napa, CA on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 101.1 vs 112.6). A $100,000 salary in Napa buys about the same as $89,848 in Fort Collins-Loveland; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 112.6 (Napa) vs 101.1 (Fort Collins-Loveland)
- $100k in Napa ≈ $89,848 purchasing power in Fort Collins-Loveland
- Rents drives the gap (-76.8 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair CA:CO 112.6→101.1
TIER-GAP · CROSS-STATE · RENT-LED · BOTH-ABOVE · PP-SHIFT
- TIER-GAP Clear tier gap
- CROSS-STATE CA × CO
- RENT-LED Rent-led gap
- BOTH-ABOVE Both above 100
- PP-SHIFT PP shift
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.
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Napa would need to be in Fort Collins-Loveland for the same purchasing power:
| In Napa | In Fort Collins-Loveland | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $44,924 | $-5,076 |
| $75,000 | $67,386 | $-7,614 |
| $100,000 | $89,848 | $-10,152 |
| $150,000 | $134,773 | $-15,227 |
$ in Napa = in Fort Collins-Loveland
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (112.6 → 101.1), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
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.
Napa, CA and Fort Collins-Loveland, CO sit in clearly different price tiers, separated by 11.4 RPP points. At this distance, treating the same nominal salary as equivalent would materially change purchasing power.
Rents leads the difference, with Fort Collins-Loveland 76.8 points lower than Napa. Goods, services, and rents all point in the same broad direction, making the headline comparison more transferable across household types.
Comparable population context is incomplete for this pair, so no market-scale explanation is inferred from the price indexes.
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 Napa corresponds to $89,848 in Fort Collins-Loveland.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Napa
- 105.2
Diff -9.1 RPP
Services
- Napa
- 156.5
Diff -74.4 RPP
Rents
- Napa
- 197.4
- Fort Collins-Loveland
- 120.6
Diff -76.8 RPP
| Category | Napa | Fort Collins-Loveland | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 112.6 | 101.1 | -11.4 |
| Goods | 105.2 | 96.1 | -9.1 |
| Services | 156.5 | 82.2 | -74.4 |
| Rents | 197.4 | 120.6 | -76.8 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Napa 112.6
Fort Collins-Loveland 101.1
Goods
Napa 105.2
Fort Collins-Loveland 96.1
Services
Napa 156.5
Fort Collins-Loveland 82.2
Rents
Napa 197.4
Fort Collins-Loveland 120.6
Vertical line = national average (100)
Napa
112.6
Cost Index
Fort Collins-Loveland
101.1
Cost Index
How the Price Gap Changed
Napa and Fort Collins-Loveland share 17 published annual releases from 2008 through 2024. Their overall gap narrowed, moving from 18.0 to 11.4 RPP points. Napa remained the higher-index metro in the latest release.
Services changed the most within this pair: its gap moved 39.3 points between the first and latest shared releases (35.1 to 74.4 points). This describes a relative price-index history, not a forecast or a household budget.
| Release Year | Napa RPP | Fort Collins-Loveland RPP | Relative Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 115.2 | 97.2 | 18.0 points Napa higher |
| 2012 | 111.6 | 104.7 | 6.9 points Napa higher |
| 2016 | 117.8 | 101.4 | 16.4 points Napa higher |
| 2020 | 112.2 | 98.5 | 13.7 points Napa higher |
| 2024 | 112.6 | 101.1 | 11.4 points Napa 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.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Fort Collins-Loveland more expensive than Napa?
Fort Collins-Loveland is 10.2% less expensive than Napa. The overall cost index is 101.1 vs 112.6 (national average = 100).
What salary in Fort Collins-Loveland equals $100K in Napa?
A $100,000 salary in Napa has the same purchasing power as $89,848 in Fort Collins-Loveland. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Napa and Fort Collins-Loveland?
Rents in Napa are indexed at 197.4 while Fort Collins-Loveland is at 120.6 (national average = 100). Napa 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.