Overall
105.2
Above avg
Metro cost profile · 2024 BEA RPP
Boulder, CO
Cost-of-living indicators for Boulder, CO, from Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional Price Parities, overall, goods, services, and rents vs the U.S. average of 100.
- 105.2
- Overall RPP
- #29
- of 387 metros
- 157.0
- Rents RPP
- $95K
- $100K national buys
Boulder ranks #29 of 387 U.S. metros by cost, and its overall price index has fallen 3.3 points since 2008.
- falling since 2008
- similar cost to Stockton-Lodi
The verdict
Boulder is more expensive than 93% of U.S. metros, an overall cost index of 105.2, 5.2% above the national average, led by rents at 157.0.
- top 7%
- by overall cost, nationwide
- 96.1
- goods RPP, tradable items
- 82.7
- services RPP, labor-priced
A $100,000 national salary carries the purchasing power of about $95,055 here; matching a $100K lifestyle takes roughly $105,202.
RPP History (2008-2024)
The cost of living has been trending downward, decreasing by 3.3 points over this period. The largest single-year move was in 2024, when the index jumped 4.6 points from the year before, a bigger swing than the full 2008-2024 change.
Boulder overall RPP, 2008-2024
Every year on record, national average = 100
| Year | Overall |
|---|---|
| 2008 | 108.5 |
| 2009 | 105.6 |
| 2010 | 104.5 |
| 2011 | 107.1 |
| 2012 | 107.5 |
| 2013 | 105.8 |
| 2014 | 106.3 |
| 2015 | 106.8 |
| 2016 | 105.6 |
| 2017 | 105.3 |
| 2018 | 101.7 |
| 2019 | 105.5 |
| 2020 | 101.7 |
| 2021 | 100.9 |
| 2022 | 99.9 |
| 2023 | 100.6 |
| 2024 | 105.2 |
Latest BEA release change
What changed from 2023 to 2024
Boulder's overall RPP rose +4.6 points, from 100.6 in 2023 to 105.2 in 2024. The largest category movement was rents, changing from 148.6 to 157.0. This is a relative change against the national benchmark, not a household's dollar bill.
Salary Equivalent
A $100,000 salary at the national average cost of living equals:
$105,202
in Boulder, CO purchasing power
$50,000 nationally
$52,601
$75,000 nationally
$78,902
$125,000 nationally
$131,503
$150,000 nationally
$157,803
$200,000 nationally
$210,404
Use the salary calculator for custom amounts.
Affordability score
F
2/100
How far the median local paycheck goes here, combining income and housing cost
Purchasing power
Not reported
Housing affordability F
2nd percentile
A weighted composite (60% purchasing power, 40% housing affordability) percentile-ranked against every other tracked metro; a missing input redistributes its weight rather than deflating the score. Sources: Census ACS 5-Year 2023 (income) + BEA Regional Price Parities 2024 (cost). Vintages differ by design; see methodology.
Boulder vs every U.S. metro
Where this metro sits in the national cost distribution
105 Top 7% higher than 93% of 387 US metros
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US metros. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities · 2024
Boulder cost breakdown
BEA RPP by category, 100 = national average
- Rents
Rents
157 RPP
- Services
Services
82.7 RPP
- Overall
Overall
105.2 RPP
- Goods
Goods
96.1 RPP
What this shows Boulder's cost structure is housing-led: rents at 157.0 depart furthest from 100, while services sits at 82.7. This is a rent-sensitive profile, not a claim that every local expense moves together.
Goods vs. housing, where Boulder's cost comes from
Metros near Boulder's overall cost, plotted by their goods price (horizontal) and housing price (vertical). Same headline RPP, very different structures.
Read the chart as text
- Boulder (Boulder, this metro): goods RPP 96.1, rents RPP 157
- Stockton: goods RPP 105.2, rents RPP 115.6
- Anchorage: goods RPP 107.3, rents RPP 109.9
- Portland: goods RPP 105.2, rents RPP 125.1
- Minneapolis: goods RPP 103.1, rents RPP 111.8
- Bremerton: goods RPP 105, rents RPP 129.6
- Manchester: goods RPP 97.7, rents RPP 134.2
Price Index Summary
Goods
96.1
Below avg
Services
82.7
Cheap
Rents
157.0
Expensive
Housing-led cost profile
How Boulder's cost structure works
Housing is the defining pressure in Boulder: rents index at 157.0, the furthest component above the national benchmark. The overall index of 105.2 places Boulder in the upper 25% by overall cost; the rent line explains why a similar headline RPP can still require a different housing budget.
Across all reported metros, the closest component-profile matches are Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO, Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA, Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL. They resemble Boulder across goods, services, and rents together, so they are stronger structure peers than a place selected only because its overall RPP happens to be nearby.
Across 2008-2024, Boulder's overall index has fallen by 3.3 points. This is a relative price-level history, not a prediction or a personal affordability recommendation; pair it with current local wages and housing options before making a decision.
CO-relative analysis
Goods prices places Boulder, CO near the bottom of CO's metros
Among the 7 CO metros PlainCost tracks with reported goods prices data, Boulder, CO ranks #2 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide rank above: it compares Boulder, CO only against its own state's metros, not the full US field.
Goods prices
#2 of 7
0th percentile in CO
Services prices
#4 of 7
43rd percentile in CO
Rent prices
#1 of 7
86th percentile in CO
Ranked by raw value (highest first); a higher rank is not automatically "more expensive is worse", see the national comparison above for direction context. This is a comparison within CO only, not a livability score.
Nationwide metros with similar overall cost or rent prices
Two BEA RPP-derived peer sets for Boulder, CO: nearest metros by overall regional price parity and by rents RPP. These are cross-state neighborhoods, not the in-state metro list below.
Similar overall RPP
Nearest metros by overall regional price parity (105.2 here).
Similar rents RPP
Nearest metros by rents regional price parity (157.0 here).
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL Rents 155.6 Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA Rents 151.4 Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA Rents 151.3 Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Rents 151.1 Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury, CT Metropolitan Statistical Area Rents 150.5 Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA Rents 164.3 New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ Rents 148.6 Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH Rents 148.4
Other CO Metros
Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO 105.8 Fort Collins-Loveland, CO 101.1 Colorado Springs, CO 100.7 Greeley, CO 100.2 Grand Junction, CO 95.5 Pueblo, CO 91.8
View all CO metros → Cheapest in CO → Most expensive in CO →
Metros with Similar Cost of Living
These metros have an overall RPP closest to Boulder, CO's index of 105.2.
Showing the 6 closest of 387 metro areas tracked nationally.
Decision peers
Metros with a similar cost mix
These metros are closest to Boulder's combined goods, services, and rents profile. They may not have the same overall RPP, but their price pressures are shaped in a similar way.
Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO
Goods 101.0 · Services 87.9 · Rents 146.9 Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA
Goods 104.0 · Services 92.8 · Rents 151.3 Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL
Goods 103.6 · Services 97.2 · Rents 155.6 Bozeman, MT
Goods 96.0 · Services 73.6 · Rents 139.2 Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV
Goods 104.8 · Services 106.7 · Rents 151.1 Naples-Marco Island, FL
Goods 96.2 · Services 87.8 · Rents 129.4
Shareable data card
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Compare to Other Metros
Cost of living guides →, cheapest and most-expensive metro rankings, salary negotiation with RPP data, and step-by-step comparison walkthroughs.
What this means for Boulder
How to read Boulder's cost of living before a move, a job offer, or a budget.
- Budget to local prices, not headline pay, a $100K national salary spends like about $95,055 in Boulder. Salary calculator
- Start with rents: it indexes at 157.0, the largest departure from the national benchmark in this metro's BEA cost mix. Compare it with the other components before treating the overall RPP as a complete household budget.
- Compare Boulder head-to-head against a specific destination before you decide. Compare metros
RPP is BEA's annual price-level benchmark for the data year shown, not a live market quote. Pair it with current local wages and housing costs before deciding.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the cost of living in Boulder, CO?
Boulder, CO has a Regional Price Parity (RPP) index of 105.2, meaning it is 5.2% more expensive than the national average. Goods are indexed at 96.1, services at 82.7, and rents at 157.0. It ranks #29 out of 387 U.S. metro areas by overall cost.
What salary do I need in Boulder, CO to match $100K nationally?
To maintain the same purchasing power as a $100,000 salary at the national average, you would need approximately $105,202 in Boulder, CO. Conversely, $100K earned in Boulder, CO has the purchasing power of $95,055 at the national average.
How expensive is rent in Boulder, CO?
Rents in Boulder, CO are indexed at 157.0, which is 57.0% above the national average. This is significantly higher than typical U.S. rents.
Is Boulder, CO getting more expensive?
From 2008 to 2024, Boulder, CO's overall cost index changed by -3.3 points (from 108.5 to 105.2). The cost of living has been declining.
What costs the most in Boulder, CO?
The priciest category in Boulder, CO is rents at 157.0, 57.0% above the national average. The most affordable category is services at 82.7, 17.3% below average.
What metros have a similar cost of living to Boulder, CO?
Metros with the most similar overall cost index include Stockton-Lodi, Anchorage, Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro. These areas have RPP values within a few points of Boulder, CO's 105.2.
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.