Arizona vs Colorado: cost of living compared
Statewide price levels and incomes from BEA (2024); gas prices from EIA (weekly).
Is it cheaper to live in Arizona or Colorado?
- Overall, Colorado is 2.4% more expensive than Arizona (BEA, 2024).
- To keep the same standard of living, $75,000 in Arizona works out to about $76,800 in Colorado, before taxes.
- Most of the difference is housing, which costs 19.2% more in Colorado. Goods are 3.5% higher and other services 3.1% lower.
- After adjusting for local prices, personal income per person is $65,223 in Colorado and $52,890 in Arizona (23.3% higher in Colorado; BEA, 2024, in 2017 dollars).
- Inside each state, metro price levels run from 91.8 in Pueblo, CO to 105.8 in Denver, CO (Colorado) and from 89.2 in Sierra Vista, AZ to 103.3 in Phoenix, AZ (Arizona), US = 100.
- The gap has narrowed since 2019, when Colorado was 4.8% more expensive than Arizona.
derived Calculated from BEA Regional Price Parities and real personal income by state. Statewide averages mix cities and rural areas; taxes are not included. How we calculate.
Category by category
Both states against the US average (100).
Housing drives the gap: 19.2% higher in Colorado than in Arizona
Price level by category, 2024. US average = 100.
- Arizona
- Colorado
Source: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities by metropolitan area, 2024 (US = 100).
Show the numbers
| Arizona | Colorado | |
|---|---|---|
| All items | 100.7 | 103.1 |
| Goods | 95.4 | 98.7 |
| Housing (rents) | 106.8 | 127.4 |
| Utilities | 92.3 | 85.0 |
| Other services | 102.8 | 99.6 |
| Category | Arizona | Colorado | Colorado vs Arizona |
|---|---|---|---|
| All items | 100.7 | 103.1 | +2.4% |
| Goods | 95.4 | 98.7 | +3.5% |
| Housing (rents) | 106.8 | 127.4 | +19.2% |
| Utilities | 92.3 | 85.0 | −8.0% |
| Other services | 102.8 | 99.6 | −3.1% |
| Income per person, adjusted for prices | $52,890 | $65,223 | +23.3% |
| Regular gas, week of October 19, 2026* | $5.56 | $4.27 | −23.1% |
| Salary to match $75,000 in Arizona | $75,000 | $76,800 | +2.4% |
Index values: BEA, 2024, US = 100. Income: BEA real personal income per person, 2017 dollars. Gas: EIA weekly retail prices. *West Coast region average (EIA has no separate Arizona figure).
Cheapest and most expensive places in each state
Arizona
- Sierra Vista, AZ 89.2
- Yuma, AZ 92.7
- Lake Havasu City, AZ 94.1
- Tucson, AZ 96.9
- Prescott Valley, AZ 98.3
- Flagstaff, AZ 100.3
- Phoenix, AZ 103.3
Colorado
- Pueblo, CO 91.8
- Grand Junction, CO 95.5
- Greeley, CO 100.2
- Colorado Springs, CO 100.7
- Fort Collins, CO 101.1
- Boulder, CO 105.2
- Denver, CO 105.8
Metro areas ordered from cheapest to most expensive. BEA, 2024, US = 100.
How the gap has changed since 2008
The price gap between Arizona and Colorado has widened since 2008: 0.8 points then, 2.4 now
Overall price level each year, 2008–2024. US average = 100.
- Arizona
- Colorado
Source: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities by state, 2024 (US = 100).
Show the numbers
| Arizona | Colorado | |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 102.5 | 103.3 |
| 2009 | 102.9 | 102.4 |
| 2010 | 100.6 | 100.6 |
| 2011 | 99.1 | 103.4 |
| 2012 | 98.1 | 103.1 |
| 2013 | 98.4 | 103.1 |
| 2014 | 97.9 | 103.1 |
| 2015 | 97.9 | 103.0 |
| 2016 | 98.6 | 102.7 |
| 2017 | 97.9 | 102.9 |
| 2018 | 97.4 | 100.3 |
| 2019 | 97.8 | 102.5 |
| 2020 | 99.2 | 103.8 |
| 2021 | 96.6 | 102.8 |
| 2022 | 100.0 | 102.3 |
| 2023 | 100.7 | 101.9 |
| 2024 | 100.7 | 103.1 |
Goods
- Arizona
- Colorado
Source: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities by state, 2024 (US = 100).
Show the numbers
| Arizona | Colorado | |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 103.0 | 104.4 |
| 2009 | 106.4 | 102.1 |
| 2010 | 100.1 | 101.3 |
| 2011 | 99.0 | 101.6 |
| 2012 | 98.3 | 101.4 |
| 2013 | 97.6 | 101.0 |
| 2014 | 97.7 | 100.2 |
| 2015 | 98.5 | 99.7 |
| 2016 | 97.8 | 99.8 |
| 2017 | 97.2 | 99.5 |
| 2018 | 95.9 | 97.6 |
| 2019 | 96.0 | 101.6 |
| 2020 | 100.1 | 102.0 |
| 2021 | 95.1 | 101.8 |
| 2022 | 98.1 | 101.2 |
| 2023 | 97.9 | 99.2 |
| 2024 | 95.4 | 98.7 |
Housing (rents)
- Arizona
- Colorado
Source: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities by state, 2024 (US = 100).
Show the numbers
| Arizona | Colorado | |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 103.3 | 113.9 |
| 2009 | 99.9 | 113.2 |
| 2010 | 96.9 | 112.2 |
| 2011 | 94.8 | 118.8 |
| 2012 | 95.2 | 115.7 |
| 2013 | 93.6 | 118.0 |
| 2014 | 92.7 | 120.8 |
| 2015 | 93.8 | 123.9 |
| 2016 | 92.4 | 126.2 |
| 2017 | 93.5 | 128.9 |
| 2018 | 94.3 | 128.3 |
| 2019 | 93.6 | 131.0 |
| 2020 | 97.9 | 130.4 |
| 2021 | 102.3 | 129.4 |
| 2022 | 106.2 | 129.5 |
| 2023 | 108.6 | 130.5 |
| 2024 | 106.8 | 127.4 |
Utilities
- Arizona
- Colorado
Source: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities by state, 2024 (US = 100).
Show the numbers
| Arizona | Colorado | |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 96.4 | 78.3 |
| 2009 | 96.3 | 78.8 |
| 2010 | 104.3 | 83.9 |
| 2011 | 104.3 | 91.0 |
| 2012 | 100.5 | 85.7 |
| 2013 | 99.0 | 83.5 |
| 2014 | 100.3 | 96.8 |
| 2015 | 101.0 | 89.2 |
| 2016 | 97.5 | 89.3 |
| 2017 | 99.0 | 86.1 |
| 2018 | 99.8 | 84.5 |
| 2019 | 92.6 | 88.4 |
| 2020 | 90.0 | 88.5 |
| 2021 | 87.8 | 85.4 |
| 2022 | 87.2 | 89.4 |
| 2023 | 83.3 | 86.8 |
| 2024 | 92.3 | 85.0 |
Other services
- Arizona
- Colorado
Source: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities by state, 2024 (US = 100).
Show the numbers
| Arizona | Colorado | |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 102.3 | 100.9 |
| 2009 | 102.1 | 100.5 |
| 2010 | 102.1 | 97.5 |
| 2011 | 100.5 | 100.4 |
| 2012 | 98.8 | 101.4 |
| 2013 | 100.9 | 101.0 |
| 2014 | 99.9 | 100.0 |
| 2015 | 98.7 | 99.8 |
| 2016 | 101.5 | 98.5 |
| 2017 | 99.9 | 98.8 |
| 2018 | 99.4 | 95.3 |
| 2019 | 100.8 | 95.9 |
| 2020 | 99.7 | 97.8 |
| 2021 | 96.4 | 96.7 |
| 2022 | 100.1 | 96.1 |
| 2023 | 101.2 | 96.5 |
| 2024 | 102.8 | 99.6 |
What incomes buy in each state
Income per person after adjusting for prices: $65,223 in Colorado, $52,890 in Arizona
Real personal income per person, constant 2017 dollars (adjusted for each state's price level and for inflation).
- Arizona
- Colorado
- United States
Source: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, real personal income by state (SARPI), 2008–2024.
Show the numbers
| Arizona | Colorado | United States | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | $38,966 | $46,671 | $45,816 |
| 2009 | $36,634 | $44,278 | $44,204 |
| 2010 | $37,162 | $44,904 | $44,808 |
| 2011 | $38,403 | $45,648 | $45,957 |
| 2012 | $39,284 | $46,723 | $46,796 |
| 2013 | $39,204 | $47,745 | $46,358 |
| 2014 | $40,281 | $50,265 | $47,661 |
| 2015 | $41,960 | $51,351 | $49,396 |
| 2016 | $42,568 | $50,937 | $49,828 |
| 2017 | $44,279 | $52,749 | $51,006 |
| 2018 | $45,675 | $56,590 | $52,242 |
| 2019 | $47,236 | $57,869 | $53,683 |
| 2020 | $50,292 | $59,735 | $56,514 |
| 2021 | $54,424 | $64,359 | $59,365 |
| 2022 | $50,935 | $64,668 | $57,104 |
| 2023 | $51,960 | $65,363 | $58,088 |
| 2024 | $52,890 | $65,223 | $59,195 |
More
- Cost of living in Arizona
- Cost of living in Colorado
- Reverse: moving from Colorado to Arizona
- All states ranked
Related state comparisons
What this comparison leaves out
- Taxes. State income, sales and property taxes differ a lot between states and are not included.
- Where you live inside the state. Statewide figures average cities and rural areas; the metro lists above show the spread.
- Your own spending mix. The default uses an average household. Use the housing slider if housing is a bigger share of your budget.
- Timing. BEA price levels and incomes are for 2024; gas prices are weekly.