Boulder composite
41.1 /100
Grade C- · weighted across 7 dims
Metro comparison
Boulder vs Colorado Springs
Boulder, CO and Colorado Springs, CO side by side, cost of living, rent, wages, crime, schools, childcare and environment, all from the same federal datasets so every number is directly comparable.
- 41.1
- Boulder Life Score
- C-
- Boulder grade
- 42.5
- Colorado Springs Life Score
- C
- Colorado Springs grade
Head-to-head verdict
Across the seven dimensions, Boulder scores higher on 3 (wages, safety, childcare) and Colorado Springs on 4 (cost of living, rent, schools, environment). The radar shows the full shape; the tables below break out every figure.
Where each metro wins, and by how much
Every dimension is a national percentile (0–100). Each bar leans toward the stronger metro, a long lean is a decisive edge, a near-even split is a toss-up. The radar shows the overall shape; this shows the per-dimension margins.
◖ Boulder Colorado Springs ◗
cost of living
7
19
wages
98
84
rent
7
19
safety
7
7
schools
63
63
childcare
24
23
environment
92
92
Boulder and Colorado Springs differ across eleven dimensions of livability. Boulder has a cost-of-living index of 105.2 vs Colorado Springs's 100.7 (national average = 100). Median salaries are $82,291 in Boulder and $72,907 in Colorado Springs. A 2-bedroom averages $2,124/mo vs $1,735/mo.
How to read this matchup
Reading the Boulder vs Colorado Springs Comparison
Boulder (CO) and Colorado Springs (CO) are assembled here from the same federal data pipeline, BEA Regional Price Parities, HUD Fair Market Rents, BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, FBI Uniform Crime Reports, NCES public-school counts, and EPA environmental indicators, so every number on this page is directly comparable. The overall cost index reads 105.2 for Boulder against 100.7 for Colorado Springs, a 4.5-point gap on a scale where 100 equals the U.S. average. HUD's 2-bedroom Fair Market Rent, the figure used to set housing-choice voucher payment standards, is $2,124/mo in Boulder and $1,735/mo in Colorado Springs, a $389/mo difference that compounds to $4,668 over a year.
On wages, BLS OES reports a median salary of $82,291 across 178,320 jobs in Boulder against $72,907 across 304,920 jobs in Colorado Springs. Adjusted through the BEA cost-of-living lens, $100,000 earned in Boulder carries the same local purchasing power as $95,727 in Colorado Springs - the most honest way to read the salary headline, because nominal wages and rents move together in tight metros. State-level violent crime, the most reliable geographic tier FBI UCR publishes, is 481.2 per 100,000 residents in CO vs 481.2 in CO, with property-crime rates of 2640.7 and 2640.7 respectively.
Schools are reported at the state tier by NCES: CO lists 1,923 public schools at a 16.6:1 student-teacher ratio, while CO lists 1,923 schools at 16.6:1, a signal of class-size staffing, though individual district and school-level variation within each state is substantial. Department of Labor center-based infant care runs $12,821/yr in the Boulder area versus $12,821/yr in Colorado Springs - a line item that shifts the real cost-of-living picture for households with children under five far more than headline RPP does. When these pieces are read together rather than in isolation, Boulder and Colorado Springs are not simply "cheaper" or "more expensive" - they trade across dimensions, and which metro wins depends on whether your household optimizes for rent, wages, schools, childcare, safety, or environment. Treat the tables below as inputs to that trade-off, not as a single ranking.
Colorado Springs composite
42.5 /100
Grade C · weighted across 7 dims
Cost-of-living gap
4.5 pts
Boulder vs Colorado Springs BEA RPP
2-bed rent delta
$389 /mo
Boulder priced higher
Composite life score on the national 0–100 scale
Boulder
Boulder composite (Grade C-)
Colorado Springs
Colorado Springs composite (Grade C)
Composite is a weighted roll-up of seven dimensions: cost (20%), wages (20%), rent (15%), safety (15%), schools (10%), childcare (10%), environment (10%). Each input normalized to a 0–100 percentile across all metros.
💰 Cost of Living BEA →
| Category | Boulder | Colorado Springs |
|---|---|---|
| Overall RPP | 105.2 | 100.7 |
| Goods | 96.1 | 96.1 |
| Services | 82.7 | 83.2 |
| Rents | 157.0 | 116.2 |
Salary Equivalent Calculator
What salary in Colorado Springs gives the same purchasing power as your salary in Boulder?
$
Equivalent in Colorado Springs:
$95,727
Based on BEA Regional Price Parities (Boulder: 105.2, Colorado Springs: 100.7, national avg = 100).
🏠 Rent (Fair Market Rent) HUD →
| Bedrooms | Boulder | Colorado Springs |
|---|---|---|
| Studio | $1,553/mo | $1,196/mo |
| 1 Bedroom | $1,795/mo | $1,464/mo |
| 2 Bedroom | $2,124/mo | $1,735/mo |
| 3 Bedroom | $2,820/mo | $2,413/mo |
| 4 Bedroom | $3,239/mo | $2,744/mo |
💼 Wages & Employment BLS →
| Metric | Boulder | Colorado Springs |
|---|---|---|
| Avg Median Salary | $82,291 | $72,907 |
| Total Employment | 178,320 | 304,920 |
🛡️ Crime Rates (state-level) FBI →
| Crime Type (per 100K) | Boulder (CO) | Colorado Springs (CO) |
|---|---|---|
| Violent Crime | 481.2 | 481.2 |
| Property Crime | 2640.7 | 2640.7 |
🎓 Schools (state-level) NCES →
| Metric | CO | CO |
|---|---|---|
| Total Schools | 1,923 | 1,923 |
| Student-Teacher Ratio | 16.6:1 | 16.6:1 |
| Charter Schools | 14.0% | 14.0% |
👶 Childcare Costs (Annual Avg) (state-level) DOL →
| Age Group | CO | CO |
|---|---|---|
| Infant (Center) | $12,821/yr | $12,821/yr |
| Toddler (Center) | $11,897/yr | $11,897/yr |
| Preschool (Center) | $11,013/yr | $11,013/yr |
🌿 Environment (state-level) EPA →
| Metric | CO | CO |
|---|---|---|
| EPA Facilities | 316 | 316 |
| Water Systems | 1,109 | 1,109 |
| Superfund Sites | 24 | 24 |
| Water Violations | 5,561 | 5,561 |
Government-verified data - Air quality (EPA AQS), water safety (EPA SDWIS), healthcare access (HRSA), and disaster risk (FEMA NRI) are sourced directly from U.S. federal agencies. No crowdsourced estimates.
💨 Air Quality (EPA AQS) EPA AQS →
| Metric | Boulder | Colorado Springs |
|---|---|---|
| Median AQI | 48.0 | 46.0 |
| Good Air Days | 58.4% | 68.2% |
| Unhealthy Air Days | 3 days | 0 days |
💧 Water Safety (EPA SDWIS, state-level) EPA SDWIS →
| Metric | CO | CO |
|---|---|---|
| Water Safety Score | 10/100 | 10/100 |
| Total Violations | 238,796 | 238,796 |
| Health-Based Violations | 30,589 | 30,589 |
| Systems with Violations | 92.6% | 92.6% |
🏥 Healthcare Access (HRSA, state-level) HRSA →
| Metric | CO | CO |
|---|---|---|
| Healthcare Access Score | 36/100 | 36/100 |
| Population in Shortage Area | 64.3% | 64.3% |
| HPSA Designations | 309 | 309 |
HPSA = Health Professional Shortage Area, designated by HRSA. Higher access score = better healthcare availability.
⚠️ Natural Disaster Risk (FEMA NRI, state-level) FEMA NRI →
| Metric | CO | CO |
|---|---|---|
| Disaster Safety Score | 76/100 | 76/100 |
| NRI Risk Score (avg county) | 40.7 | 40.7 |
| Expected Annual Loss Score | 44.2 | 44.2 |
FEMA National Risk Index (NRI) scores are county-level percentiles (0–100). Higher disaster safety score = lower relative risk. State-level values are county averages.
Crime, schools, childcare, and environment data shown at state level. Metro-specific data for these dimensions is not available.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Boulder more expensive than Colorado Springs? ▼
Boulder has a cost of living index of 105.2 compared to Colorado Springs's 100.7 (national average = 100). Boulder is 4.5 points above Colorado Springs on the BEA Regional Price Parity scale.
What is the rent difference between Boulder and Colorado Springs? ▼
A 2-bedroom apartment averages $2,124/mo in Boulder vs $1,735/mo in Colorado Springs, based on HUD Fair Market Rent data. Studios range from $1,553/mo to $1,196/mo.
How do salaries compare between Boulder and Colorado Springs? ▼
The average median salary across all occupations is $82,291 in Boulder and $72,907 in Colorado Springs, according to BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics. After adjusting for cost of living, $100,000 in Boulder has the same purchasing power as $95,727 in Colorado Springs.
Is Boulder or Colorado Springs safer? ▼
At the state level, CO has a violent crime rate of 481.2 per 100,000 residents compared to CO's 481.2 per 100,000. Property crime rates are 2640.7 vs 2640.7 per 100,000 respectively, based on FBI Uniform Crime Report data.
How do schools compare between Boulder and Colorado Springs? ▼
CO has 1,923 public schools with an average student-teacher ratio of 16.6:1, while CO has 1,923 schools at 16.6:1. Charter schools make up 14.0% of CO schools vs 14.0% in CO. Data from the National Center for Education Statistics.
Where does the comparison data come from? ▼
All data comes from official U.S. government sources: Bureau of Economic Analysis (cost of living), HUD (fair market rents), BLS (wages), FBI UCR (crime), NCES (schools), Department of Labor (childcare), EPA (environment, air quality, water safety), HRSA (healthcare access), and FEMA NRI (disaster risk). No crowdsourced estimates or proprietary ratings are used.
Research Guides
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Data from BEA, HUD, FBI UCR, BLS OES, NCES, DOL, EPA AQS, EPA SDWIS, HRSA, and FEMA NRI. Not affiliated with the U.S. Government.
Disclaimer: This comparison is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, legal, or relocation advice. Consult a qualified professional before making decisions based on this data.
Related
Data sourced from official public datasets, current as of 2026. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainCompare