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Cost & Benefits

Compare / Charlotte to Colorado Springs

Charlotte, NC vs Colorado Springs, CO

Simple answer

You'd likely save $164 a month in Colorado Springs.

This is the HUD 2-bedroom fair-market rent for October 2026 through September 2027. It is not your lease.

The largest cost gap in this pair is housing prices. The BEA housing price parity differs by 18.6 points (Charlotte 97.6, Colorado Springs 116.2).

North Carolina taxes wages at a flat 3.99%. Colorado taxes wages at a flat 4.40%. Combined sales tax differs by 0.9 percentage points, higher in Colorado. The effective property tax gap is 0.12 percentage points, higher in North Carolina.

After a move from North Carolina to Colorado, those two example households keep the same benefit status labels. A different income can still split Medicaid and marketplace credits.

A $75,000 salary in Charlotte lines up with about $77,588 in Colorado Springs on the 2024 all-items price parity. Census median gross rent and the commute figures are 2024. Fair Market Rents are fiscal year 2027.

Charlotte

Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC

2-bedroom Fair Market Rent
$1,785
HUD area
Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC HUD Metro FMR Area
Census median gross rent
$1,594
All-items price parity
97.3
Goods price parity
96.6
Utilities price parity
89.2
Mean commute
27.5 min
Median household income
$85,938

Colorado Springs

Colorado Springs, CO

2-bedroom Fair Market Rent
$1,621
HUD area
Colorado Springs, CO HUD Metro FMR Area
Census median gross rent
$1,761
All-items price parity
100.7
Goods price parity
96.1
Utilities price parity
83.2
Mean commute
24.8 min
Median household income
$90,760

Equivalent salary

The first number keeps the same place in the national price level. The second also runs 2026 federal income tax, employee Social Security and Medicare, and a simplified state income tax. Groceries use the BEA goods price parity, not a grocery receipt.

Same buying power

$77,588

Salary in Colorado Springs that matches the 2024 all-items regional price parity.

After state and federal tax

$78,256

Gross salary in Colorado Springs whose after-tax pay buys the same basket, using price parities.

Rent only

$68,109

Scales the salary by the ratio of HUD 2-bedroom Fair Market Rents. Rent is not the whole budget.

Taxes on the two sides of the move

TaxNorth CarolinaColorado
State income tax on wages3.99% flat4.40% flat
Combined sales tax, Jan 1, 20267.0%7.9%
Effective property tax, ACS 2024 median / median0.61%0.49%

On a $400,000 home, the state median effective rate implies about $2,455 a year in North Carolina and $1,969 in Colorado. That illustration is not a local bill. Childcare prices are not in the verified dataset for these metros.

Benefits if you land in Colorado

Same household, $40,000 a year, scored once in North Carolina and once in Colorado. This is an illustration, not your application.

  • Food stamps (SNAP)

    CharlotteLikely eligible

    Colorado SpringsLikely eligible

  • Medicaid and CHIP

    CharlotteLikely eligible

    Colorado SpringsLikely eligible

  • WIC

    CharlotteLikely eligible

    Colorado SpringsLikely eligible

  • School meals

    CharlotteLikely eligible

    Colorado SpringsLikely eligible

  • LIHEAP

    CharlotteMaybe

    Colorado SpringsMaybe

  • Earned Income Tax Credit

    CharlotteLikely eligible

    Colorado SpringsLikely eligible

  • Child Tax Credit

    CharlotteLikely eligible

    Colorado SpringsLikely eligible

  • Marketplace premium tax credits

    CharlotteUnlikely

    Colorado SpringsUnlikely

  • Lifeline phone and internet

    CharlotteLikely eligible

    Colorado SpringsLikely eligible

  • SSI

    CharlotteUnlikely

    Colorado SpringsUnlikely

At $40,000 the status labels match. A single adult around $18,000 is where Medicaid expansion and the marketplace coverage gap usually split.

Medicaid guide for Colorado · SNAP guide

Related comparisons

From Charlotte

The eight largest 2-bedroom Fair Market Rent gaps from Charlotte.

Nearby metros

How the salary and tax math works · The reverse city order redirects to this address.