Colorado Springs Cost of Living 2026: Real Numbers by ZIP

I’ve lived on the west side of Colorado Springs for 20-plus years, near Ute Valley Park. Here’s what the 2026 numbers say, and where I’d look if moving here now.

Colorado Springs runs close to the national average overall. The Bureau of Economic Analysis puts the metro’s price level at 100.7 for 2024, U.S. = 100: housing runs hot at 116.2, everyday goods run below average at 96.1. Groceries and gas don’t punish you. Rent and home prices do.

To rent the median place without it eating more than 30% of your pay, a household needs around $66,000 a year. To buy the median-priced home at today’s rate, figure roughly $2,500 a month before taxes and insurance, more than a third of median household income. That works for two incomes or a remote job paying coastal wages, and squeezes anyone counting on one entry-level paycheck alone.

The 2026 numbers at a glance

Quick note: a couple of links further down go to Booking.com, and I may earn a small commission if you book through them, at no extra cost to you.

How I put this together

Price levels are from the Bureau of Economic Analysis, published via FRED. Rent by ZIP is HUD’s FY2026 Small Area Fair Market Rents. Income, home value, and commute are Census ACS. Sale price is Redfin’s data, the mortgage rate is Freddie Mac’s survey, and the math on top of those is mine, not a quoted figure. Tax rates are from the city and state; the utility bill is CSU’s rate case filing. The neighborhood read is my own opinion, 20-plus years here, in notes I put down on July 15, 2026. The mortgage figure is a plain 30-year amortization on 80% of Redfin’s median price. What these numbers miss: HUD’s rents are for a modest unit, so a newer place on a listing site will ask more. Census figures average 2020 through 2024, so they run behind today’s prices. The BEA price level is for 2024, and the next update is due December 10, 2026. Insurance, HOA dues, groceries, and childcare aren’t in here at all. These numbers move, so check the sources before a real decision.

Colorado Springs vs. Denver

Redfin’s search data shows Denver is the top metro that people looking to move to Colorado Springs come from: real housing savings here, but fewer big-city jobs, and you’ll still be driving either way.

Rent by ZIP, and what each side of town feels like

HUD’s Fair Market Rent isn’t an average rent. It’s gross rent, meaning rent plus basic utilities, for a modest unit at roughly the 40th percentile, so it reads lower than a listing site for a nicer place.

I went through each side of town in my notes on July 15, 2026. Here’s that take. The ZIP numbers line up with what I’ve seen over 20-plus years here.

The west side, where I live, backs right up against the mountains, with more established neighborhoods and more trees than the east side. 80904 and 80907 run several hundred dollars a month cheaper than the newer east-side ZIPs.

The east side is where the stores and shops are, especially up north in Briargate and Northgate, if you like to eat out and want more going on in the evening. You pay for it: 80920, 80923, 80924, and 80927 are among the priciest 2BR rents in the table, $2,140 to $2,600 a month.

The south side, Cheyenne Mountain and the Broadmoor area, is well established, more trees, older homes, slower pace. Southeast, near the airport, has more people who work the bases, Fort Carson and Peterson Space Force Base. Downtown doesn’t have much going on housing-wise, mostly older houses, though the North End has some nice homes.

My honest take after 20-plus years: I wouldn’t call any part of Colorado Springs a bad area. But the cheapest rents here are mostly older, central, and west-side ZIPs, plus Manitou Springs. The newer north and east ZIPs can run $500 to $1,000 or more a month higher for the same size unit.

Buying a house

Redfin’s numbers for the three months ending August 2026 put the median sale price at $459,696, down 3.2% from a year earlier, with 47% of listings taking a price drop. Redfin still rates the market somewhat competitive, but buyers have room to negotiate. Census puts the median owner-occupied value a bit lower, at $452,600.

Our own math, principal and interest only: 20% down on the median sale price borrows about $367,757. At Freddie Mac’s 7.28% average rate for a 30-year fixed, that runs about $2,516 a month before taxes, insurance, or HOA dues, roughly 36% of median household income.

Property taxes are based on the assessed value of the specific house, so look up any address you’re serious about at the El Paso County Assessor’s site before you offer. Budget insurance on top, and an HOA fee for a townhome or newer subdivision.

Taxes

Sales tax inside the city limits runs 8.20% combined, via the city’s own breakdown: 3.07% city, 2.9% state, 1.23% El Paso County, and 1.0% for the Pikes Peak Rural Transportation Authority.

State income tax is a flat 4.4% for 2025, per the Colorado Department of Revenue. It was 4.25% in 2024, a temporary TABOR refund trigger, so check it each year.

Utilities

Colorado Springs Utilities is city-owned and bills electric, gas, water, and wastewater on one statement. Its March 2026 rate case pegs the typical bill, 700 kWh electric, 60 ccf gas, 1,100 cubic feet water, 700 cubic feet wastewater, at $290.16 a month, with a proposed July 1, 2026 gas change adding about $8.54 more.

CSU’s rates page shows an electric fuel cost decrease starting October 1, 2026, about $1.54 a month. Water swings the most; run a sprinkler all summer and the bill climbs. Internet and phone are separate.

Getting around

This is a car town. Census puts the mean commute at 22.7 minutes, short by big-city standards, but it still assumes you’re driving. Gas averaged $3.91 a gallon here on October 7, 2026, per AAA, up from $2.87 a year earlier.

What makes it cheaper to live here

A lot of what makes this city livable on a budget doesn’t show up in any cost index. Garden of the Gods is a free city park. Everything is free except food and paid extras like e-bike rentals or horseback rides, even the visitor center museum. I ride my e-bike out there.

Rampart Range Road, near Garden of the Gods, is a free dirt road drive with a view of the whole park and city, and it eventually gets you to Woodland Park. For a longer ride, one of my regulars (I wrote it up on June 24, 2026) is to e-bike the Santa Fe Trail from downtown north, past the Air Force Academy toward Monument. It’s free and paved, and it can fill most of a day.

Farmers markets are another cheap Saturday. Pine Creek’s is small, easy parking in a big dirt lot. Old Colorado City’s market is bigger, more vendors and variety.

For a cheap weekend away, Mueller State Park, below Pikes Peak, has some of the best camping around. It’s open year-round and always busy, so book ahead or go midweek. More of what keeps costs down is in our free and budget-friendly things to do guide.

Before you sign a lease, do a scouting weekend

Numbers only tell you so much. Before a lease or an offer, drive the ZIPs from the rent table above at rush hour, not on a quiet Sunday. Stay downtown to test the city side, or Manitou Springs for mountain-side living. Either beats a spreadsheet.

Find a place to stay in Downtown Colorado Springs • Find a place to stay in Manitou Springs

To time it around good weather, check our best-time-to-visit guide before you book.

More Springs guides

• Moving to Colorado Springs
• Colorado Springs for Retirees: Why People Move Here and What They Actually Think
• Best Time to Visit Colorado Springs

Author: Dominic