Is Amherst Town cheaper than Fort Collins?

They are about even — the overall cost of living in the Amherst Town and Fort Collins metros is within 3% of each other (BEA Regional Price Parities), so neither is meaningfully cheaper.

Which has higher household income, Amherst Town or Fort Collins?

Fort Collins has the higher median household income — $93,276 versus $81,732 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS), about 14% more.

Does a paycheck go further in Amherst Town or Fort Collins?

A paycheck stretches further in Fort Collins. Adjusted for local prices, the median income is worth $92,236 there versus $81,534 in Amherst Town.

Which has cheaper rent, Amherst Town or Fort Collins?

Amherst Town has cheaper rent — a median of $1,425/mo versus $1,751/mo (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS).

Amherst Town vs Fort Collins

Metro-area medians — Amherst Town-Northampton, MA Metro Area vs Fort Collins-Loveland, CO Metro Area — not the cities proper.

Amherst Town comes out ahead, winning 4 of the 7 clearly-decided measures.

Amherst Town and Fort Collins cost about the same to live in, but Fort Collins households earn about 14% more. Adjusted for local prices, a typical paycheck stretches further in Fort Collins.

Their widest everyday difference: the typical commute is shorter in Amherst Town — about 22.6 min versus 23.9 min.

For your salary & household

Enter your pay and household size to see what it's really worth here — the numbers update live and the link stays shareable.

Annual salary (gross)

Household size

Amherst Town, MA

$57,564

take-home / yr · 23% to tax

$57,424

real value after local prices

Fort Collins, CO

$58,707

take-home / yr · 22% to tax

$58,052

real value after local prices

On $75,000 for just you, Fort Collins leaves you about $628/yr better off after tax and local prices.

Take-home estimates a single filer taking the standard deduction (2025 federal brackets, FICA, and state income tax) and isn't tax advice. “Real value” rebases take-home to average U.S. prices using the BEA cost-of-living index; the per-person figure uses the OECD square-root equivalence scale.

Measure

Amherst Town

Fort Collins

Livability (CityLedger)

62/100

75/100

Cost of living (price level, US = 100)

100.2

101.1

Cost-adjusted income (pay's real value)

$81,534

$92,236

Median household income

$81,732

$93,276

Median rent

$1,425/mo

$1,751/mo

Median home value

$413,400

$610,000

Unemployment

4.2%

Bachelor's degree or higher

54.6%

55.5%

Average commute

22.6 min

23.9 min

Air quality (median AQI)

—

Avg temperature

49°F

47°F

Choose Amherst Town for

+ Median rent
+ Median home value
+ Unemployment
+ Average commute

Full Amherst Town profile →

Choose Fort Collins for

+ Livability (CityLedger)
+ Cost-adjusted income (pay's real value)
+ Median household income

Full Fort Collins profile →

More comparisons

Metros closest to Amherst Town and Fort Collins on cost, income, size, and education.

Amherst Town vs Burlington→Amherst Town vs Charlottesville→Amherst Town vs State College→Fort Collins vs Ann Arbor→Fort Collins vs Charlottesville→Fort Collins vs Durham→

Amherst Town vs Fort Collins — frequently asked

Is Amherst Town cheaper than Fort Collins?: They are about even — the overall cost of living in the Amherst Town and Fort Collins metros is within 3% of each other (BEA Regional Price Parities), so neither is meaningfully cheaper.
Which has higher household income, Amherst Town or Fort Collins?: Fort Collins has the higher median household income — $93,276 versus $81,732 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS), about 14% more.
Does a paycheck go further in Amherst Town or Fort Collins?: A paycheck stretches further in Fort Collins. Adjusted for local prices, the median income is worth $92,236 there versus $81,534 in Amherst Town.
Which has cheaper rent, Amherst Town or Fort Collins?: Amherst Town has cheaper rent — a median of $1,425/mo versus $1,751/mo (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS).