Lafayette, Colorado Cost Of Living

Buy Rent

F

Overall 15%

Goods & Services 3%

Housing 57%

Date & Last Updated: This data reflects 2022 and was released from C2ER in January, 2022; this is the most current data available.

The cost of living index is based on a national average of 100. For example, if the cost of living is 90, then it is 10% lower than average. If the cost of living is 110, then it is 10% higher than average. The breakdown for each index is as follows: goods & services (33%), groceries (13%), health care (5%), housing (30%), transportation (9%) and utilities (10%). If the cost of living data was unavailable for this city, estimates based upon nearby cities were used.
Index	Lafayette	Colorado	National
Cost of living	115	111	100
Goods & Services	103	105	100
Groceries	89	98	100
Health care	95	98	100
Housing	157	134	100
Transportation	107	105	100
Utilities	78	88	100

Key findings

The cost of living in Lafayette is 4% higher than the Colorado average
The cost of living in Lafayette is 15% higher than the national average
Lafayette housing is 57% higher than the national average
Colorado general sales tax is 43% lower than the national average
Colorado state income tax is 88% higher than the national average

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Price difference in compared to

Cost of living index
Goods & Services index
Groceries index
Health care index
Housing index
Transportation index
Utilities index

Median Income & Debt-To-Income Ratio

Median Income	Per Year	Per Month	Max Budget (28% DTI)	Max Budget (36% DTI)
Owners	$84,770	$7,064	$1,978	$2,543
Renters	$42,420	$3,535	$990	$1,273

The percentage of monthly income spent on housing related expenses can help predict the affordability of housing in Lafayette, CO, as well as what the overall cost of living might be. Generally, a good rule to follow is that the debt-to-income (DTI) level you want to maintain is 28 percent or less of your income on your rent or mortgage payments and not more than 36 percent of income on all expenses and debts. In Lafayette, homeowners have a median income of $84,770. Using that number, a maximum of $1,978 per month should be allocated to housing expenses. For those who are renting instead of owning, the median income is $42,420, which means there is a maximum of $990 to be spent on the costs of renting a home or apartment.

Colorado Sales Tax

State	General Sales Tax	With Max Surtax
Colorado	2.9%	10%

Colorado Income Tax

State	Income Tax (Low)	Income Tax (High)
Colorado	4.63%	4.63%

Goods & Services

Item	Lafayette	National avg.	Difference
Haircut	$25.00	$20.27	23.3%
Beauty Salon	$35.00	$40.39	13.4%
Toothpaste	$2.49	$2.36	5.7%
Shampoo	$0.88	$1.08	18.2%
Movie	$14.57	$10.99	32.6%
Bowling	$21.00	$15.49	35.6%

Groceries

Item	Lafayette	National avg.	Difference
Ground Beef	$4.06	$4.30	5.5%
Fried Chicken	$0.91	$1.40	35.0%
Milk	$1.50	$2.20	31.9%
Potatoes	$2.63	$3.22	18.4%
Pizza	$11.39	$10.74	6.0%
Beer	$8.75	$9.60	8.9%

Health Care

Item	Lafayette	National avg.	Difference
Optometrist	$78.75	$109.73	28.2%
Doctor	$104.00	$118.34	12.1%
Dentist	$103.58	$100.94	2.6%
Ibuprofen	$9.77	$9.93	1.6%
Lipitor	$469.79	$469.53	0.1%

Housing

Item	Lafayette	National avg.	Difference
Home Price	$310,400.00	$184,700.00	68.1%
Avg. Mortgage Payment	$1,727.07	$1,229.62	40.5%
Apartment Rent	$1,260.00	$949.00	32.8%

Transportation

Item	Lafayette	National avg.	Difference
Gasoline	$2.73	$2.71	0.8%
Tire Balancing	$60.89	$51.86	17.4%

Utilities

Item	Lafayette	National avg.	Difference
All Electricity	$101.64	$170.84	40.5%
Phone	$190.54	$187.18	1.8%

Although the cost of living data is updated regularly, this cost of living information is to be used as estimates only as prices can change on an ongoing basis.

Nearby cities with low cost of living

City	Population	Cost of Living Index	National Avg.
Seven Hills, CO	98	97	3.3%
Leyner, CO	27	97	3.3%
Blue Sky, CO	15	97	3.3%
Lakeside, CO	10	81	18.9%
Federal Heights, CO	12,173	82	18.3%
Lafayette, CO	27,053	115	14.9%

Cities with similar population

City	Population	Cost of Living Index	National Avg.
Sainte-Thérèse, QC	27,055	n/a
West Whittier-Los Nietos, CA	27,071	134	33.6%
Tualatin, OR	27,024	127	26.9%
Lincoln, ON	27,082	n/a
Clarence-Rockland, ON	27,082	n/a
Lafayette, CO	27,053	115	14.9%

Source: This data reflects 2021 and was released from C2ER in January, 2022; this is the most current data available.