People move to Fort Collins for a lot of reasons. Many of us transplants (and there are a LOT of us) come here for a job. If you come from anywhere in the U.S., possibly excepting California or the Northeast, or a major city like Chicago or Seattle, you need to understand Fort Collins’ cost of living, as well as how our communities are organized, and how our city operates.
#1: For a Midwesterner, It’s Expensive to Move to Fort Collins
List Prices
The list prices, of course, are the first sticker shock. Fort Collins’ median home price of around $520,000-$555,000 is significantly higher than the national median of $360,727—roughly 44-54% above the U.S. average. Fort Collins residents understand this and are concerned about it. That was clear when I voted in my first mayoral election in Fort Collins in 2025. Affordable housing was among the top 3 platform topics for all serious candidates.
How did we get here, though? I speculate that housing prices initially crept up through simple supply and demand. The Fort Collins metro area grew from about 310,000 in 2015 to 363,000 in 2025—a 17% increase in just 10 years. Those who grew up here frequently comment on this rapid population growth. The home supply simply hasn’t kept up.
Second, however, is the type of buyer that moves to Fort Collins. There are major technology employers along the East Harmony Road corridor—companies like Broadcom (1,150+ employees), Hewlett Packard Enterprise (800 employees), Intel, and AMD—that attract well-paid professionals. Software engineers at top companies can earn up to $330,000 annually. So you’ve got a short supply, in high demand by buyers with high salaries. That contributes to skilled workers, teachers, service workers, and others getting priced out of the market.
Metro Taxes
Fort Collins has phenomenal amenities. The bike routes, the protected natural areas – those are just the headliners. So you have to wonder, in a town of about 170,000, who pays for all of this?
Fort Collins benefits from Colorado’s low property tax rates—the state ranks third-lowest in the nation at 0.49% statewide. Fort Collins specifically has an effective property tax rate of 0.66%, well below the national median of 1.02%.
But here’s the catch: despite lower tax rates, Fort Collins homeowners often pay MORE in actual dollars than the national average because home values are so high. The median annual tax bill in Fort Collins is $2,540—about $140 higher than the national median of $2,400.
But there’s a special tax that catches transplants off guard: metro district tax.
On top of standard property taxes, many of the newer Fort Collins subdivisions have metro district taxes (often called “metro taxes”). A metro district is a special taxing zone that finances infrastructure like roads, parks, and utilities through bonds that were approved by voters.
While metro taxes eventually sunset (typically after 30-40 years), during their active period they can add 0.5% to 1.5% to your effective rate, significantly increasing your annual tax burden and potentially pulling you above the national average.
You can read more at the City of Fort Collins page on metro taxes, but make sure you ask about it if you’re preparing an offer. A few realtors I’ve chatted with say that the metro districts sometimes overstep – meaning that they try to act like a homeowner’s association (HOA).
And that brings me to the second thing I wish I’d known more about before moving to Fort Collins, even though I got lucky.
#2: It’s Not The Right House If It’s Not The Right HOA
Understanding HOAs When Moving to Fort Collins
I moved to Fort Collins from the Midwest, which has some of the lowest rates of HOA coverage in the U.S. Arkansas, Nebraska and Kansas, for example, have only 2-5% of homes within HOAs. By contrast, in Colorado over 40% of the population lives in HOAs, and they’re becoming more common nationwide. For newly built homes across the country, 67% were in HOAs in 2024.
Of the 11 homes I’ve owned prior to Fort Collins, only one ever had anything like an HOA—a tiny 600 sq.ft. condominium we needed as a second residence. When the unfinished basement flooded one year, the association fixed the broken pipes and sealed the foundation. But they didn’t help with the damaged paint inside or our ruined boxes of comic books stored down there.
That experience taught me to view HOAs like insurance companies: you keep paying, they handle small stuff (like doctor’s visits), but for big issues (like surgery) you might need to get deeply involved in negotiating. When it comes to HOAs, attend the meetings and learn who the leaders are.
What HOAs Actually Do
Don’t get me wrong—HOAs can be genuinely valuable, and the high density of HOAs plays a significant role in Fort Collins’ quality of life. Currently I live in a small HOA and I’m really happy with the services for what we pay, probably because as a homeowner for 30+ years I know what those services can cost.
For instance, our HOA leaders organized grants from the city for xeric landscaping and greenspace development. Pay attention to those kinds of details when you drive around Fort Collins neighborhoods. It’s not always the city doing all that beautification—it’s often the HOA.
Also, it might surprise some to know that condo and townhome association fees are typically more expensive than HOA fees for single-family residences. That’s because condo associations usually cover building systems, structure, and even the roof. Most HOAs only maintain common areas like pools and landscaping, not your actual house. A bonus, then, is that your insurance rates on a condo or townhome should be lower, so the costs come out in the wash.
Before You Buy, Review HOA Documents
If moving to Fort Collins, here’s my advice regarding HOAs.
Before making an offer: Request the Declaration of Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions (CC&Rs) from Larimer County or your realtor. These are on file for all HOAs. Honestly, realtors are focused on keeping deals moving, so you may need to be proactive about requesting these documents up front because it’s not their top priority.
After your offer is accepted: You’re entitled to ALL HOA documents according to Section 7 of the Colorado Contract to Buy and Sell Real Estate. You’ll have 10-14 business days from contract execution to review them—so don’t let anyone stall on getting them to you!
Review them carefully and understand whether some restrictions might affect your lifestyle. For instance, we have a dog and wanted to put up a small fenced area for him. You have to get that approved by the HOA, right down to the style, contractor, and color. That wasn’t a game-ender for us, but it might be for others.
Colorado does give you a back door out of a real estate contract if you don’t like the HOA CC&Rs. But check your buyer’s contract to be sure there won’t be penalties, and talk to your realtor to make sure you understand those terms.
When moving to Fort Collins, I was grateful to discover Colorado’s buyer-friendly ways, because the next topic actually led me to back out of my first Colorado home-buyer’s contract.
#3: That Great Reno Might Be A Great Risk
My First Inspection In Fort Collins
The first Fort Collins house I put an offer on was in a south Fort Collins, and advertised “No HOA!”. When entering this house you were greeted with a split staircase. You could go up to a beautifully remodeled and the two main (albeit small) bedrooms. Downstairs was a finished basement with a full bathroom and another bedroom. The yard where George the coonhound could do his business was just the right size. A nice green space was next to the house, where kids would cut through to go to the schools across the street.
At $450,000 this house seemed like a great entry point into Fort Collins. I put in an offer and went into contract. Next step: the inspection.
That’s when I really looked more closely at things, and started to notice some odd choices the prior owners had made.
The basement “bedroom” had been constructed by knocking out a wall, so the utility closet with the furnace and water heater was sort of like a second closet in the room. The basement bathroom was also a little weird. The shower stall was raised off the ground by about 6 inches, appearing necessary because of the way the original drain was plumbed. These things weren’t ideal, but appeared changeable in the future.
But then I noticed that the stove island in the center of the kitchen didn’t have a fume hood over it, which I’d never seen before. I asked the inspector if he had ever seen that before. He kind of grimaced and sucked air through his teeth, and said something like, “Yeah, that’s just one of the things that we need to talk about. So, you’re not from around here, are you?”
The Risks of Unpermitted Work
The inspector proceeded to explain that the renovation in the basement bedroom, the funky shower stall, the kitchen remodel—all of that was “unpermitted work.” He had pulled the permits for the house and the only thing he’d found was a new roof from a couple years prior, and replacement windows.
OK…so why do I care? I asked.
If I bought the house and asked a licensed plumber to re-do that shower, that plumber would get a permit from the city to do that work. The plumber, and the city, would discover that the original work had not been permitted. As the present owner, I might have to pay fines for that. Further, there would be no records of whether the old work was done by someone who was licensed. So my new plumber would be taking on some liability and cost risk, based on what he might find.
And that basement bedroom with the water heater closet? That was a red flag on multiple fronts. First, a gas water heater in an open utility closet accessible from a bedroom—like this one was—violates the International Residential Code Section M2005.2, which Colorado adopts. Gas water ,heaters can only be in bedrooms if they’re direct-vent types or in sealed closets with special safety features—not in an open utility closet.
The other red flag was for the drain in the utility closet. It hadn’t been properly installed, according to my inspector. If the water heater leaked it would very likely run into the bedroom. Electrical cords or outlets in that room would be vulnerable – a major safety hazard.
All of that stuff would become my liability, as the homeowner, regardless of whether I was the one who did the work without the permit. What a mess!
Understanding Fort Collins’ Permit Requirements
Here’s what I wish I’d known before moving to Fort Collins: this city takes permits seriously. Permits are required for everything from fences to water heaters and windows—even our radon system required a permit. People who do work that requires permits, if they are professionals, will usually get the permits as part of their contract with you.
If there’s an HOA, they probably would have required evidence of permits for any work done (one advantage of an HOA). But if there’s no HOA, you need to ask the questions yourself.
Fort Collins has a great website to help you look up permits. You just put in the address of the house, as shown in the picture above this section.
Before You Buy, Here’s What To Do
Always show up in person for the inspection. This is a lesson I learned well before Fort Collins, but it’s worth repeating. If the inspector doesn’t like you being there, find a new one. I’ll write a whole blog about inspections someday (stay tuned!).
Ask loads of questions during the showing. Were permits pulled for work that was previously done? If you think you’ll plan to do any renovations yourself, ask extra questions about past work.
Do a permit lookup before you even visit a house. You should look at things more closely if they involved permitted work. Understanding permits helps you spot major work that might have been done, to your advantage or otherwise.
Suspect unpermitted work? Ask before putting in an offer. If you’re still committed to go through with the deal, factor any risks into your offer. Find out what possible fines you might face by asking an inspector or calling the City.
The strict enforcement of permitting in Fort Collins can come as a surprise for us newbies. If you understand the permit system before you buy, you can avoid expensive headaches, just like I did.