Aurora vs Plano Cost of Living
Plano is approximately 1.0% cheaper than Aurora. See salary equivalence, taxes, and side-by-side breakdown.
Aurora, CO
Plano, TX
| Salary in Aurora | Equivalent in Plano | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $49,500 | -$500 (-1.0%) |
| $75,000 | $74,300 | -$700 (-0.9%) |
| $100,000 | $99,000 | -$1,000 (-1.0%) |
| $150,000 | $148,600 | -$1,400 (-0.9%) |
| $200,000 | $198,100 | -$1,900 (-1.0%) |
Aurora and Plano cost within 1% of each other overall, so the decision between them is not really a financial one — it comes down to housing type, taxes, and how you want to get around.
Housing does most of the damage
Strip out housing and most US metros cost about the same. Housing is where the difference lives. A one-bedroom runs about $1,450 a month in Aurora and $1,450 in Plano — $0 a month apart, or $0 a year.
Taxes the index leaves out
One of these states taxes income and the other does not — Colorado does, Texas does not. At $100,000 the swing is usually $4,000–$8,000 in what actually reaches your account, and no cost-of-living index captures it.
The offset is rarely free, though. States without an income tax usually recover it elsewhere — property tax rates in Texas and sales tax are the usual places to look. If you plan to buy rather than rent, run the property tax number before assuming the no-income-tax state is cheaper.
Work, weather, and what else is different
Aurora is a large metro of about 3.0M and growing steadily; Plano is a major metro of about 8.1M and growing steadily.
Both metros have real employment in healthcare, which matters if you want to move without changing careers — your experience is legible to employers in both. Aurora also leans on aerospace/defense and logistics, with employers like Buckley Space Force Base and UCHealth/Anschutz Medical Campus. Plano leans on corporate headquarters (telecom, finance, tech), with Toyota Motor North America (HQ) and JPMorgan Chase (regional hub).
Weather is not a rounding error when you actually live somewhere. Aurora: Semi-arid high plains: January highs near 45°F/lows 19°F, July highs near 88°F/lows 59°F, low humidity with over 300 sunny days. Plano: Humid subtropical climate: January lows near 35°F, July highs near 96°F, humid.
Part of the Denver-Aurora-Lakewood MSA but with meaningfully lower housing costs than Denver proper; Colorado's flat state income tax is 4.4% with no city add-on (Denver-area cities do levy small flat monthly occupational taxes, not percentage income tax). No state or local income tax; Toyota's 2017 relocation of its North American headquarters to Plano was part of a broader wave of major corporate HQ moves into the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
Overall cost ratios come from BEA Regional Price Parities. Housing figures track published market data and local tax rates come from the municipalities themselves. How these are compiled and updated.
Related tools
Paycheck calculator — take-home after federal, state and local tax. Salary calculator — hourly and annual conversion. Mortgage calculator — what a home in either metro actually costs monthly. Guide: the true cost of relocating.