Aluminum fence cost in Fort Collins, CO

Fort Collins: what basic, standard and premium work costs

Three bands are cut from the same cited range and localized for Fort Collins wages and prices. They overlap on purpose: a good standard job and a modest premium job can cost the same. The grid below prices the same bands at 3 common sizes.

What nearby projects cost in Fort Collins

Because every project leans on different trades, Fort Collins's wage level does not move all prices equally. Against the US midpoint, inground pool runs level and vinyl fence −3%.

Fort Collins against nearby metros and the rest of Colorado

Contractors rarely work more than an hour or two from home, so the neighboring metros set a rough ceiling and floor for your quotes. Midpoints for 150 linear ft range from $7,200 to $7,750 across Fort Collins and its five closest metros.

Across 300 US metros, Fort Collins comes in at #151 from the top. The priciest is Honolulu, HI at $9,700; the cheapest is Brownsville, TX at $6,500 (midpoints, 150 linear ft). Statewide, Fort Collins is 3% below the Colorado figure.

Other Colorado metros

Cities with a workforce like Fort Collins's

Big cities and small ones price differently, so here is Fort Collins against the 4 metros with the closest total employment.

Local wages behind the labor line

Wages are the part of this estimate that changes most from town to town. 3 trades carry the job here, and each is compared with its US median. The weighted result for Fort Collins is 0.96 times the national level.

For carpenters (47-2031, weighted 40%) the local median is $28.04 an hour, which is 4% below the national $29.12. The middle half of them earn between $23.36 and $30.74 an hour. BLS counts 510 of them working in the area, 30.1 for every 10,000 jobs (US: 43.1), so the local bench is thinner than average.

Construction laborers (47-2061), 40% of the weighting: a median of $22.86 an hour, in line with the US median of $22.66. The middle half of them earn between $20.83 and $27.15 an hour. About 930 work in the metro. That is 54.9 per 10,000 jobs, compared with 70.5 nationally, so expect fewer local crews to bid.

For sheet metal workers (47-2211, weighted 20%) the local median is $25.31 an hour, which is 15% below the national $29.71. The middle half of them earn between $23.15 and $30.72 an hour. BLS counts 80 of them working in the area, 4.7 for every 10,000 jobs (US: 7.7), so the local bench is thinner than average.

Quotes come from real crews, not medians. If the carpenters on your job are paid at the 75th percentile ($30.74 an hour) instead of the median, the labor line grows by about $95. At the 25th percentile ($23.36) it shrinks by about $170. The total moves by 1.3% or 2.3%, so wages alone rarely explain a quote that is far outside our range.

For context on the local economy, BLS counts 169,430 jobs in the Fort Collins-Loveland area. That makes it the 138th largest of the 300 metros we cover, with 0.11% of US employment.

Add-ons priced for Fort Collins

Extras are quoted nationally and then scaled to Fort Collins by the average of the local wage index (0.96) and goods index (0.96), a factor of 0.96. Tick any of them in the estimator above to add them to your total. Treat these as planning figures: an add-on touches different trades than the main job, so the scaling is an approximation.

Aluminum fence: what moves the price in Fort Collins

• Style

  Aluminum picket runs $25-$50 per linear foot installed, ornamental fence $40-$75, and privacy designs $75-$130 (HomeGuide).

• Soil and slope

  Steep slopes and rocky clay can add $15-$20+ per linear foot in labor.

• Pool codes

  Many codes require a pool barrier with gaps under 4 inches, which influences the style you can buy.

When to schedule aluminum fence in Fort Collins

We use NOAA's 1991-2020 climate normals for Ft Collins (5 miles from the city center). These are 30-year monthly averages, not forecasts.

January through November is the stretch where exterior installation runs into the fewest weather problems in Fort Collins (11 of 12 months). December has an average daytime high under 45°F.

In December the average high stays below 45°F. Sealants, adhesives and some materials, such as vinyl, are harder to install well in the cold, and short daylight cuts the working day.

Fort Collins gets about 16 inches of precipitation in a normal year, including roughly 51 inches of snow. The wettest months are April, May and June (2.7 inches in May). Inside the workable window, January and February are the driest, at 0.4 and 0.5 inches. The station averages about 29 days a year at 90°F or above.

Does the season change the price? Probably, but we do not have a sourced seasonal price curve, so the estimator shows a year-round figure and does not adjust by month. When you collect quotes, ask whether scheduling in a slower month gets a better rate.