Albany, NY vs Minneapolis, MN
Moving from Albany to Minneapolis? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($370,533 → $393,774 median home) and taxes.
Albany vs Minneapolis at a glance
Bars scaled to the range across all 200 metros; labels show actual values.
To keep the same standard of living as $100,000 in Albany, NY, you'd need about $106,239 in Minneapolis, MN (+$6,239).
Livability — Albany, NY: 58 · Minneapolis, MN: 54 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,159 sqft in Albany vs 2,285 sqft in Minneapolis ($232 vs $219 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Albany, NY | Minneapolis, MN | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $20,172 | $20,652 | +$480 |
| Groceries | $4,868 | $5,227 | +$359 |
| Transportation | $3,895 | $3,375 | −$520 |
| Utilities | $3,180 | $1,776 | −$1,404 |
| Insurance | $1,600 | $2,200 | +$600 |
| Taxes | $18,849 | $16,345 | −$2,504 |
| Total | $52,564 | $49,575 | −$2,989 |
Side by side
| Metric | Albany, NY | Minneapolis, MN |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 98.2 | 104.3 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.97% | 3.90% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 2.3% | 4.3% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.59 | $5.93 |
| Median home price | $370,533 | $393,774 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.4× | 4.2× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 5.5% | 2.1% |
| Price per square foot | $232 | $219 |
| Median rent | $1,681 | $1,721 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 15.9% | 12.1% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.52% | 8.10% |
| Capital gains tax | 10.90% | 9.85% |
| Property tax rate | 1.95% | 1.10% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $7,800 | $6,800 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $17,000 | $16,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 1.58% |
| Avg commute (min) | 23 | 25 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,600 | $2,200 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,100 | $1,600 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $800 | $600 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 29.4 | 16.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.45 | 3.15 |
| Natural gas / mo | $98 | $76 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $87 | $77 |
| Home internet / mo | $76 | $81 |
| Violent crime /100k | 350 | 280 |
| Avg summer high °F | 83 | 83 |
| Avg winter low °F | 16 | 4 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 40.0 | 31.6 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 48.0 | 51.2 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 50% | 58% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 5 | 3 |