Albuquerque, NM vs Atlanta, GA
Moving from Albuquerque to Atlanta? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($352,894 → $382,938 median home) and taxes.
Albuquerque vs Atlanta 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 Albuquerque, NM, you'd need about $107,321 in Atlanta, GA (+$7,321).
Livability — Albuquerque, NM: 60 · Atlanta, GA: 66 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,621 sqft in Albuquerque vs 2,677 sqft in Atlanta ($191 vs $187 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Albuquerque, NM | Atlanta, GA | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $18,024 | $22,080 | +$4,056 |
| Groceries | $4,871 | $4,926 | +$55 |
| Transportation | $3,260 | $3,515 | +$255 |
| Utilities | $1,632 | $1,656 | +$24 |
| Insurance | $1,900 | $2,100 | +$200 |
| Taxes | $10,881 | $10,533 | −$348 |
| Total | $40,568 | $44,810 | +$4,242 |
Side by side
| Metric | Albuquerque, NM | Atlanta, GA |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 93.6 | 100.5 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.69% | 5.04% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 1.2% | 6.9% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.33 | $5.72 |
| Median home price | $352,894 | $382,938 |
| Home price ÷ income | 5.5× | 4.6× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 1.0% | -2.1% |
| Price per square foot | $191 | $187 |
| Median rent | $1,502 | $1,840 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.2% | 8.9% |
| Combined sales tax | 7.78% | 7.38% |
| Capital gains tax | 5.90% | 5.39% |
| Property tax rate | 0.93% | 0.85% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,400 | $6,400 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $10,000 | $9,500 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 24 | 32 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,900 | $2,100 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,600 | $1,900 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $550 | $700 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 15.2 | 15.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.20 | 3.15 |
| Natural gas / mo | $50 | $74 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $58 | $123 |
| Home internet / mo | $74 | $88 |
| Violent crime /100k | 780 | 370 |
| Avg summer high °F | 92 | 89 |
| Avg winter low °F | 25 | 34 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 9.4 | 50.4 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 10.0 | 2.2 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 71% | 60% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 2 |