Albuquerque, NM vs Baltimore, MD
Moving from Albuquerque to Baltimore? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($352,894 → $405,877 median home) and taxes.
Albuquerque vs Baltimore 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 $110,208 in Baltimore, MD (+$10,208).
Livability — Albuquerque, NM: 60 · Baltimore, MD: 57 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,621 sqft in Albuquerque vs 2,341 sqft in Baltimore ($191 vs $214 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Albuquerque, NM | Baltimore, MD | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $18,024 | $23,028 | +$5,004 |
| Groceries | $4,871 | $5,075 | +$204 |
| Transportation | $3,260 | $3,685 | +$425 |
| Utilities | $1,632 | $2,388 | +$756 |
| Insurance | $1,900 | $1,400 | −$500 |
| Taxes | $10,881 | $11,584 | +$703 |
| Total | $40,568 | $47,160 | +$6,592 |
Side by side
| Metric | Albuquerque, NM | Baltimore, MD |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 93.6 | 103.2 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.69% | 4.86% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 1.2% | 1.7% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.33 | $5.87 |
| Median home price | $352,894 | $405,877 |
| Home price ÷ income | 5.5× | 4.3× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 1.0% | 0.8% |
| Price per square foot | $191 | $214 |
| Median rent | $1,502 | $1,919 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.2% | 11.3% |
| Combined sales tax | 7.78% | 6.00% |
| Capital gains tax | 5.90% | 5.75% |
| Property tax rate | 0.93% | 1.04% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,400 | $7,200 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $10,000 | $16,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 24 | 30 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,900 | $1,400 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,600 | $1,900 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $550 | $750 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 15.2 | 22.1 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.20 | 3.30 |
| Natural gas / mo | $50 | $88 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $58 | $106 |
| Home internet / mo | $74 | $82 |
| Violent crime /100k | 780 | 450 |
| Avg summer high °F | 92 | 88 |
| Avg winter low °F | 25 | 27 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 9.4 | 45.0 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 10.0 | 19.3 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 71% | 57% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 4 |