Albuquerque, NM vs Denver, CO
Moving from Albuquerque to Denver? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($352,894 → $573,221 median home) and taxes.
Albuquerque vs Denver 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 $112,967 in Denver, CO (+$12,967).
Livability — Albuquerque, NM: 60 · Denver, CO: 52 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,621 sqft in Albuquerque vs 1,657 sqft in Denver ($191 vs $302 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Albuquerque, NM | Denver, CO | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $18,024 | $22,920 | +$4,896 |
| Groceries | $4,871 | $5,079 | +$208 |
| Transportation | $3,260 | $4,050 | +$790 |
| Utilities | $1,632 | $1,788 | +$156 |
| Insurance | $1,900 | $2,800 | +$900 |
| Taxes | $10,881 | $9,828 | −$1,053 |
| Total | $40,568 | $46,464 | +$5,897 |
Side by side
| Metric | Albuquerque, NM | Denver, CO |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 93.6 | 105.8 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.69% | 4.26% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 1.2% | 5.7% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 61 | 64 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.33 | $6.02 |
| Median home price | $352,894 | $573,221 |
| Home price ÷ income | 5.5× | 5.9× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 1.0% | -2.9% |
| Price per square foot | $191 | $302 |
| Median rent | $1,502 | $1,910 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.2% | 9.7% |
| Combined sales tax | 7.78% | 7.77% |
| Capital gains tax | 5.90% | 4.40% |
| Property tax rate | 0.93% | 0.52% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,400 | $6,800 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $10,000 | $16,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 1.79% |
| Avg commute (min) | 24 | 28 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,900 | $2,800 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,600 | $2,000 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $550 | $550 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 15.2 | 16.5 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.20 | 3.30 |
| Violent crime /100k | 780 | 490 |
| Avg summer high °F | 92 | 88 |
| Avg winter low °F | 25 | 18 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 3 |