Albuquerque, NM vs Houston, TX
Moving from Albuquerque to Houston? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($352,894 → $308,306 median home) and taxes.
Albuquerque vs Houston 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 $106,523 in Houston, TX (+$6,523).
Livability — Albuquerque, NM: 60 · Houston, TX: 75 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,621 sqft in Albuquerque vs 3,406 sqft in Houston ($191 vs $147 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Albuquerque, NM | Houston, TX | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $18,024 | $19,668 | +$1,644 |
| Groceries | $4,871 | $5,085 | +$214 |
| Transportation | $3,260 | $3,675 | +$415 |
| Utilities | $1,632 | $1,836 | +$204 |
| Insurance | $1,900 | $3,600 | +$1,700 |
| Taxes | $10,881 | $7,399 | −$3,482 |
| Total | $40,568 | $41,263 | +$695 |
Side by side
| Metric | Albuquerque, NM | Houston, TX |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 93.6 | 99.7 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.69% | 5.96% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 1.2% | 7.6% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 61 | 63 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.33 | $5.67 |
| Median home price | $352,894 | $308,306 |
| Home price ÷ income | 5.5× | 3.9× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 1.0% | -2.0% |
| Price per square foot | $191 | $147 |
| Median rent | $1,502 | $1,639 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.2% | 8.6% |
| Combined sales tax | 7.78% | 8.20% |
| Capital gains tax | 5.90% | None |
| Property tax rate | 0.93% | 1.79% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,400 | $6,800 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $10,000 | $9,500 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 24 | 30 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,900 | $3,600 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,600 | $2,100 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $550 | $900 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 15.2 | 17.0 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.20 | 3.00 |
| Violent crime /100k | 780 | 430 |
| Avg summer high °F | 92 | 96 |
| Avg winter low °F | 25 | 38 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 2 |