Albuquerque, NM vs Kansas City, MO
Moving from Albuquerque to Kansas City? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($352,894 → $329,641 median home) and taxes.
Albuquerque vs Kansas City 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 $99,547 in Kansas City, MO (−$453).
Livability — Albuquerque, NM: 60 · Kansas City, MO: 67 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,621 sqft in Albuquerque vs 2,654 sqft in Kansas City ($191 vs $188 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Albuquerque, NM | Kansas City, MO | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $18,024 | $18,576 | +$552 |
| Groceries | $4,871 | $4,828 | −$43 |
| Transportation | $3,260 | $3,390 | +$130 |
| Utilities | $1,632 | $1,512 | −$120 |
| Insurance | $1,900 | $2,400 | +$500 |
| Taxes | $10,881 | $10,526 | −$355 |
| Total | $40,568 | $41,232 | +$664 |
Side by side
| Metric | Albuquerque, NM | Kansas City, MO |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 93.6 | 93.2 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.69% | 4.18% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 1.2% | 4.9% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 61 | 53 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.33 | $5.30 |
| Median home price | $352,894 | $329,641 |
| Home price ÷ income | 5.5× | 4.2× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 1.0% | 3.5% |
| Price per square foot | $191 | $188 |
| Median rent | $1,502 | $1,548 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.2% | 9.3% |
| Combined sales tax | 7.78% | 8.38% |
| Capital gains tax | 5.90% | 4.80% |
| Property tax rate | 0.93% | 1.14% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,400 | $6,400 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $10,000 | $10,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 2.55% |
| Avg commute (min) | 24 | 23 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,900 | $2,400 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,600 | $1,800 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $550 | $750 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $400 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 15.2 | 14.0 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.20 | 3.00 |
| Violent crime /100k | 780 | 490 |
| Avg summer high °F | 92 | 89 |
| Avg winter low °F | 25 | 22 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 2 |