Albuquerque, NM vs Las Vegas, NV
Moving from Albuquerque to Las Vegas? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($352,894 → $430,650 median home) and taxes.
Albuquerque vs Las Vegas 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 $104,976 in Las Vegas, NV (+$4,976).
Livability — Albuquerque, NM: 60 · Las Vegas, NV: 65 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,621 sqft in Albuquerque vs 2,206 sqft in Las Vegas ($191 vs $227 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Albuquerque, NM | Las Vegas, NV | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $18,024 | $20,844 | +$2,820 |
| Groceries | $4,871 | $4,841 | −$29 |
| Transportation | $3,260 | $4,740 | +$1,480 |
| Utilities | $1,632 | $1,548 | −$84 |
| Insurance | $1,900 | $1,300 | −$600 |
| Taxes | $10,881 | $4,779 | −$6,102 |
| Total | $40,568 | $38,052 | −$2,516 |
Side by side
| Metric | Albuquerque, NM | Las Vegas, NV |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 93.6 | 98.3 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.69% | 7.66% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 1.2% | 7.3% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 61 | 64 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.33 | $5.59 |
| Median home price | $352,894 | $430,650 |
| Home price ÷ income | 5.5× | 6.2× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 1.0% | -2.7% |
| Price per square foot | $191 | $227 |
| Median rent | $1,502 | $1,737 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.2% | 9.6% |
| Combined sales tax | 7.78% | 8.23% |
| Capital gains tax | 5.90% | None |
| Property tax rate | 0.93% | 0.51% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,400 | $6,400 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $10,000 | $11,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 2.12% |
| Avg commute (min) | 24 | 25 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,900 | $1,300 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,600 | $2,400 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $550 | $500 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $400 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 15.2 | 14.3 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.20 | 4.20 |
| Violent crime /100k | 780 | 460 |
| Avg summer high °F | 92 | 95 |
| Avg winter low °F | 25 | 30 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 3 |