Albuquerque, NM vs Nashville, TN
Moving from Albuquerque to Nashville? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($352,894 → $455,958 median home) and taxes.
Albuquerque vs Nashville 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 $103,628 in Nashville, TN (+$3,628).
Livability — Albuquerque, NM: 60 · Nashville, TN: 63 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,621 sqft in Albuquerque vs 2,193 sqft in Nashville ($191 vs $228 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Albuquerque, NM | Nashville, TN | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $18,024 | $21,576 | +$3,552 |
| Groceries | $4,871 | $4,715 | −$156 |
| Transportation | $3,260 | $3,130 | −$130 |
| Utilities | $1,632 | $1,608 | −$24 |
| Insurance | $1,900 | $2,200 | +$300 |
| Taxes | $10,881 | $5,231 | −$5,650 |
| Total | $40,568 | $38,459 | −$2,109 |
Side by side
| Metric | Albuquerque, NM | Nashville, TN |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 93.6 | 97.0 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.69% | 3.80% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 1.2% | 8.8% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 61 | 51 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.33 | $5.52 |
| Median home price | $352,894 | $455,958 |
| Home price ÷ income | 5.5× | 5.8× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 1.0% | -0.9% |
| Price per square foot | $191 | $228 |
| Median rent | $1,502 | $1,798 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.2% | 7.6% |
| Combined sales tax | 7.78% | 9.55% |
| Capital gains tax | 5.90% | None |
| Property tax rate | 0.93% | 0.55% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,400 | $6,300 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $10,000 | $9,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 24 | 28 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,900 | $2,200 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,600 | $1,600 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $550 | $700 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $350 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 15.2 | 14.9 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.20 | 2.95 |
| Violent crime /100k | 780 | 600 |
| Avg summer high °F | 92 | 89 |
| Avg winter low °F | 25 | 30 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 2 |