Albuquerque, NM vs Pittsburgh, PA
Moving from Albuquerque to Pittsburgh? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($352,894 → $231,356 median home) and taxes.
Albuquerque vs Pittsburgh 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 $101,152 in Pittsburgh, PA (+$1,152).
Livability — Albuquerque, NM: 60 · Pittsburgh, PA: 70 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,621 sqft in Albuquerque vs 3,782 sqft in Pittsburgh ($191 vs $132 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Albuquerque, NM | Pittsburgh, PA | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $18,024 | $18,324 | +$300 |
| Groceries | $4,871 | $4,915 | +$44 |
| Transportation | $3,260 | $3,440 | +$180 |
| Utilities | $1,632 | $2,316 | +$684 |
| Insurance | $1,900 | $1,200 | −$700 |
| Taxes | $10,881 | $8,069 | −$2,812 |
| Total | $40,568 | $38,264 | −$2,304 |
Side by side
| Metric | Albuquerque, NM | Pittsburgh, PA |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 93.6 | 94.7 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.69% | 5.09% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 1.2% | 0.7% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.33 | $5.39 |
| Median home price | $352,894 | $231,356 |
| Home price ÷ income | 5.5× | 3.2× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 1.0% | 0.8% |
| Price per square foot | $191 | $132 |
| Median rent | $1,502 | $1,527 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.2% | 10.6% |
| Combined sales tax | 7.78% | 6.34% |
| Capital gains tax | 5.90% | 3.07% |
| Property tax rate | 0.93% | 1.44% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,400 | $7,000 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $10,000 | $12,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 24 | 27 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,900 | $1,200 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,600 | $1,600 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $550 | $650 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 15.2 | 21.5 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.20 | 3.55 |
| Natural gas / mo | $50 | $82 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $58 | $65 |
| Home internet / mo | $74 | $78 |
| Violent crime /100k | 780 | 390 |
| Avg summer high °F | 92 | 85 |
| Avg winter low °F | 25 | 22 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 9.4 | 39.6 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 10.0 | 44.1 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 71% | 45% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 3 |