Albuquerque, NM vs Portland, OR
Moving from Albuquerque to Portland? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($352,894 → $552,022 median home) and taxes.
Albuquerque vs Portland 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 $113,978 in Portland, OR (+$13,978).
Livability — Albuquerque, NM: 60 · Portland, OR: 55 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,621 sqft in Albuquerque vs 1,540 sqft in Portland ($191 vs $325 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Albuquerque, NM | Portland, OR | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $18,024 | $21,564 | +$3,540 |
| Groceries | $4,871 | $5,240 | +$369 |
| Transportation | $3,260 | $3,680 | +$420 |
| Utilities | $1,632 | $1,704 | +$72 |
| Insurance | $1,900 | $900 | −$1,000 |
| Taxes | $10,881 | $14,382 | +$3,501 |
| Total | $40,568 | $47,470 | +$6,902 |
Side by side
| Metric | Albuquerque, NM | Portland, OR |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 93.6 | 106.7 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.69% | 5.06% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 1.2% | 5.2% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.33 | $6.07 |
| Median home price | $352,894 | $552,022 |
| Home price ÷ income | 5.5× | 6.1× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 1.0% | -1.1% |
| Price per square foot | $191 | $325 |
| Median rent | $1,502 | $1,797 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.2% | 10.8% |
| Combined sales tax | 7.78% | 0.00% |
| Capital gains tax | 5.90% | 9.90% |
| Property tax rate | 0.93% | 0.92% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,400 | $6,600 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $10,000 | $15,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 24 | 26 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,900 | $900 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,600 | $1,500 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $550 | $650 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $600 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 15.2 | 15.8 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.20 | 4.10 |
| Natural gas / mo | $50 | $58 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $58 | $224 |
| Home internet / mo | $74 | $82 |
| Violent crime /100k | 780 | 340 |
| Avg summer high °F | 92 | 82 |
| Avg winter low °F | 25 | 34 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 9.4 | 43.7 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 10.0 | 3.4 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 71% | 48% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 4 |