Albuquerque, NM vs San Antonio, TX
Moving from Albuquerque to San Antonio? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($352,894 → $280,297 median home) and taxes.
Albuquerque vs San Antonio 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 $100,749 in San Antonio, TX (+$749).
Livability — Albuquerque, NM: 60 · San Antonio, TX: 75 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,621 sqft in Albuquerque vs 3,745 sqft in San Antonio ($191 vs $134 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Albuquerque, NM | San Antonio, TX | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $18,024 | $16,848 | −$1,176 |
| Groceries | $4,871 | $4,647 | −$224 |
| Transportation | $3,260 | $3,675 | +$415 |
| Utilities | $1,632 | $1,836 | +$204 |
| Insurance | $1,900 | $3,600 | +$1,700 |
| Taxes | $10,881 | $6,956 | −$3,925 |
| Total | $40,568 | $37,562 | −$3,006 |
Side by side
| Metric | Albuquerque, NM | San Antonio, TX |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 93.6 | 94.3 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.69% | 5.24% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 1.2% | 8.1% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 61 | 53 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.33 | $5.37 |
| Median home price | $352,894 | $280,297 |
| Home price ÷ income | 5.5× | 4.0× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 1.0% | -1.9% |
| Price per square foot | $191 | $134 |
| Median rent | $1,502 | $1,404 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.2% | 8.6% |
| Combined sales tax | 7.78% | 8.20% |
| Capital gains tax | 5.90% | None |
| Property tax rate | 0.93% | 1.74% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,400 | $6,800 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $10,000 | $9,500 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 24 | 27 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,900 | $3,600 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,600 | $2,100 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $550 | $900 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 15.2 | 17.0 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.20 | 3.00 |
| Violent crime /100k | 780 | 430 |
| Avg summer high °F | 92 | 96 |
| Avg winter low °F | 25 | 38 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 2 |