Albuquerque, NM vs Seattle, WA
Moving from Albuquerque to Seattle? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($352,894 → $750,279 median home) and taxes.
Albuquerque vs Seattle 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 $120,404 in Seattle, WA (+$20,404).
Livability — Albuquerque, NM: 60 · Seattle, WA: 48 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,621 sqft in Albuquerque vs 1,200 sqft in Seattle ($191 vs $417 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Albuquerque, NM | Seattle, WA | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $18,024 | $26,784 | +$8,760 |
| Groceries | $4,871 | $5,405 | +$534 |
| Transportation | $3,260 | $4,075 | +$815 |
| Utilities | $1,632 | $1,548 | −$84 |
| Insurance | $1,900 | $1,500 | −$400 |
| Taxes | $10,881 | $8,826 | −$2,055 |
| Total | $40,568 | $48,138 | +$7,570 |
Side by side
| Metric | Albuquerque, NM | Seattle, WA |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 93.6 | 112.7 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.69% | 4.59% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 1.2% | 7.1% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 61 | 47 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.33 | $6.41 |
| Median home price | $352,894 | $750,279 |
| Home price ÷ income | 5.5× | 7.0× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 1.0% | -1.9% |
| Price per square foot | $191 | $417 |
| Median rent | $1,502 | $2,232 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.2% | 10.7% |
| Combined sales tax | 7.78% | 9.38% |
| Capital gains tax | 5.90% | 7.00% |
| Property tax rate | 0.93% | 0.88% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,400 | $6,600 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $10,000 | $16,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 24 | 30 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,900 | $1,500 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,600 | $1,600 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $550 | $700 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $700 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 15.2 | 14.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.20 | 4.55 |
| Violent crime /100k | 780 | 375 |
| Avg summer high °F | 92 | 76 |
| Avg winter low °F | 25 | 37 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 5 |