Albuquerque, NM vs St. Louis, MO
Moving from Albuquerque to St. Louis? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($352,894 → $276,878 median home) and taxes.
Albuquerque vs St. Louis 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 $101,438 in St. Louis, MO (+$1,438).
Livability — Albuquerque, NM: 60 · St. Louis, MO: 65 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,621 sqft in Albuquerque vs 3,161 sqft in St. Louis ($191 vs $158 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Albuquerque, NM | St. Louis, MO | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $18,024 | $17,412 | −$612 |
| Groceries | $4,871 | $4,934 | +$64 |
| Transportation | $3,260 | $3,390 | +$130 |
| Utilities | $1,632 | $1,512 | −$120 |
| Insurance | $1,900 | $2,400 | +$500 |
| Taxes | $10,881 | $10,488 | −$393 |
| Total | $40,568 | $40,136 | −$431 |
Side by side
| Metric | Albuquerque, NM | St. Louis, MO |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 93.6 | 95.0 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.69% | 4.35% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 1.2% | 0.3% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.33 | $5.40 |
| Median home price | $352,894 | $276,878 |
| Home price ÷ income | 5.5× | 3.7× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 1.0% | 2.9% |
| Price per square foot | $191 | $158 |
| Median rent | $1,502 | $1,451 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.2% | 9.3% |
| Combined sales tax | 7.78% | 8.38% |
| Capital gains tax | 5.90% | 4.80% |
| Property tax rate | 0.93% | 1.26% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,400 | $6,400 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $10,000 | $10,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 2.55% |
| Avg commute (min) | 24 | 25 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,900 | $2,400 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,600 | $1,800 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $550 | $750 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $400 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 15.2 | 14.0 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.20 | 3.00 |
| Natural gas / mo | $50 | $72 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $58 | $184 |
| Home internet / mo | $74 | $86 |
| Violent crime /100k | 780 | 490 |
| Avg summer high °F | 92 | 89 |
| Avg winter low °F | 25 | 22 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 9.4 | 41.7 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 10.0 | 16.6 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 71% | 57% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 2 |