Columbus, OH vs Albuquerque, NM
Moving from Columbus to Albuquerque? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($333,537 → $352,894 median home) and taxes.
Columbus vs Albuquerque 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 Columbus, OH, you'd need about $98,940 in Albuquerque, NM (−$1,060).
Livability — Columbus, OH: 69 · Albuquerque, NM: 60 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,474 sqft in Columbus vs 2,621 sqft in Albuquerque ($202 vs $191 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Columbus, OH | Albuquerque, NM | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $18,288 | $18,024 | −$264 |
| Groceries | $4,706 | $4,871 | +$165 |
| Transportation | $3,025 | $3,260 | +$235 |
| Utilities | $2,100 | $1,632 | −$468 |
| Insurance | $1,300 | $1,900 | +$600 |
| Taxes | $9,711 | $10,881 | +$1,170 |
| Total | $39,130 | $40,568 | +$1,438 |
Side by side
| Metric | Columbus, OH | Albuquerque, NM |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 94.6 | 93.6 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.20% | 5.69% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 5.6% | 1.2% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 54 | 61 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.38 | $5.33 |
| Median home price | $333,537 | $352,894 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.4× | 5.5× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 1.2% | 1.0% |
| Price per square foot | $202 | $191 |
| Median rent | $1,524 | $1,502 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.0% | 10.2% |
| Combined sales tax | 7.24% | 7.78% |
| Capital gains tax | 3.50% | 5.90% |
| Property tax rate | 1.46% | 0.93% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,400 | $6,400 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $10,000 | $10,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 24 | 24 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,300 | $1,900 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,300 | $1,600 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $600 | $550 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 19.5 | 15.2 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.25 | 3.20 |
| Violent crime /100k | 300 | 780 |
| Avg summer high °F | 85 | 92 |
| Avg winter low °F | 20 | 25 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 3 |