Las Vegas, NV vs Albuquerque, NM
Moving from Las Vegas to Albuquerque? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($430,650 → $352,894 median home) and taxes.
Las Vegas 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 Las Vegas, NV, you'd need about $95,260 in Albuquerque, NM (−$4,740).
Livability — Las Vegas, NV: 65 · Albuquerque, NM: 60 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,206 sqft in Las Vegas vs 2,621 sqft in Albuquerque ($227 vs $191 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Las Vegas, NV | Albuquerque, NM | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $20,844 | $18,024 | −$2,820 |
| Groceries | $4,841 | $4,871 | +$29 |
| Transportation | $4,740 | $3,260 | −$1,480 |
| Utilities | $1,548 | $1,632 | +$84 |
| Insurance | $1,300 | $1,900 | +$600 |
| Taxes | $4,779 | $10,881 | +$6,103 |
| Total | $38,052 | $40,568 | +$2,516 |
Side by side
| Metric | Las Vegas, NV | Albuquerque, NM |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 98.3 | 93.6 |
| Unemployment rate | 7.66% | 5.69% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 7.3% | 1.2% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 64 | 61 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.59 | $5.33 |
| Median home price | $430,650 | $352,894 |
| Home price ÷ income | 6.2× | 5.5× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -2.7% | 1.0% |
| Price per square foot | $227 | $191 |
| Median rent | $1,737 | $1,502 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.6% | 10.2% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.23% | 7.78% |
| Capital gains tax | None | 5.90% |
| Property tax rate | 0.51% | 0.93% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,400 | $6,400 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $11,000 | $10,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 2.12% | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 25 | 24 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,300 | $1,900 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,400 | $1,600 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $500 | $550 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $400 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 14.3 | 15.2 |
| Gas $/gal | 4.20 | 3.20 |
| Violent crime /100k | 460 | 780 |
| Avg summer high °F | 95 | 92 |
| Avg winter low °F | 30 | 25 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 3 |