Minneapolis, MN vs Albany, NY
Moving from Minneapolis to Albany? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($393,774 → $370,533 median home) and taxes.
Minneapolis vs Albany 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 Minneapolis, MN, you'd need about $94,128 in Albany, NY (−$5,872).
Livability — Minneapolis, MN: 54 · Albany, NY: 58 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,285 sqft in Minneapolis vs 2,159 sqft in Albany ($219 vs $232 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Minneapolis, MN | Albany, NY | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $20,652 | $20,172 | −$480 |
| Groceries | $5,227 | $4,868 | −$359 |
| Transportation | $3,375 | $3,895 | +$520 |
| Utilities | $1,776 | $3,180 | +$1,404 |
| Insurance | $2,200 | $1,600 | −$600 |
| Taxes | $16,345 | $18,849 | +$2,504 |
| Total | $49,575 | $52,564 | +$2,989 |
Side by side
| Metric | Minneapolis, MN | Albany, NY |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 104.3 | 98.2 |
| Unemployment rate | 3.90% | 4.97% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 4.3% | 2.3% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.93 | $5.59 |
| Median home price | $393,774 | $370,533 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.2× | 4.4× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 2.1% | 5.5% |
| Price per square foot | $219 | $232 |
| Median rent | $1,721 | $1,681 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 12.1% | 15.9% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.10% | 8.52% |
| Capital gains tax | 9.85% | 10.90% |
| Property tax rate | 1.10% | 1.95% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,800 | $7,800 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $16,000 | $17,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 1.58% | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 25 | 23 |
| Home insurance / yr | $2,200 | $1,600 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,600 | $2,100 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $600 | $800 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 16.4 | 29.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.15 | 3.45 |
| Natural gas / mo | $76 | $98 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $77 | $87 |
| Home internet / mo | $81 | $76 |
| Violent crime /100k | 280 | 350 |
| Avg summer high °F | 83 | 83 |
| Avg winter low °F | 4 | 16 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 31.6 | 40.0 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 51.2 | 48.0 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 58% | 50% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 5 |