Pittsburgh, PA vs Albuquerque, NM
Moving from Pittsburgh to Albuquerque? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($231,356 → $352,894 median home) and taxes.
Pittsburgh 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 Pittsburgh, PA, you'd need about $98,861 in Albuquerque, NM (−$1,139).
Livability — Pittsburgh, PA: 70 · Albuquerque, NM: 60 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 3,782 sqft in Pittsburgh vs 2,621 sqft in Albuquerque ($132 vs $191 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Pittsburgh, PA | Albuquerque, NM | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $18,324 | $18,024 | −$300 |
| Groceries | $4,915 | $4,871 | −$44 |
| Transportation | $3,440 | $3,260 | −$180 |
| Utilities | $2,316 | $1,632 | −$684 |
| Insurance | $1,200 | $1,900 | +$700 |
| Taxes | $8,069 | $10,881 | +$2,812 |
| Total | $38,264 | $40,568 | +$2,304 |
Side by side
| Metric | Pittsburgh, PA | Albuquerque, NM |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 94.7 | 93.6 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.09% | 5.69% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 0.7% | 1.2% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 53 | 61 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.39 | $5.33 |
| Median home price | $231,356 | $352,894 |
| Home price ÷ income | 3.2× | 5.5× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 0.8% | 1.0% |
| Price per square foot | $132 | $191 |
| Median rent | $1,527 | $1,502 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.6% | 10.2% |
| Combined sales tax | 6.34% | 7.78% |
| Capital gains tax | 3.07% | 5.90% |
| Property tax rate | 1.44% | 0.93% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $7,000 | $6,400 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $12,000 | $10,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 27 | 24 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,200 | $1,900 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,600 | $1,600 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $650 | $550 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 21.5 | 15.2 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.55 | 3.20 |
| Violent crime /100k | 390 | 780 |
| Avg summer high °F | 85 | 92 |
| Avg winter low °F | 22 | 25 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 3 |