Providence, RI vs Albuquerque, NM
Moving from Providence to Albuquerque? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($524,867 → $352,894 median home) and taxes.
Providence 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 Providence, RI, you'd need about $92,233 in Albuquerque, NM (−$7,767).
Livability — Providence, RI: 58 · Albuquerque, NM: 60 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,524 sqft in Providence vs 2,621 sqft in Albuquerque ($328 vs $191 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Providence, RI | Albuquerque, NM | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $25,956 | $18,024 | −$7,932 |
| Groceries | $4,922 | $4,871 | −$51 |
| Transportation | $3,875 | $3,260 | −$615 |
| Utilities | $3,060 | $1,632 | −$1,428 |
| Insurance | $1,700 | $1,900 | +$200 |
| Taxes | $13,121 | $10,881 | −$2,240 |
| Total | $52,634 | $40,568 | −$12,066 |
Side by side
| Metric | Providence, RI | Albuquerque, NM |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 101.5 | 93.6 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.82% | 5.69% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 3.6% | 1.2% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 61 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.78 | $5.33 |
| Median home price | $524,867 | $352,894 |
| Home price ÷ income | 6.5× | 5.5× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 3.1% | 1.0% |
| Price per square foot | $328 | $191 |
| Median rent | $2,163 | $1,502 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 11.4% | 10.2% |
| Combined sales tax | 7.00% | 7.78% |
| Capital gains tax | 5.99% | 5.90% |
| Property tax rate | 1.31% | 0.93% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $7,600 | $6,400 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $13,000 | $10,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 26 | 24 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,700 | $1,900 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,100 | $1,600 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $900 | $550 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 28.3 | 15.2 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.35 | 3.20 |
| Violent crime /100k | 240 | 780 |
| Avg summer high °F | 82 | 92 |
| Avg winter low °F | 21 | 25 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 4 | 3 |