SalaryCompareTool

San Francisco, CA vs Albuquerque, NM

Moving from San Francisco to Albuquerque? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($1,149,215 → $352,894 median home) and taxes.

San Francisco vs Albuquerque at a glance

Bars scaled to the range across all 200 metros; labels show actual values.

San Francisco, CA Albuquerque, NM Cost-of-living index San Francisco, CA — Cost-of-living index: 118 118 Albuquerque, NM — Cost-of-living index: 94 94 Median home price San Francisco, CA — Median home price: $1149k $1149k Albuquerque, NM — Median home price: $353k $353k Price per sqft San Francisco, CA — Price per sqft: $766 $766 Albuquerque, NM — Price per sqft: $191 $191 Median rent San Francisco, CA — Median rent: $3,258 $3,258 Albuquerque, NM — Median rent: $1,502 $1,502 Combined sales tax San Francisco, CA — Combined sales tax: 8.8% 8.8% Albuquerque, NM — Combined sales tax: 7.8% 7.8% Property tax rate San Francisco, CA — Property tax rate: 0.72% 0.72% Albuquerque, NM — Property tax rate: 0.93% 0.93% Violent crime /100k San Francisco, CA — Violent crime /100k: 500 500 Albuquerque, NM — Violent crime /100k: 780 780 Electricity ¢/kWh San Francisco, CA — Electricity ¢/kWh: 35.3 35.3 Albuquerque, NM — Electricity ¢/kWh: 15.2 15.2 Avg commute (min) San Francisco, CA — Avg commute (min): 33 33 Albuquerque, NM — Avg commute (min): 24 24 Avg summer high °F San Francisco, CA — Avg summer high °F: 84° 84° Albuquerque, NM — Avg summer high °F: 92° 92° Avg winter low °F San Francisco, CA — Avg winter low °F: 45° 45° Albuquerque, NM — Avg winter low °F: 25° 25°

To keep the same standard of living as $100,000 in San Francisco, CA, you'd need about $79,648 in Albuquerque, NM (−$20,352).

Livability — San Francisco, CA: 35 · Albuquerque, NM: 60 (0–100).

What your home budget buys

A $500,000 home budget gets you about 653 sqft in San Francisco vs 2,621 sqft in Albuquerque ($766 vs $191 per sqft).

Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)

CategorySan Francisco, CAAlbuquerque, NMDifference
Housing $39,096 $18,024 −$21,072
Groceries $5,761 $4,871 −$890
Transportation $5,125 $3,260 −$1,865
Utilities $3,804 $1,632 −$2,172
Insurance $1,500 $1,900 +$400
Taxes $24,108 $10,881 −$13,227
Total $79,394 $40,568 −$38,826

Side by side

MetricSan Francisco, CAAlbuquerque, NM
Cost-of-living index117.693.6
Unemployment rate5.22%5.69%
Population growth (5-yr)1.1%1.2%
Air quality (median AQI)5361
Big Mac price (est.)$6.69$5.33
Median home price$1,149,215$352,894
Home price ÷ income8.9×5.5×
1-yr home appreciation-0.8%1.0%
Price per square foot$766$191
Median rent$3,258$1,502
Total tax burden (% income)13.5%10.2%
Combined sales tax8.82%7.78%
Capital gains tax13.30%5.90%
Property tax rate0.72%0.93%
Healthcare (annual)$7,200$6,400
Childcare (annual, infant)$19,000$10,000
Vehicle property tax0.65%None
Avg commute (min)3324
Home insurance / yr$1,500$1,900
Auto insurance / yr$2,400$1,600
Flood insurance / yr$750$550
Earthquake insurance / yr$950$100
Electricity ¢/kWh35.315.2
Gas $/gal4.853.20
Violent crime /100k500780
Avg summer high °F8492
Avg winter low °F4525
Permit difficulty (1–5)53

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