Seattle, WA vs Albuquerque, NM
Moving from Seattle to Albuquerque? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($750,279 → $352,894 median home) and taxes.
Seattle 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 Seattle, WA, you'd need about $83,053 in Albuquerque, NM (−$16,947).
Livability — Seattle, WA: 48 · Albuquerque, NM: 60 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,200 sqft in Seattle vs 2,621 sqft in Albuquerque ($417 vs $191 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Seattle, WA | Albuquerque, NM | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $26,784 | $18,024 | −$8,760 |
| Groceries | $5,405 | $4,871 | −$534 |
| Transportation | $4,075 | $3,260 | −$815 |
| Utilities | $1,548 | $1,632 | +$84 |
| Insurance | $1,500 | $1,900 | +$400 |
| Taxes | $8,826 | $10,881 | +$2,055 |
| Total | $48,138 | $40,568 | −$7,570 |
Side by side
| Metric | Seattle, WA | Albuquerque, NM |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 112.7 | 93.6 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.59% | 5.69% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 7.1% | 1.2% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 47 | 61 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $6.41 | $5.33 |
| Median home price | $750,279 | $352,894 |
| Home price ÷ income | 7.0× | 5.5× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -1.9% | 1.0% |
| Price per square foot | $417 | $191 |
| Median rent | $2,232 | $1,502 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.7% | 10.2% |
| Combined sales tax | 9.38% | 7.78% |
| Capital gains tax | 7.00% | 5.90% |
| Property tax rate | 0.88% | 0.93% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,600 | $6,400 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $16,000 | $10,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 30 | 24 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,500 | $1,900 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,600 | $1,600 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $700 | $550 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $700 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 14.4 | 15.2 |
| Gas $/gal | 4.55 | 3.20 |
| Violent crime /100k | 375 | 780 |
| Avg summer high °F | 76 | 92 |
| Avg winter low °F | 37 | 25 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 5 | 3 |