Albuquerque, NM → El Paso, TX
You'd keep $194 more a month in El Paso
+$2,328 a year for the same registered nurse, the same household size, and the same number of bedrooms.
In 2022-2023, 200 households moved Albuquerque → El Paso (avg AGI $39,115). 254 went the other way. The whole move →
| Per month | Albuquerque | El Paso | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $7,000 | $6,611 | −$389 |
| Income and payroll tax | $1,615 | $1,261 | −$354 |
| Take-home pay | $5,385 | $5,350 | −$35 |
| Rent | $1,131 | $995 | −$136 |
| Getting around | $547 | $527 | −$20 |
| Groceries | $376 | $356 | −$20 |
| Healthcare | $423 | $401 | −$22 |
| Utilities | $235 | $223 | −$12 |
| Everything else | $329 | $312 | −$17 |
| Left over | $2,344 | $2,538 | +$194 |
To break even in El Paso, you'd need to earn
$76,000
Household gross, versus $84,000 today. That's the salary that leaves you exactly as much at the end of the month as Albuquerque does now.
The tax difference alone
+$2,859
A year, in state and local income tax. Texas has no wage income tax.
More about El Paso
Albuquerque, NM in full
High desert, 278 sunny days, and housing that's still cheap.
El Paso, TX in full
297 sunny days and the lowest rents in Texas, on the lowest wages.
The reverse move
Same two cities, but starting from El Paso on El Paso wages.
El Paso → Albuquerque →Rent is Zillow's asking rent for each metro; taxes and living costs are modelled. An estimate, not a quote or tax advice. How this is calculated.