Albuquerque vs Las Cruces leftover
Moving to Las Cruces costs you $316 a month
$2,040/mo leftover in Las Cruces vs $2,356 in Albuquerque after tax and rent ($316 less). −$3,792 a year for the same registered nurse, the same household size, and the same number of bedrooms. Not a cost-of-living index.
Albuquerque leftover
$2,356
a month after tax and rent
Las Cruces leftover
$2,040
−$316 vs Albuquerque
Compare Albuquerque to another metro
Same paycheck. Try a different city next to Albuquerque.
Monthly gap
Albuquerque → Las Cruces
$316
less / month in Albuquerque
$2,040 in Las Cruces · $2,356 in Albuquerque · One adult, renting a 1-bedroom
Home
Only when you tap. We match the nearest metro and don't keep the coordinates.
Destination
In 2022-2023, 310 households moved Albuquerque → Las Cruces (avg AGI $45,813). 396 went the other way. The whole move →
−$316 / mo
| Per month | Albuquerque | Las Cruces | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $7,000 | $6,199 | −$801 |
| Income and payroll tax | $1,615 | $1,339 | −$276 |
| Take-home pay | $5,385 | $4,860 | −$525 |
| Rent | $1,119 | $862 | −$257 |
| Getting around | $547 | $566 | +$19 |
| Groceries | $376 | $384 | +$8 |
| Healthcare | $423 | $432 | +$9 |
| Utilities | $235 | $240 | +$5 |
| Everything else | $329 | $336 | +$7 |
| Left over | $2,356 | $2,040 | −$316 |
To break even in Las Cruces, you'd need to earn
$80,000
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
+$458
A year, in state and local income tax. Effective rates: 23.1% in Albuquerque, 21.6% in Las Cruces.
More about Las Cruces
Albuquerque, NM in full
High desert, 278 sunny days, and housing that's still cheap.
Las Cruces, NM in full
State income tax topping out at 5.9%, a median 2-bedroom asking rent of $1,026 and 285 sunny days; commutes average 22 minutes.
The reverse move
Same two cities, but starting from Las Cruces on Las Cruces wages.
Las Cruces → Albuquerque →Questions
Is the cost of living lower in Las Cruces than Albuquerque?
A one-bedroom is about $1,119 in Albuquerque versus $862 in Las Cruces. On a one-adult, one-bedroom household, leftover is about $316 a month lower in Las Cruces. Change the job or household on the comparison to see your number.
Does Las Cruces have state income tax?
Las Cruces is in New Mexico, which taxes wage income.
What changes if you move from Albuquerque to Las Cruces?
Take-home pay is recalculated under New Mexico tax, rent is priced at the same bedroom count, and leftover is the gap. The from-to page also lists IRS households that already made the move, when that data exists.
Leftover is take-home after federal, state and city wage tax, minus asking rent at the bedroom count you set, minus a modelled month of groceries, utilities, healthcare, transport and childcare. It is not a cost-of-living index and not a moving quote. The dollar gap between Albuquerque and Las Cruces moves when you change the job, remote versus local pay, or bedrooms. How the math works · Leftover vs a COL index · Why a cheaper COL% can still lose leftover.
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.