
El Paso vs Las Cruces
$487/mo less in Las Cruces
El PasoLas CrucesAbout 96 miles apart, close enough to drive.
- Las Cruces costs you more
- Rent under 30% of pay
- 285 sunny days
Same paycheck, two cities. $2,048/mo in Las Cruces. $2,535/mo in El Paso. −$5,844 a year.
El Paso
$2,535
left each month
Las Cruces
$2,048
−$487 vs El Paso
Compare
Same paycheck, another city.
Next
In 2022-2023, 1,180 households moved El Paso → Las Cruces (avg AGI $43,393). 1,015 went the other way. The whole move →
−$487 / mo
See full breakdown
| Per month | El Paso | Las Cruces | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $6,625 | $6,212 | −$413 |
| Income and payroll tax | $1,265 | $1,344 | +$78 |
| Take-home pay | $5,360 | $4,868 | −$491 |
| Rent | $1,008 | $862 | −$146 |
| Getting around | $527 | $566 | +$39 |
| Groceries | $356 | $384 | +$28 |
| Healthcare | $401 | $432 | +$31 |
| Utilities | $223 | $240 | +$17 |
| Everything else | $312 | $336 | +$24 |
| Left over | $2,535 | $2,048 | −$487 |
Salary to match El Paso
$83,500
Gross pay in Las Cruces that leaves the same amount as $79,500 in El Paso.
Tax difference
−$2,408
A year, in state and local income tax. Effective rates: 19.1% in El Paso, 21.6% in Las Cruces.
More about Las Cruces
El Paso, TX in full
297 sunny days and the lowest rents in Texas, on the lowest wages.
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 other way
Start in Las Cruces.
Las Cruces → El Paso →Questions
Is the cost of living lower in Las Cruces than El Paso?
For one adult in a one-bedroom, Las Cruces leaves about $487 less a month. A one-bedroom is about $1,008 in El Paso and $862 in Las Cruces.
Does Las Cruces have state income tax?
Las Cruces is in New Mexico, which taxes wage income.
What changes if you move from El Paso to Las Cruces?
The paycheck is taxed in New Mexico. Rent stays at the same bedroom count. What you keep is the difference.
Left over each month is take-home pay minus rent and the rest of the bills. The gap between El Paso and Las Cruces changes with the job, remote or local pay, and bedrooms. How we figure this · Leftover vs a COL index · Why a cheaper COL% can still lose leftover.
Estimate, not a quote. How we figure this.