Las Cruces vs Santa Fe leftover
Moving to Santa Fe costs you $116 a month
$1,930/mo leftover in Santa Fe vs $2,046 in Las Cruces after tax and rent ($116 less). −$1,392 a year for the same registered nurse, the same household size, and the same number of bedrooms. Not a cost-of-living index.
Las Cruces leftover
$2,046
a month after tax and rent
Santa Fe leftover
$1,930
−$116 vs Las Cruces
Compare Las Cruces to another metro
Same paycheck. Try a different city next to Las Cruces.
Monthly gap
Las Cruces → Santa Fe
$116
less / month in Las Cruces
$1,930 in Santa Fe · $2,046 in Las Cruces · 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, 55 households moved Las Cruces → Santa Fe (avg AGI $51,818). 52 went the other way. The whole move →
−$116 / mo
| Per month | Las Cruces | Santa Fe | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $6,208 | $6,894 | +$686 |
| Income and payroll tax | $1,342 | $1,578 | +$236 |
| Take-home pay | $4,866 | $5,316 | +$450 |
| Rent | $862 | $1,503 | +$641 |
| Getting around | $566 | $491 | −$75 |
| Groceries | $384 | $384 | $0 |
| Healthcare | $432 | $432 | $0 |
| Utilities | $240 | $240 | $0 |
| Everything else | $336 | $336 | $0 |
| Left over | $2,046 | $1,930 | −$116 |
To break even in Santa Fe, you'd need to earn
$85,000
Household gross, versus $74,500 today. That's the salary that leaves you exactly as much at the end of the month as Las Cruces does now.
The tax difference alone
−$390
A year, in state and local income tax. Effective rates: 21.6% in Las Cruces, 22.9% in Santa Fe.
More about Santa Fe
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.
Santa Fe, NM in full
State income tax topping out at 5.9%, a median 2-bedroom asking rent of $1,789 and 276 sunny days; commutes average 23 minutes.
The reverse move
Same two cities, but starting from Santa Fe on Santa Fe wages.
Santa Fe → Las Cruces →Questions
Is the cost of living lower in Santa Fe than Las Cruces?
A one-bedroom is about $862 in Las Cruces versus $1,503 in Santa Fe. On a one-adult, one-bedroom household, leftover is about $116 a month lower in Santa Fe. Change the job or household on the comparison to see your number.
Does Santa Fe have state income tax?
Santa Fe is in New Mexico, which taxes wage income.
What changes if you move from Las Cruces to Santa Fe?
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 Las Cruces and Santa Fe 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.