Santa Fe vs Las Cruces leftover
You'd keep $114 more a month in Las Cruces
$2,059/mo leftover in Las Cruces vs $1,945 in Santa Fe after tax and rent ($114 more). +$1,368 a year for the same registered nurse, the same household size, and the same number of bedrooms. Not a cost-of-living index.
Santa Fe leftover
$1,945
a month after tax and rent
Las Cruces leftover
$2,059
+$114 vs Santa Fe
Compare Santa Fe to another metro
Same paycheck. Try a different city next to Santa Fe.
Monthly gap
Santa Fe → Las Cruces
$114
more / month in Las Cruces
$2,059 in Las Cruces · $1,945 in Santa Fe · 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, 52 households moved Santa Fe → Las Cruces (avg AGI $62,769). 55 went the other way. The whole move →
+$114 / mo
| Per month | Santa Fe | Las Cruces | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $6,917 | $6,229 | −$688 |
| Income and payroll tax | $1,586 | $1,350 | −$237 |
| Take-home pay | $5,331 | $4,879 | −$451 |
| Rent | $1,503 | $862 | −$641 |
| Getting around | $491 | $566 | +$75 |
| Groceries | $384 | $384 | $0 |
| Healthcare | $432 | $432 | $0 |
| Utilities | $240 | $240 | $0 |
| Everything else | $336 | $336 | $0 |
| Left over | $1,945 | $2,059 | +$114 |
To break even in Las Cruces, you'd need to earn
$72,500
Household gross, versus $83,000 today. That's the salary that leaves you exactly as much at the end of the month as Santa Fe does now.
The tax difference alone
+$392
A year, in state and local income tax. Effective rates: 22.9% in Santa Fe, 21.7% in Las Cruces.
More about Las Cruces
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.
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 → Santa Fe →Questions
Is the cost of living lower in Las Cruces than Santa Fe?
A one-bedroom is about $1,503 in Santa Fe versus $862 in Las Cruces. On a one-adult, one-bedroom household, leftover is about $114 a month higher 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 Santa Fe 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 Santa Fe 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.