What is the cost of living in Albuquerque?

Albuquerque has a Regional Price Parity (RPP) of 95.5, where 100 represents the national average. Housing costs index at 89.2, which is below the national average. The average 2-bedroom rent is $1,464/month.

What is the median salary in Albuquerque?

The median salary in Albuquerque is $66,877 annually (mean: $71,062). Top occupations include Home Health and Personal Care Aides, Fast Food and Counter Workers, Retail Salespersons.

How safe is Albuquerque?

The violent crime rate in the Albuquerque area is 697 per 100,000 population (state-level data). Property crime rate is 2706 per 100K.

What are the schools like in Albuquerque?

The state of NM has 873 schools (state-level data, no metro-level federal count exists) with an average student-teacher ratio of 12.7:1. About 78.8% are Title I schools. Charter schools make up 11.6% of all schools.

How much does childcare cost in Albuquerque?

Childcare cost data is not currently available for Albuquerque.

Is Albuquerque a good place to relocate?

Albuquerque has a Life Score of 43.7/100 (F), based on 6 of 7 available dimensions among cost of living, wages, rent, crime, schools, childcare, and environment (missing dims omitted, weights renormalized). This is a below-average score, several dimensions likely pull the composite down; compare specific dimensions to see which ones.

Where does Albuquerque sit among US metros on LiveAbility?

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite, Albuquerque ranks #327 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). That ordinal matches the /rankings/livability listing. See /methodology#corpus-placement for the exact sort basis.

Relocation profile · Federal data

Albuquerque, NM

LiveAbility 39.5/100 places Albuquerque #327 of 387 (bottom third of scored metros).

Compiled by PlainRelocate · June 15, 2026

95.5
Cost index (US=100): $1,464
2BR rent / mo: $66,877
Median salary: 39.5
LiveAbility Score

The verdict

As of June 2026, Albuquerque ranks #327 of 387 US metros on the LiveAbility Score (39.5/100), with its strongest marks in schools and low hazard.

#327
of 387 US metros · Below median: 2,130,256
metro-area population: 697
violent crimes per 100K (state-level): 873
schools in the state (NCES)

Weakest dimension: safety (1/100). Weigh every dimension against your own priorities, use the City Finder to re-rank by what matters to you.

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite (BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, EPA, NOAA, and FEMA inputs), Albuquerque ranks #327 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). Cost-of-living index 95.5 (100 = national average), median 2-bedroom rent $1,464/mo, median salary $66,877; LiveAbility Score 39.5/100, strongest in schools and low hazard.

Signature: LiveAbility 39.5/100 places Albuquerque #327 of 387 (bottom third of scored metros).

Purchasing power sits mid-band: BEA RPP 95.5 between corpus terciles 91.5 and 97.0. Median 2BR rent $1,464/mo.

LiveAbility 39.5/100 puts Albuquerque in the bottom third (#327 of 387).

BLS OEWS total employment in the Albuquerque area is 388,700.

Albuquerque vs all US metros by LiveAbility Score

Where this metro's LiveAbility Score falls among every scored US metro (composite placement, not a desirability verdict)

40 Top 85% higher than 15% of 387 US metros

Metros banded by LiveAbility Score (0–100)

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US metros. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source PlainRelocate LiveAbility Score · June 2026

Albuquerque housing and rent

HUD Fair Market Rents for the Albuquerque MSA; housing RPP 89.2 (100 = national average); 2BR $1,464/mo.

Studio

$1,009

/month

1 Bedroom

$1,185

/month

2 Bedroom

$1,464

/month

3 Bedroom

$2,036

/month

4 Bedroom

$2,399

/month

Albuquerque wages and employment

Albuquerque posts 388,700 total employment with median salary $66,877.

Median Salary

$66,877

Mean Salary

$71,062

Total Employment

388,700

Top Occupations by Employment

Occupation	Median Salary
Home Health and Personal Care Aides	$30,170
Fast Food and Counter Workers	$29,140
Retail Salespersons	$34,160
Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive	$46,950
Registered Nurses	$96,040

Schools & Education

State-level education data for the Albuquerque area from NCES.

Schools

873

Enrollment

305,112

Student:Teacher

12.7:1

Title I %

78.8%

Life Score Breakdown

Albuquerque's composite Life Score is 43.7/100 (F), computed across 6 of 7 dimensions (missing dims omitted; remaining weights renormalized).

Cost

40/100

Below average

Wages

66/100

Strong

Rent

34/100

Weak

Crime

1/100

Bottom decile

Schools

28/100

Weak

Environment

99/100

Elite

LiveAbility Score

View full rankings →

Albuquerque ranks #327 out of 387 metros with a LiveAbility Score of 39.5/100 - a composite of 8 of 8 quality-of-life dimensions from federal data. Customize the weights to match your priorities →

Strongest dimension: Schools (72/100)

Schools

72
Low hazard

69
Job market

66
Cost of living

40
Housing

35
Climate

13
Air quality

4
Safety

1

What this shows Albuquerque's strongest dimensions are schools and low hazard; its weakest among scored dims is safety at 1/100. Default weights: cost 18%, jobs & housing 15% each, safety & schools 12%, air & hazard 10%, climate 8%.

Compare Albuquerque to

Fond du Lac Fort Collins-Loveland Fort Smith Fort Wayne Fresno Gadsden

Metros near Albuquerque on cost, LiveAbility, or wages

Nearest out-of-state neighbors to Albuquerque on BEA RPP, LiveAbility, or BLS median salary, a different lens than the size-ranked list.

Similar cost of living (BEA RPP)

Similar LiveAbility score

† No air quality reading on file for this metro, so its score is built from fewer than all 8 dimensions: the missing dimension is omitted and the remaining weights renormalized. It is not directly comparable with a full 8-dimension score.

Source: BEA Regional Price Parities, HUD Fair Market Rents, BLS OES, FBI UCR, NCES, DOL, EPA June 2026

Albuquerque cost figures follow BEA Regional Price Parities and HUD Fair Market Rents; Albuquerque wages and LiveAbility inputs follow BLS OEWS plus the federal sources listed in methodology. This information is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Scores are federal-data percentiles, not a move recommendation. How this data is sourced.

Verify with BEA → · Verify with BLS → · Verify with HUD → · Verify with NOAA → · Verify with FEMA → · Verify with Census →

Thinking about Albuquerque?

Here is where Albuquerque stands: a $66,877 median salary, a 95.5 cost index and a LiveAbility rank of #327 of 387.

See exactly what Albuquerque's pay and cost figures mean for your own budget. Salary calculator
Compare Albuquerque with a second city on the same dimensions. Compare Albuquerque
Abilene is the nearest related metro in this corpus, and the two are easy to compare. Abilene profile
A cheaper cost index and a higher LiveAbility score can point in different directions; this guide covers how to weigh the trade-off. Cost vs quality guide

Cost, salary and score figures are federal-data percentiles, not a move recommendation.