Albuquerque composite
43.2 /100
Grade C · weighted across 7 dims
Metro comparison
Albuquerque vs Las Cruces
Albuquerque, NM and Las Cruces, NM side by side, cost of living, rent, wages, crime, schools, childcare and environment, all from the same federal datasets so every number is directly comparable.
- 43.2
- Albuquerque Life Score
- C
- Albuquerque grade
- 54.7
- Las Cruces Life Score
- B+
- Las Cruces grade
Head-to-head verdict
Across the seven dimensions, Albuquerque scores higher on 2 (wages, safety) and Las Cruces on 4 (cost of living, rent, schools, environment). The radar shows the full shape; the tables below break out every figure.
Where each metro wins, and by how much
Every dimension is a national percentile (0–100). Each bar leans toward the stronger metro, a long lean is a decisive edge, a near-even split is a toss-up. The radar shows the overall shape; this shows the per-dimension margins.
◖ Albuquerque Las Cruces ◗
cost of living
40
74
wages
65
41
rent
34
89
safety
2
1
schools
27
28
childcare
0
0
environment
99
99
Albuquerque and Las Cruces differ across eleven dimensions of livability. Albuquerque has a cost-of-living index of 95.5 vs Las Cruces's 90.2 (national average = 100). Median salaries are $66,877 in Albuquerque and $62,792 in Las Cruces. A 2-bedroom averages $1,464/mo vs $1,042/mo.
Beyond the headline numbers
Reading the Albuquerque vs Las Cruces Comparison
The cost gap above compounds fastest through housing: the difference in HUD's 2-bedroom Fair Market Rent between Albuquerque and Las Cruces works out to $5,064 over a year, the largest single line item behind the headline spread.
Adjusted for cost of living rather than compared as nominal dollars, $100,000 earned in Albuquerque carries the same local purchasing power as $94,417 in Las Cruces - the more honest read than the salary headline above, because nominal wages and rents move together in tight metros. State-level violent crime, the most reliable geographic tier FBI UCR publishes, is 696.9 per 100,000 residents in NM vs 696.9 in NM, with property-crime rates of 2705.6 and 2705.6 respectively.
Schools are reported at the state tier by NCES: NM lists 873 public schools at a 12.7:1 student-teacher ratio, while NM lists 873 schools at 12.7:1, a signal of class-size staffing, though individual district and school-level variation within each state is substantial. When these pieces are read together rather than in isolation, Albuquerque and Las Cruces are not simply "cheaper" or "more expensive" - they trade across dimensions, and which metro wins depends on whether your household optimizes for rent, wages, schools, childcare, safety, or environment. Treat the tables below as inputs to that trade-off, not as a single ranking.
Las Cruces composite
54.7 /100
Grade B+ · weighted across 7 dims
Environment score gap
1 pts
Las Cruces cleaner, national percentile
Safety score gap
1 pts
Albuquerque safer, national percentile
Composite life score on the national 0–100 scale
Albuquerque
Albuquerque composite (Grade C)
Las Cruces
Las Cruces composite (Grade B+)
Composite is a weighted roll-up of seven dimensions: cost (20%), wages (20%), rent (15%), safety (15%), schools (10%), childcare (10%), environment (10%). Each input normalized to a 0–100 percentile across all metros.
💰 Cost of Living BEA →
| Category | Albuquerque | Las Cruces |
|---|---|---|
| Overall RPP | 95.5 | 90.2 |
| Goods | 96.1 | 96.1 |
| Services | 77.9 | 77.9 |
| Rents | 89.2 | 63.0 |
Salary Equivalent Calculator
What salary in Las Cruces gives the same purchasing power as your salary in Albuquerque?
$
Equivalent in Las Cruces:
$94,417
Based on BEA Regional Price Parities (Albuquerque: 95.5, Las Cruces: 90.2, national avg = 100).
🏠 Rent (Fair Market Rent) HUD →
| Bedrooms | Albuquerque | Las Cruces |
|---|---|---|
| Studio | $1,009/mo | $744/mo |
| 1 Bedroom | $1,185/mo | $951/mo |
| 2 Bedroom | $1,464/mo | $1,042/mo |
| 3 Bedroom | $2,036/mo | $1,449/mo |
| 4 Bedroom | $2,399/mo | $1,580/mo |
💼 Wages & Employment BLS →
| Metric | Albuquerque | Las Cruces |
|---|---|---|
| Avg Median Salary | $66,877 | $62,792 |
| Total Employment | 388,700 | 72,370 |
🛡️ Crime Rates (state-level) FBI →
| Crime Type (per 100K) | Albuquerque (NM) | Las Cruces (NM) |
|---|---|---|
| Violent Crime | 696.9 | 696.9 |
| Property Crime | 2705.6 | 2705.6 |
🎓 Schools (state-level) NCES →
| Metric | NM | NM |
|---|---|---|
| Total Schools | 873 | 873 |
| Student-Teacher Ratio | 12.7:1 | 12.7:1 |
| Charter Schools | 11.6% | 11.6% |
🌿 Environment (state-level) EPA →
| Metric | NM | NM |
|---|---|---|
| EPA Facilities | 111 | 111 |
| Water Systems | 593 | 593 |
| Superfund Sites | 21 | 21 |
| Water Violations | 8,034 | 8,034 |
Government-verified data - Air quality (EPA AQS), water safety (EPA SDWIS), healthcare access (HRSA), and disaster risk (FEMA NRI) are sourced directly from U.S. federal agencies. No crowdsourced estimates.
💨 Air Quality (EPA AQS) EPA AQS →
| Metric | Albuquerque | Las Cruces |
|---|---|---|
| Median AQI | 61.0 | 61.0 |
| Good Air Days | 24.9% | 27.4% |
| Unhealthy Air Days | 21 days | 48 days |
💧 Water Safety (EPA SDWIS, state-level) EPA SDWIS →
| Metric | NM | NM |
|---|---|---|
| Water Safety Score | 4/100 | 4/100 |
| Total Violations | 154,522 | 154,522 |
| Health-Based Violations | 38,650 | 38,650 |
| Systems with Violations | 96.9% | 96.9% |
🏥 Healthcare Access (HRSA, state-level) HRSA →
| Metric | NM | NM |
|---|---|---|
| Healthcare Access Score | 45/100 | 45/100 |
| Population in Shortage Area | 55.5% | 55.5% |
| HPSA Designations | 302 | 302 |
HPSA = Health Professional Shortage Area, designated by HRSA. Higher access score = better healthcare availability.
⚠️ Natural Disaster Risk (FEMA NRI, state-level) FEMA NRI →
| Metric | NM | NM |
|---|---|---|
| Disaster Safety Score | 51/100 | 51/100 |
| NRI Risk Score (avg county) | 58.9 | 58.9 |
| Expected Annual Loss Score | 51.5 | 51.5 |
FEMA National Risk Index (NRI) scores are county-level percentiles (0–100). Higher disaster safety score = lower relative risk. State-level values are county averages.
Crime, schools, childcare, and environment data shown at state level. Metro-specific data for these dimensions is not available.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Albuquerque more expensive than Las Cruces? ▼
Albuquerque has a cost of living index of 95.5 compared to Las Cruces's 90.2 (national average = 100). Albuquerque is 5.3 points above Las Cruces on the BEA Regional Price Parity scale.
What is the rent difference between Albuquerque and Las Cruces? ▼
A 2-bedroom apartment averages $1,464/mo in Albuquerque vs $1,042/mo in Las Cruces, based on HUD Fair Market Rent data. Studios range from $1,009/mo to $744/mo.
How do salaries compare between Albuquerque and Las Cruces? ▼
The average median salary across all occupations is $66,877 in Albuquerque and $62,792 in Las Cruces, according to BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics. After adjusting for cost of living, $100,000 in Albuquerque has the same purchasing power as $94,417 in Las Cruces.
Is Albuquerque or Las Cruces safer? ▼
At the state level, NM has a violent crime rate of 696.9 per 100,000 residents compared to NM's 696.9 per 100,000. Property crime rates are 2705.6 vs 2705.6 per 100,000 respectively, based on FBI Uniform Crime Report data.
How do schools compare between Albuquerque and Las Cruces? ▼
NM has 873 public schools with an average student-teacher ratio of 12.7:1, while NM has 873 schools at 12.7:1. Charter schools make up 11.6% of NM schools vs 11.6% in NM. Data from the National Center for Education Statistics.
Where does the comparison data come from? ▼
All data comes from official U.S. government sources: Bureau of Economic Analysis (cost of living), HUD (fair market rents), BLS (wages), FBI UCR (crime), NCES (schools), Department of Labor (childcare), EPA (environment, air quality, water safety), HRSA (healthcare access), and FEMA NRI (disaster risk). No crowdsourced estimates or proprietary ratings are used.
Research Guides
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Data from BEA, HUD, FBI UCR, BLS OES, NCES, DOL, EPA AQS, EPA SDWIS, HRSA, and FEMA NRI. Not affiliated with the U.S. Government.
Disclaimer: This comparison is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, legal, or relocation advice. Consult a qualified professional before making decisions based on this data.
Related
Data sourced from official public datasets, current as of 2026. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainCompare