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Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
No second income to fall back on. Our model scored 3 cities in New Mexico on solo-living metrics. Las Cruces leads at index 94 with rent of $1,290/mo (that's pre-tax, of course).
#1 Ranked: Las Cruces — cost index 94, rent $1,290/mo, income $55,176
Singles scoring: rent $1,290/mo (solo housing), cost index 94, population 114,892 — livability on one income
Data sourced from Census Bureau, Zillow, BLS, and Tax Foundation — current as of 2026
No second income to fall back on. Our model scored 3 cities in New Mexico on solo-living metrics. Las Cruces leads at index 94 with rent of $1,290/mo (that's pre-tax, of course).
Here's Las Cruces by the numbers — and there's a lot to like (and a little to watch). Cost index: 94. Rent: $1,290/month. Income: $55,176/year. Home price: $286,242. Population: 114,892. The strongest category is Housing at 84; the most expensive is Healthcare at 96. Translate that rent to annual numbers, and residents are saving renters $7,260 per year vs. the national median. For dual-income households, this multiplies into serious savings.
What to do with this data: use the ranking as a shortlist, then dig into the city profiles for trend lines and category breakdowns. The difference between #1 and #5 is often smaller than the difference between "good on paper" and "actually fits my life." Compare your top picks with our calculator to see real take-home numbers.
| Rank | City | Cost Index | Median Rent | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Las Cruces | 94 | $1,290 | Details |
| 2 | Albuquerque | 99 | $1,457 | Details |
| 3 | Rio Rancho | 107 | $1,902 | Details |
114,892 residents · New Mexico
Real talk: Here's Las Cruces by the numbers — and there's a lot to like (and a little to watch). Cost index: 94. Rent: $1,290/month. Income: $55,176/year. Home price: $286,242. Population: 114,892. The strongest category is Housing at 84; the most expensive is Healthcare at 96. Translate that rent to annual numbers, and residents are saving renters $7,260 per year vs. the national median. That's a red flag worth investigating further.
560,274 residents · New Mexico
Dive into Albuquerque's numbers: cost index 99 (13 points below national average), rent $1,457/month, income $65,604, and a home price of $338,329. The city's cost profile isn't flat — Utilities is the cheapest category at 91, while Healthcare runs 102. As a major city with 560,274 residents, amenities and job markets are robust.
110,660 residents · New Mexico
Rio Rancho earns its position at #3 through a combination that's hard to replicate. The 107 cost index sits 5 points below the national baseline, and the $85,755 median income means purchasing power here is genuinely above average. Homes list at $356,585 — $110,785 below the national median — a genuine ownership opportunity. On the cost side, Utilities leads the way at 98, while Housing trails at 117.
Las Cruces ranks #1 in New Mexico for this analysis with a cost index of 94 and median income of $55,176.
Las Cruces scores highest for singles due to its below-average cost of living, median rent of $1,290/mo, and competitive median income of $55,176.
Our cost of living index uses real Zillow rent data as the foundation, indexed to 100 (national median). Sub-categories (housing, food, transport, utilities, healthcare) are derived from the overall index with regional adjustments. Data is updated monthly.
Las Cruces (ranked #1) has a cost index of 94 and rent of $1,290/mo, while Rio Rancho (ranked #3) has a cost index of 107 and rent of $1,902/mo — a 13-point difference in cost of living.
City data is refreshed monthly from Census Bureau population estimates, Zillow rent and home price indices, BLS salary data, and Tax Foundation tax rates. Last updated: 2026.
The median 1-bedroom rent in Las Cruces is $1,290/month as of 2026, based on Zillow's Observed Rent Index. This is $605 below the national median of $1,895/month.
The median home price in Las Cruces is $286,242, which is 5.2× the local median income. Most median-income households would stretch to buy at this ratio. The national median home price is $467,370.
New Mexico has a 5.9% state income tax rate. Combined state and local sales tax averages 7.595%, and the effective property tax rate is 0.67%.
This ranking was generated using data current as of early 2026. Population and income data comes from the Census Bureau's American Community Survey (5-year estimates). Rent and home price data is from Zillow's monthly releases. Tax rates are from the Tax Foundation's 2025 edition. Rankings are refreshed monthly.