What salary do you need to live in Las Cruces, NM?

The cost side of living in Las Cruces

Census figures put the median gross rent in the Las Cruces, NM metro at $787 for a one-bedroom, $909 for a two-bedroom and $1,093 for a three-bedroom. Moving from one to two bedrooms adds $122 a month, and the third bedroom another $184.

The median value of owner-occupied homes in the metro is $220,800. That works out to 3.9× the local median household income of $56,848, a mid-range ratio.

BEA's Regional Price Parity for the metro is 90.2, where 100 is the US average. In plain terms, the full basket of goods, services and housing costs 9.8% less than average, so $100,000 here buys roughly what $110,850 would at average US prices.

The salary lines for a two-bedroom in Las Cruces

With a two-bedroom at the median rent, the score enters Tight at $25,000, Okay at $50,000 and Comfortable at $100,000 a year before tax. At the Comfortable line, a year of rent takes 11% of income and the median home is 2.2× income.

The Royal grade is within reach at $260,000 a year, where both rent and the median home price look small next to income.

Each figure is the lowest income, to the next $1,000, at which the calculator itself would show that grade for a two-bedroom in Las Cruces.

Las Cruces at four common salaries

On $75,000, a one-bedroom scores 59 and a three-bedroom 54, both Okay; the extra bedrooms cost points but not a grade.

Of the four salaries, $100,000 is the first where a two-bedroom reads Comfortable or better; $75,000 still lands at Okay.

Las Cruces on the national list

Ranked against all 387 metros, Las Cruces sits 285th on overall price level and 353rd on the two-bedroom rent median, counting from the most expensive. Its median home value ranks 258th.

Next to Las Cruces on the national rent ranking: Elizabethtown, KY ($911) and St. Joseph, MO-KS ($908).

Comparing Las Cruces with New Mexico

How Las Cruces stacks up against its state: $909 for a two-bedroom against New Mexico's $1,062, $220,800 for the median home against $248,100, and a price level of 90.2 against 92.2.

The New Mexico figure for the Comfortable line, using state medians, is $120,000 against $100,000 for Las Cruces.

Within New Mexico, the metros closest to Las Cruces on rent and overall prices are Farmington, NM, Albuquerque, NM, and Santa Fe, NM. Their Comfortable lines for two bedrooms sit at $90,000, $148,000, and $223,000.

Las Cruces's median income on the scale

A household at the Las Cruces median income of $56,848 would see a two-bedroom score of 49 — Okay — with rent at 19% of income. Reaching Comfortable would take $43,152 more than the median household earns. Statewide, the New Mexico median household ($64,059) grades Okay on the state's own medians. Since a household can have two or more earners, compare it with a combined income rather than one paycheck.

Estimates use pre-tax income and public data; they are not financial advice.