Overall
- Albuquerque
- 95.5
- Coeur d'Alene
- 98.3
Diff +2.7 RPP
Albuquerque vs Coeur d'Alene
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Coeur d'Alene is 2.9% more expensive than Albuquerque.
2.9% more expensive
Coeur d'Alene, ID is 2.9% more expensive than Albuquerque, NM on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 98.3 vs 95.5). A $100,000 salary in Albuquerque buys about the same as $102,875 in Coeur d'Alene; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 95.5 (Albuquerque) vs 98.3 (Coeur d'Alene)
- $100k in Albuquerque ≈ $102,875 purchasing power in Coeur d'Alene
- Rents drives the gap (+16.4 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair NM:ID 95.5→98.3
TIER-NEAR · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-SHIFT
- TIER-NEAR Near tier
- CROSS-STATE NM × ID
- SPLIT-BUDGET Split budget
- BOTH-BELOW Both below 100
- PP-SHIFT PP shift
Instrument codes from this pair's BEA Regional Price Parities (overall · goods · services · rents · national benchmark 100 · purchasing-power conversion), not a ranking or recommendation.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Albuquerque
- 96.1
- Coeur d'Alene
- 96.2
Diff +0.0 RPP
Services
- Albuquerque
- 77.9
- Coeur d'Alene
- 70.8
Diff -7.1 RPP
Rents
- Albuquerque
- 89.2
- Coeur d'Alene
- 105.6
Diff +16.4 RPP
| Category | Albuquerque | Coeur d'Alene | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 95.5 | 98.3 | +2.7 |
| Goods | 96.1 | 96.2 | +0.0 |
| Services | 77.9 | 70.8 | -7.1 |
| Rents | 89.2 | 105.6 | +16.4 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Albuquerque 95.5
Coeur d'Alene 98.3
Goods
Albuquerque 96.1
Coeur d'Alene 96.2
Services
Albuquerque 77.9
Coeur d'Alene 70.8
Rents
Albuquerque 89.2
Coeur d'Alene 105.6
Vertical line = national average (100)
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Rents creates the largest separation: Coeur d'Alene is 16.4 points higher. But services move against the overall direction, so this is a split budget rather than a clean across-the-board winner.
Coeur d'Alene, ID is 2.9% more expensive than Albuquerque, NM, a meaningful but not extreme shift. The move decision turns on which budget category creates the 2.7-point overall gap.
Both metros remain below the U.S. benchmark of 100. This comparison chooses between two below-average price levels; “more expensive” here does not mean nationally expensive.
Comparable population context is incomplete for this pair, so no market-scale explanation is inferred from the price indexes.
For a housing-sensitive move, validate the rent gap first: HUD Fair Market Rent and the actual unit size can overturn what the blended index implies. On the BEA ratio alone, $100,000 in Albuquerque corresponds to $102,875 in Coeur d'Alene.
Albuquerque
95.5
Cost Index
Coeur d'Alene
98.3
Cost Index
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Albuquerque would need to be in Coeur d'Alene for the same purchasing power:
| In Albuquerque | In Coeur d'Alene | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $51,438 | +$1,438 |
| $75,000 | $77,156 | +$2,156 |
| $100,000 | $102,875 | +$2,875 |
| $150,000 | $154,313 | +$4,313 |
$ in Albuquerque = in Coeur d'Alene
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (95.5 → 98.3), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Coeur d'Alene more expensive than Albuquerque?
Coeur d'Alene is 2.9% more expensive than Albuquerque. The overall cost index is 98.3 vs 95.5 (national average = 100).
What salary in Coeur d'Alene equals $100K in Albuquerque?
A $100,000 salary in Albuquerque has the same purchasing power as $102,875 in Coeur d'Alene. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Albuquerque and Coeur d'Alene?
Rents in Albuquerque are indexed at 89.2 while Coeur d'Alene is at 105.6 (national average = 100). Coeur d'Alene has higher rents.
Data sources
- BEA Regional Price Parities (RPP), the cost-of-living indices shown on this page
- U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS), gross-rent observations behind the rents component
- BLS Consumer Price Index (CPI), goods and services price relatives
- BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), labor-driven services component
- HUD Fair Market Rents (FMR), 40th-percentile rent cross-reference
Every figure on PlainCost is rendered directly from BEA Regional Price Parity source data, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, our changelog, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026-08-11. Rankings measure the published cost-of-living index only; we don't recommend where to live or rate any metro's quality of life.