Moving to New Mexico from Wisconsin
What to Expect
A comprehensive look at what changes when you move from Wisconsin to New Mexico — from daily expenses to quality of life.
If you moved from Wisconsin to New Mexico, you would find that New Mexico is 6.9% more expensive than Wisconsin. A $75,000 salary in Wisconsin would need to be roughly $80,200 in New Mexico to maintain the same lifestyle.
How Far Will Your Money Go?
How your spending power changes when you relocate from Wisconsin to New Mexico.
What does your salary buy?
$75,000 → $80,200
To maintain the same standard of living in New Mexico
Calculate with your salary →The biggest cost differences at a glance
Restaurants
pay 1.2% less
Groceries
pay 12.4% more
Transportation
pay 15.3% less
Housing
pay 21.6% more
Childcare
pay 16.2% less
Entertainment and Sports
pay 12.0% more
Data: MyLifeElsewhere's crowdsourced cost of living database, with prices submitted and updated by users worldwide. Exchange rates are refreshed regularly from public sources.
Key Indicator Comparison
How Wisconsin and New Mexico stack up on safety, healthcare, jobs, and infrastructure.
Is it safe?
incidents per 100,000 people per year
incidents per 100,000 people per year
Wisconsin performs better than New Mexico across all safety metrics.
How's the healthcare?
share of people without health insurance
share of adults with obesity
share of adults with diabetes
share of adults who smoke
Wisconsin generally does better on health & wellbeing, though New Mexico leads in adult obesity rate.
What about housing?
typical price of a home
typical monthly gross rent
share of homes that are owner-occupied
New Mexico performs significantly better than Wisconsin across all what about housing? metrics.
Will I have good infrastructure?
share of households with internet
minutes each way to work
Wisconsin performs better than New Mexico across all infrastructure metrics.
What are the job prospects?
percentage of the labour force without work
a broad measure of economic output per person
typical annual income of a household
share of people below the poverty line
Wisconsin performs better than New Mexico across all employment & economy metrics.
Is it good for families?
average years of life at birth
share of adults with a 4-year college degree
Wisconsin performs better than New Mexico across all family life metrics.
Sources: US Census Bureau (American Community Survey) (2023), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (PLACES) (2022), FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (2023), Bureau of Labor Statistics (2025), Bureau of Economic Analysis (2024), OECD Regional Demography (2020). How we calculate this
What's the Climate Like?
Monthly averages — select a city to compare.
Avg. annual high / low
Avg. annual high / low
| Months | Madison | Santa Fe |
|---|---|---|
| Jan–Mar | 33°/17°F (1°/-8°C) | 48°/22°F (9°/-5°C) |
| Apr–Jun | 68°/46°F (20°/8°C) | 73°/43°F (23°/6°C) |
| Jul–Sep | 78°/57°F (25°/14°C) | 82°/53°F (28°/12°C) |
| Oct–Dec | 44°/28°F (7°/-2°C) | 54°/28°F (12°/-2°C) |
View all months
| Month | Madison | Santa Fe |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 26°/11°F (-3.1°/-11.6°C) | 43°/19°F (5.9°/-7.4°C) |
| Feb | 31°/15°F (-0.5°/-9.4°C) | 47°/21°F (8.3°/-6.2°C) |
| Mar | 43°/25°F (6.2°/-4.0°C) | 54°/27°F (12.3°/-2.6°C) |
| Apr | 57°/36°F (14.1°/2.1°C) | 63°/33°F (17.4°/0.6°C) |
| May | 68°/46°F (20.2°/7.8°C) | 73°/43°F (22.6°/6.3°C) |
| Jun | 78°/56°F (25.5°/13.4°C) | 83°/52°F (28.3°/11.2°C) |
| Jul | 82°/61°F (27.6°/16.1°C) | 85°/56°F (29.6°/13.4°C) |
| Aug | 79°/59°F (26.3°/15.0°C) | 83°/55°F (28.1°/12.8°C) |
| Sep | 72°/50°F (22.1°/10.1°C) | 77°/48°F (25.1°/9.1°C) |
| Oct | 59°/39°F (14.9°/3.8°C) | 65°/38°F (18.6°/3.1°C) |
| Nov | 44°/28°F (6.7°/-2.1°C) | 53°/28°F (11.6°/-2.5°C) |
| Dec | 30°/16°F (-1.0°/-8.9°C) | 43°/19°F (6.2°/-7.4°C) |
Data:
National Weather Service
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it cheaper to live in New Mexico than Wisconsin?
Day-to-day costs in New Mexico run about 7% higher than Wisconsin on average; specific cities can swing further.
How much money do I need to move to New Mexico?
A safe rule of thumb is 3 months of local expenses plus relocation costs. On a $75,000 comparable salary, that's around $20,050 in New Mexico for everyday spending, before movers, a truck rental, and a rental deposit.
Is New Mexico safe?
Wisconsin performs better than New Mexico across all safety metrics.
How is healthcare in New Mexico compared to Wisconsin?
Wisconsin generally does better on health & wellbeing, though New Mexico leads in adult obesity rate.
What's the weather like in New Mexico compared to Wisconsin?
The average high temperature in Santa Fe is 64°F, compared to 56°F in Madison. Santa Fe receives around 15.7 in of rainfall per year, while Madison gets 34.5 in.
