Skip to content
CityLedger

Las Cruces vs Lubbock

Metro-area medians — Las Cruces, NM Metro Area vs Lubbock, TX Metro Area — not the cities proper.

Lubbock comes out ahead, winning 7 of the 8 clearly-decided measures.

Las Cruces and Lubbock cost about the same to live in, but Lubbock households earn about 5% more. Adjusted for local prices, a typical paycheck stretches further in Lubbock.

Their widest everyday difference: Lubbock has cleaner air on a typical day — a median AQI of 23 versus 62.

For your salary & household

Enter your pay and household size to see what it's really worth here — the numbers update live and the link stays shareable.

Las Cruces, NM
$58,938
take-home / yr · 21% to tax
$65,332
real value after local prices
Lubbock, TX
$61,314
take-home / yr · 18% to tax
$67,144
real value after local prices

On $75,000 for just you, Lubbock leaves you about $1,811/yr better off after tax and local prices.

Take-home estimates a single filer taking the standard deduction (2025 federal brackets, FICA, and state income tax) and isn't tax advice. “Real value” rebases take-home to average U.S. prices using the BEA cost-of-living index; the per-person figure uses the OECD square-root equivalence scale.

Measure
Las Cruces
Lubbock
Livability (CityLedger)
31/100
42/100
Cost of living (price level, US = 100)
90.2
91.3
Cost-adjusted income (pay's real value)
$67,789
$70,599
Median household income
$61,154
$64,469
Median rent
$1,031/mo
$1,207/mo
Median home value
$259,000
$218,900
Unemployment
6%
4.4%
Bachelor's degree or higher
31.6%
31.6%
Average commute
22.3 min
19.3 min
Air quality (median AQI)
62
23
Avg temperature
59°F
61°F

Choose Las Cruces for

  • + Median rent
Full Las Cruces profile →

Choose Lubbock for

  • + Livability (CityLedger)
  • + Cost-adjusted income (pay's real value)
  • + Median household income
  • + Median home value
  • + Unemployment
  • + Average commute
  • + Air quality (median AQI)
Full Lubbock profile →

More comparisons

Metros closest to Las Cruces and Lubbock on cost, income, size, and education.

Las Cruces vs Greenville→Las Cruces vs Amarillo→Las Cruces vs Bowling Green→Lubbock vs Waco→Lubbock vs Lafayette→Lubbock vs South Bend→

Las Cruces vs Lubbock — frequently asked

Is Las Cruces cheaper than Lubbock?
They are about even — the overall cost of living in the Las Cruces and Lubbock metros is within 3% of each other (BEA Regional Price Parities), so neither is meaningfully cheaper.
Which has higher household income, Las Cruces or Lubbock?
Lubbock has the higher median household income — $64,469 versus $61,154 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS), about 5% more.
Does a paycheck go further in Las Cruces or Lubbock?
A paycheck stretches further in Lubbock. Adjusted for local prices, the median income is worth $70,599 there versus $67,789 in Las Cruces.
Which has cheaper rent, Las Cruces or Lubbock?
Las Cruces has cheaper rent — a median of $1,031/mo versus $1,207/mo (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS).