Is Kingston cheaper than Santa Fe?

They are about even — the overall cost of living in the Kingston and Santa Fe metros is within 3% of each other (BEA Regional Price Parities), so neither is meaningfully cheaper.

Which has higher household income, Kingston or Santa Fe?

Household incomes are similar — $87,847 in the Kingston metro versus $88,719 in Santa Fe (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS).

Does a paycheck go further in Kingston or Santa Fe?

It is roughly a wash. After adjusting income for local prices, a typical paycheck is worth about the same in both metros ($87,229 versus $89,827).

Which has cheaper rent, Kingston or Santa Fe?

Rents are close — $1,586/mo in the Kingston metro versus $1,586/mo in Santa Fe (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS).

Kingston vs Santa Fe

Metro-area medians — Kingston, NY Metro Area vs Santa Fe, NM Metro Area — not the cities proper.

Santa Fe comes out ahead, winning 4 of the 5 clearly-decided measures.

Kingston and Santa Fe are closely matched on both cost of living and household income. Adjusted for local prices, a typical paycheck stretches about as far in either.

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.

Annual salary (gross)

Household size

Kingston, NY

$57,794

take-home / yr · 23% to tax

$57,387

real value after local prices

Santa Fe, NM

$58,938

take-home / yr · 21% to tax

$59,674

real value after local prices

On $75,000 for just you, Santa Fe leaves you about $2,287/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

Kingston

Santa Fe

Livability (CityLedger)

57/100

75/100

Cost of living (price level, US = 100)

100.7

98.8

Cost-adjusted income (pay's real value)

$87,229

$89,827

Median household income

$87,847

$88,719

Median rent

$1,586/mo

Median home value

$389,100

$473,800

Unemployment

5.2%

3.5%

Bachelor's degree or higher

39%

49.4%

Average commute

27.9 min

25.5 min

Air quality (median AQI)

—

Avg temperature

49°F

52°F

Choose Kingston for

+ Median home value

Full Kingston profile →

Choose Santa Fe for

+ Livability (CityLedger)
+ Unemployment
+ Bachelor's degree or higher
+ Average commute

Full Santa Fe profile →

Kingston vs Santa Fe — frequently asked

Is Kingston cheaper than Santa Fe?: They are about even — the overall cost of living in the Kingston and Santa Fe metros is within 3% of each other (BEA Regional Price Parities), so neither is meaningfully cheaper.
Which has higher household income, Kingston or Santa Fe?: Household incomes are similar — $87,847 in the Kingston metro versus $88,719 in Santa Fe (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS).
Does a paycheck go further in Kingston or Santa Fe?: It is roughly a wash. After adjusting income for local prices, a typical paycheck is worth about the same in both metros ($87,229 versus $89,827).
Which has cheaper rent, Kingston or Santa Fe?: Rents are close — $1,586/mo in the Kingston metro versus $1,586/mo in Santa Fe (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS).