What big cities are near Albuquerque, NM?

No other major metro in our coverage sits within 100 miles of Albuquerque; the nearest is El Paso.

Is it worth driving out of Albuquerque to save sales tax?

Only on large purchases, and only where the seller is origin-sourced. Most states tax by delivery address, so a car or appliance delivered to Albuquerque is taxed at the 7.625% local rate regardless of where you bought it.

Cities near Albuquerque, NM

Quick answer

The nearest major metro to Albuquerque is El Paso, TX, 231 miles south — roughly 4 hr 28 min by road. Its combined sales tax rate is 8.25% against 7.625% in Albuquerque.

Within 25 mi

0covered metros

Within 50 mi

0covered metros

Within 100 mi

0covered metros

Within 250 mi

1covered metros

Distance to nearby metros

Great-circle distance from the Albuquerque centroid (35.094, -106.642).

Metros near Albuquerque, NM with straight-line distance, estimated drive time and combined sales tax rate
Metro	Straight line	Est. drive	Direction	Combined rate
El Paso, TX	230.6 mi	4 hr 28 min	south	8.25%

Source: Place centroids: USGS/Census public-domain coordinates · rates as published for 2026

How these distances are calculated

Straight-line figures are great-circle distances between incorporated-place centroids using the haversine formula on a 3,958.76-mile mean-radius sphere — exact to within a few metres for this purpose. Drive time is an estimate: road distance is modelled at 1.2× the straight line (the standard North American circuity factor) at 62 mph for trips over 60 miles and 35 mph below that. It is not a routed itinerary and ignores traffic, terrain and tolls.

Albuquerque sales tax breakdown Distance and radius calculator