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By Jesse Jones, The Paper. — Burqueños struggling to keep up with rising rent costs may soon see relief as a bloc of city councilors pushes to raise Albuquerque’s minimum wage amid an expanding affordability crisis. The ordinance would address Burque’s widening affordability gap, where average earnings per job are about 20% below the national average, as rents are around 25% higher than the national baseline, leaving more than half of the city’s renters struggling to cover basic expenses, they say.
Under Ordinance O-26-33, sponsored by Councilors Joaquín Baca, Tammy Fiebelkorn, Nichole Rogers and Stephanie Telles, Albuquerque’s minimum wage would increase to $15 an hour starting Jan. 1, 2027. The city’s minimum wage is currently $11.85 an hour and Bernalillo County’s wage is $10.60, but New Mexico’s statewide $12 minimum wage overrides both. If approved, Albuquerque’s wage would surpass the state minimum for the first time in six years, the ordinance states. It would also lock in a new tipped minimum wage at $7.20 an hour and introduce a new formula for annual cost-of-living adjustments starting in 2028. “We can’t lower gas prices, but we can help people in other ways,” Baca told City Desk.
Fiebelkorn explained to City Desk that more than half of Albuquerque renters are cost burdened, meaning they spend more than 30% of their income on housing. “Right now, two full-time minimum wage workers in Albuquerque can’t afford a two-bedroom apartment without spending more than 30% of their combined income on rent,” Fiebelkorn said, noting that tax dollars currently subsidize the gap left by low wages. Telles added that the ordinance acts as an economic development strategy to keep money circulating in the community. “When people have additional income, they are more likely to spend it on food, rent and other local services,” Telles told City Desk, pointing to UNM Bureau of Business and Economic Research data showing revenue growth in the hospitality sector. “This is a win-win.”
The ordinance is scheduled to be heard at the next City Council meeting on June 1.
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