Atlantic City, NJ vs Las Vegas, NV
Moving from Atlantic City to Las Vegas? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($384,211 → $430,650 median home) and taxes.
Atlantic City vs Las Vegas at a glance
Bars scaled to the range across all 200 metros; labels show actual values.
To keep the same standard of living as $100,000 in Atlantic City, NJ, you'd need about $99,374 in Las Vegas, NV (−$626).
Livability — Atlantic City, NJ: 61 · Las Vegas, NV: 65 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,473 sqft in Atlantic City vs 2,206 sqft in Las Vegas ($202 vs $227 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Atlantic City, NJ | Las Vegas, NV | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $25,812 | $20,844 | −$4,968 |
| Groceries | $4,888 | $4,841 | −$46 |
| Transportation | $3,710 | $4,740 | +$1,030 |
| Utilities | $2,544 | $1,548 | −$996 |
| Insurance | $1,300 | $1,300 | +$0 |
| Taxes | $19,743 | $4,779 | −$14,964 |
| Total | $57,997 | $38,052 | −$19,945 |
Side by side
| Metric | Atlantic City, NJ | Las Vegas, NV |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 98.9 | 98.3 |
| Unemployment rate | 8.29% | 7.66% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 0.5% | 7.3% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 35 | 64 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.63 | $5.59 |
| Median home price | $384,211 | $430,650 |
| Home price ÷ income | 5.3× | 6.2× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 3.9% | -2.7% |
| Price per square foot | $202 | $227 |
| Median rent | $2,151 | $1,737 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 13.2% | 9.6% |
| Combined sales tax | 6.60% | 8.23% |
| Capital gains tax | 10.75% | None |
| Property tax rate | 2.63% | 0.51% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $7,600 | $6,400 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $13,000 | $11,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 2.12% |
| Avg commute (min) | 26 | 25 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,300 | $1,300 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,000 | $2,400 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $900 | $500 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $400 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 23.5 | 14.3 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.25 | 4.20 |
| Violent crime /100k | 200 | 460 |
| Avg summer high °F | 86 | 95 |
| Avg winter low °F | 23 | 30 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 5 | 3 |