Austin, TX vs Las Vegas, NV
Moving from Austin to Las Vegas? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($428,524 → $430,650 median home) and taxes.
Austin 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 Austin, TX, you'd need about $100,010 in Las Vegas, NV (+$10).
Livability — Austin, TX: 70 · Las Vegas, NV: 65 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,450 sqft in Austin vs 2,206 sqft in Las Vegas ($204 vs $227 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Austin, TX | Las Vegas, NV | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $19,620 | $20,844 | +$1,224 |
| Groceries | $4,647 | $4,841 | +$195 |
| Transportation | $3,675 | $4,740 | +$1,065 |
| Utilities | $1,836 | $1,548 | −$288 |
| Insurance | $3,600 | $1,300 | −$2,300 |
| Taxes | $9,558 | $4,779 | −$4,779 |
| Total | $42,936 | $38,052 | −$4,884 |
Side by side
| Metric | Austin, TX | Las Vegas, NV |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 98.3 | 98.3 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.30% | 7.66% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 14.8% | 7.3% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 52 | 64 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.59 | $5.59 |
| Median home price | $428,524 | $430,650 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.6× | 6.2× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -6.0% | -2.7% |
| Price per square foot | $204 | $227 |
| Median rent | $1,635 | $1,737 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 8.6% | 9.6% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.20% | 8.23% |
| Capital gains tax | None | None |
| Property tax rate | 1.71% | 0.51% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,800 | $6,400 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $9,500 | $11,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 2.12% |
| Avg commute (min) | 27 | 25 |
| Home insurance / yr | $3,600 | $1,300 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,100 | $2,400 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $900 | $500 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $400 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 17.0 | 14.3 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.00 | 4.20 |
| Violent crime /100k | 430 | 460 |
| Avg summer high °F | 96 | 95 |
| Avg winter low °F | 38 | 30 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 3 |