Boston, MA vs Las Vegas, NV
Moving from Boston to Las Vegas? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($741,868 → $430,650 median home) and taxes.
Boston 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 Boston, MA, you'd need about $89,033 in Las Vegas, NV (−$10,967).
Livability — Boston, MA: 48 · Las Vegas, NV: 65 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,146 sqft in Boston vs 2,206 sqft in Las Vegas ($436 vs $227 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Boston, MA | Las Vegas, NV | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $38,532 | $20,844 | −$17,688 |
| Groceries | $5,040 | $4,841 | −$198 |
| Transportation | $3,210 | $4,740 | +$1,530 |
| Utilities | $3,180 | $1,548 | −$1,632 |
| Insurance | $1,800 | $1,300 | −$500 |
| Taxes | $17,694 | $4,779 | −$12,915 |
| Total | $69,455 | $38,052 | −$31,403 |
Side by side
| Metric | Boston, MA | Las Vegas, NV |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 110.4 | 98.3 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.02% | 7.66% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 2.9% | 7.3% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 43 | 64 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $6.28 | $5.59 |
| Median home price | $741,868 | $430,650 |
| Home price ÷ income | 6.9× | 6.2× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 1.6% | -2.7% |
| Price per square foot | $436 | $227 |
| Median rent | $3,211 | $1,737 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 11.5% | 9.6% |
| Combined sales tax | 6.25% | 8.23% |
| Capital gains tax | 9.00% | None |
| Property tax rate | 1.14% | 0.51% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $8,200 | $6,400 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $21,000 | $11,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 2.25% | 2.12% |
| Avg commute (min) | 31 | 25 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,800 | $1,300 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,500 | $2,400 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $800 | $500 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $400 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 29.4 | 14.3 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.30 | 4.20 |
| Violent crime /100k | 330 | 460 |
| Avg summer high °F | 82 | 95 |
| Avg winter low °F | 22 | 30 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 4 | 3 |