Boulder, CO vs Las Vegas, NV
Moving from Boulder to Las Vegas? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($727,954 → $430,650 median home) and taxes.
Boulder 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 Boulder, CO, you'd need about $97,686 in Las Vegas, NV (−$2,314).
Livability — Boulder, CO: 54 · Las Vegas, NV: 65 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,305 sqft in Boulder vs 2,206 sqft in Las Vegas ($383 vs $227 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Boulder, CO | Las Vegas, NV | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $27,084 | $20,844 | −$6,240 |
| Groceries | $4,814 | $4,841 | +$27 |
| Transportation | $4,050 | $4,740 | +$690 |
| Utilities | $1,788 | $1,548 | −$240 |
| Insurance | $2,800 | $1,300 | −$1,500 |
| Taxes | $10,679 | $4,779 | −$5,900 |
| Total | $51,214 | $38,052 | −$13,163 |
Side by side
| Metric | Boulder, CO | Las Vegas, NV |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 100.6 | 98.3 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.41% | 7.66% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 3.8% | 7.3% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 49 | 64 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.72 | $5.59 |
| Median home price | $727,954 | $430,650 |
| Home price ÷ income | 7.3× | 6.2× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -2.6% | -2.7% |
| Price per square foot | $383 | $227 |
| Median rent | $2,257 | $1,737 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.7% | 9.6% |
| Combined sales tax | 7.77% | 8.23% |
| Capital gains tax | 4.40% | None |
| Property tax rate | 0.53% | 0.51% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,800 | $6,400 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $16,000 | $11,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 1.79% | 2.12% |
| Avg commute (min) | 23 | 25 |
| Home insurance / yr | $2,800 | $1,300 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,000 | $2,400 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $550 | $500 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $400 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 16.5 | 14.3 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.30 | 4.20 |
| Violent crime /100k | 490 | 460 |
| Avg summer high °F | 88 | 95 |
| Avg winter low °F | 18 | 30 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 3 |