Buffalo, NY vs Las Vegas, NV
Moving from Buffalo to Las Vegas? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($288,316 → $430,650 median home) and taxes.
Buffalo 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 Buffalo, NY, you'd need about $103,545 in Las Vegas, NV (+$3,545).
Livability — Buffalo, NY: 61 · Las Vegas, NV: 65 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,775 sqft in Buffalo vs 2,206 sqft in Las Vegas ($180 vs $227 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Buffalo, NY | Las Vegas, NV | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $17,328 | $20,844 | +$3,516 |
| Groceries | $4,868 | $4,841 | −$27 |
| Transportation | $3,895 | $4,740 | +$845 |
| Utilities | $3,180 | $1,548 | −$1,632 |
| Insurance | $1,600 | $1,300 | −$300 |
| Taxes | $18,192 | $4,779 | −$13,413 |
| Total | $49,063 | $38,052 | −$11,011 |
Side by side
| Metric | Buffalo, NY | Las Vegas, NV |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 94.9 | 98.3 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.10% | 7.66% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 2.4% | 7.3% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.40 | $5.59 |
| Median home price | $288,316 | $430,650 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.3× | 6.2× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 4.8% | -2.7% |
| Price per square foot | $180 | $227 |
| Median rent | $1,444 | $1,737 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 15.9% | 9.6% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.52% | 8.23% |
| Capital gains tax | 10.90% | None |
| Property tax rate | 2.26% | 0.51% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $7,800 | $6,400 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $17,000 | $11,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 2.12% |
| Avg commute (min) | 22 | 25 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,600 | $1,300 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,100 | $2,400 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $800 | $500 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $400 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 29.4 | 14.3 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.45 | 4.20 |
| Natural gas / mo | $98 | $48 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $87 | $80 |
| Home internet / mo | $76 | $89 |
| Violent crime /100k | 350 | 460 |
| Avg summer high °F | 83 | 95 |
| Avg winter low °F | 16 | 30 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 40.7 | 4.2 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 95.4 | 0.2 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 48% | 85% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 5 | 3 |