Chattanooga, TN vs Las Vegas, NV
Moving from Chattanooga to Las Vegas? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($326,370 → $430,650 median home) and taxes.
Chattanooga 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 Chattanooga, TN, you'd need about $106,428 in Las Vegas, NV (+$6,428).
Livability — Chattanooga, TN: 67 · Las Vegas, NV: 65 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 3,064 sqft in Chattanooga vs 2,206 sqft in Las Vegas ($163 vs $227 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Chattanooga, TN | Las Vegas, NV | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $18,360 | $20,844 | +$2,484 |
| Groceries | $4,704 | $4,841 | +$138 |
| Transportation | $3,130 | $4,740 | +$1,610 |
| Utilities | $1,608 | $1,548 | −$60 |
| Insurance | $2,200 | $1,300 | −$900 |
| Taxes | $4,907 | $4,779 | −$128 |
| Total | $34,908 | $38,052 | +$3,144 |
Side by side
| Metric | Chattanooga, TN | Las Vegas, NV |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 92.3 | 98.3 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.49% | 7.66% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 2.9% | 7.3% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 52 | 64 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.25 | $5.59 |
| Median home price | $326,370 | $430,650 |
| Home price ÷ income | 5.0× | 6.2× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 0.2% | -2.7% |
| Price per square foot | $163 | $227 |
| Median rent | $1,530 | $1,737 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 7.6% | 9.6% |
| Combined sales tax | 9.55% | 8.23% |
| Capital gains tax | None | None |
| Property tax rate | 0.71% | 0.51% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,300 | $6,400 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $9,000 | $11,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 2.12% |
| Avg commute (min) | 24 | 25 |
| Home insurance / yr | $2,200 | $1,300 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,600 | $2,400 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $700 | $500 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $350 | $400 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 14.9 | 14.3 |
| Gas $/gal | 2.95 | 4.20 |
| Violent crime /100k | 600 | 460 |
| Avg summer high °F | 89 | 95 |
| Avg winter low °F | 30 | 30 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 3 |